Harrisburg Senators (WAS) @ Akron RubberDucks (CLE)
June 28, 2025
S: Zane Morehouse
Attendance: 7,260
Time of Game: 2 hours, 46 minutes
Stadium Facts
Location: Akron, OH
Opened: 1997
Capacity: 7,630
Level: Double A
League: Eastern
Time of Game: 2 hours, 46 minutes
Stadium Facts
Location: Akron, OH
Opened: 1997
Capacity: 7,630
Level: Double A
League: Eastern
The grand finale of my nearly two week trip was in Akron, Ohio. This last drive between stops was the shortest of the trip, with it being just over 40 miles between Eastlake and Akron. The Akron RubberDucks are the AA affiliate of the Cleveland Guardians, which meant I visited all of the three highest level Cleveland affiliates on this trip, all within a few hours of each other in the state of Ohio. Canal Park was the first and only AA stadium I visited on this trip. Akron is the westernmost franchise in the Eastern League, most others of which I visited a year ago. It is not a dramatic geographic outlier in that league though, as Erie and the other Pennsylvania teams aren't too bad of a trek from Akron.
Canal Park opened in 1997 and has aged nicely, I would say. It is yet another downtown ballpark, but is a bit more secluded from its surroundings than many of the other urban parks I have visited recently. While some of the downtown skyline is visible from inside the park, the only structure in the immediate perimeter that looms over the park is a children's hospital down the third base line. There are very few outfield seats in this park, with right field instead containing a tiki bar and adjacent terrace seating. There is an indoor premium club area above the concourse in right field as well. On the other side of the stadium is a large picnic area down the third base line. Akron joins West Michigan as a rare minor league park where the bullpens are not in the field of play, but rather beyond the right field wall. A vast majority of the regular seats in this ballpark are on the first base side. That is also where the team store is located. It is not a large store, however. I think this is the first time I've had to wait in line to enter such a shop at a minor league park, and this was probably 45 minutes before first pitch. There was a huge crowd on hand for this Saturday night game with postgame fireworks, about a week prior to Independence Day. The RubberDucks took on the identity of the Galley Boys with special uniforms for this game, an ode to the burgers served at popular local chain: Swenson's Drive-In. While I'm sure this promotion was a hit for the locals, it was a bit disappointing for me not to hear them referred to by their pretty cool regular nickname, RubberDucks, inspired by Akron's prominence in the tire industry.
In a rarity for any level besides AAA, the Harrisburg lineup featured a couple of players with extensive MLB experience: rehabbing infielder Paul DeJong and outfielder Delino DeShields Jr, who signed a minor league deal with the Nationals in May mostly so he could play for his father, Harrisburg manager Delino DeShields Sr, who is a former MLB All-Star outfielder in his own right. The senior DeShields got hit by a line drive foul ball in the first inning, but seemed to shake it off pretty quickly. Junior had a rough game too, striking out all three times at bat. Another Senator who had a tough evening was starting pitcher Tyler Stuart, who was visibly upset and in pain following a pitch he threw to the fifth batter he faced in the bottom of the first. He was taken out of the game and has not pitched since. I later read that it was a reoccurring elbow injury that also delayed his start to the season. This injury happened one batter after Guy Lipscomb had a base hit to knock in the first run of the game. Akron starting pitcher Dylan DeLucia had an excellent game. He only allowed one run in six innings, and while it was officially credited as an earned run, it wasn't entirely his fault. In the top of the third, a Harrisburg base runner moved into scoring position when a balk was called because the catcher tried to call timeout even though DeLucia had already used his two disengagements during the at bat. Nats first round pick from a year ago, Seaver King, took advantage with a single to tie the game at one. The RubberDucks immediately retook the lead in the bottom of the third. Angel Genoa bounced one up the middle for a RBI single to make it 2-1. From there, neither team did much of anything with the bats for the next few innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Akron scored a pair of runs on an unfortunate play for the Senators. Lipscomb hit a routine fly ball to left that should have ended the inning. But left fielder Phillip Glasser lost the ball in the twilight sky and it landed 10 feet from him, ruled as a two run double. The way this game was going for Harrisburg offensively, those two gift runs were going to be too much to overcome. The Senators did score once in the top of the eighth, another somewhat generous run. DeJong had a RBI sacrifice fly, scoring King who reached on an error, making this an unearned run. Then during the next plate appearance, the Akron pitcher got called for a balk for a third unsuccessful pickoff attempt. Not sure I've ever seen a team tagged with two balks for too many disengagements in the same game since that rule was implemented a couple years ago. This one didn't wind up costing them though. Without a couple of defensive mistakes, this could have been a shutout for the RubberDucks. Instead, they would settle for a 4-2 victory.
And with that, this trip's home team losing streak came to an end. It was also the first victory for a Cleveland affiliate on this journey, following three losses. Canal Park was a really nice ballpark to conclude the trip with. I spent one last night in Ohio before making the Sunday drive home. In total, I saw 10 games in 12 days. Really the only downer was missing the game in Dayton. But I made up for that with a return trip to Ohio a few weeks ago. So I'll be writing about that one soon too.
