Akron Rubberducks are Eastern League Champions

The Cleveland Indians’ Double-A affiliate took home some hardware on Friday night, sweeping their way to the 2016 Eastern League championship.

The Cleveland Indians earned a resounding win over their archrivals the Detroit Tigers on Friday night at Progressive Field, inching ever so much closer to an American League Central Division title. But while there is still work to be done for the club to reach the promised land, one of its minor league affiliates got to experience the champagne-popping glory of a championship.

On Friday night, the Double-A Akron Rubberducks claimed a 2-1 victory over the Trenton Thunder in the Eastern League Championship Series, giving the club a 3-0 sweep and the 2016 title.

Center fielder Greg Allen went 3-for-4 in the winning effort, scoring a run, while shortstop Eric Stamets and right fielder Jordan Smith drove in Akron’s two runs, which were held up by a solid performance by the pitching staff.

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“It’s all about how you finish, not how your start — that’s the name of the game,” Allen had said after game two. “So it feels good to go [out] with a bang and finish strong. And then with this big playoff run we’re having, it’s been a real fun year.”

Starter Nick Pasquale held Trenton to just a solo home run in 5.2 innings of work before turning things over to Cole Sulser and Louis Head to lock down the final ten outs. Pasquale had also been on the bump for the Ducks’ playoff and championship series-clinching wins in recent weeks.

Catcher Eric Haase, who went 3-for-9 with one run scored, one double, one home run, and four RBIs in the series was named Most Valuable Player.

The loss for the Thunder went to a familiar name in Tribe prospect circles: Justus Sheffield. The 20-year old former first round pick by Cleveland in the 2014 draft who was sent to the New York Yankees organization as part of the Andrew Miller trade was simply a victim of anemic offense on this night. In 4.1 innings, he yielded just one run on two hits, though he walked four batters, and suffered his second loss of the postseason.

This marks the second championship for Akron in the past five years, and its first since the glorious change to its team name and mascot. The Rubberducks went 22-10 in August and September to go from being left for dead to the top of the heap after several significant departures throughout the season that included top prospects Bradley Zimmer, Yandy Diaz, Adam Plutko, Shawn Morimando, and Clint Frazier, who was also included in the Miller trade with the Yankees.

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It was the kind of run that the Indians’ organization has become accustomed to from its minor league affiliates in recent seasons. The Ducks’ title follows that of the Triple-A Columbus Clippers in the International League’s Governor’s Cup in 2015, and is the eighth in franchise history, going back to the old Canton-Akron Indians, and first since 2012.