Most pundits wouldn’t have given Aberdeen a chance against Hudson Valley. After all, the Evil Empire’s Single-A affiliate was in first place, almost 10 games over .500, and the IronBirds were near the bottom of the division.
Then again, this is why the game is played. The IronBirds ended May 15-12, which also included manager Roberto Mercado collecting his 100th career win. Aberdeen put on a show as they won the series 4-2.
Strong pitching and timely hitting led to Aberdeen taking the first four games. Though that stopped in the last two games, they gave the Renegades a run for their money.
Let’s see who the standouts were for a series that has Aberdeen flirting with the .500 mark.
ALEX PHAM – RHP
Pham had the distinction of pitching two games in this series. Though he lost the second game, he still had a strong series.
Pham (2-2) had his strongest game in the opener, an Aberdeen 7-0 win. The former 19th-round draft pick pitched five innings, allowing just one hit and striking out five.
For the season, Pham has a 2.90 ERA across 40.1 innings. He has struck out 56, and though his WHIP is at 1.21, opponents are hitting just .194 off the right-hander.
COOPER CHANDLER – RHP
Following the IronBirds’ 7-0 victory, Cooper Chandler did his best to replicate what Alex Pham did.
Chandler struggled through the month of April, but he turned things around in May and ended the month picking up his second win of the season. On Wednesday, Chandler would guide the IronBirds to victory by tossing five innings, allowing just four hits and collecting seven strikeouts.
Chandler improved to 2-3 on the season with a 3.31 ERA across 32.2 innings with 38 strikeouts. After opponents hit .324 in April against Chandler, they hit just .204 with a 1.08 WHIP in the month of May.
https://twitter.com/CoachBerto12/status/1664018091796312076?t=_BmesgJigqd-gwTp68DlnA&s=19
The IronBirds are starting to find their groove and have started making some noise. The pitching is improving, and with players like Jackson Holliday, Jud Fabian, Dylan Beavers and Creed Willems, the offense will take flight soon enough.
The IronBirds will enjoy a day off before welcoming the Ashville Tourists to town. The pursuit to .500 continues, and it starts Tuesday at 7:05 p.m. EST from Leidos Field at Ripken Stadium.
Who stood out to you for Aberdeen this week? Let us know in the comments below! Make sure to follow The Baltimore Battery on Facebook, Twitter and TikTok, and use the hashtag #baltimorebattery when sharing our content!
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