Gomez Earns Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week Honors

The Long Island Ducks continue to receive standout performances on the mound, and this week one of their newest additions was recognized for his outstanding start.

The Atlantic League of Professional Baseball Clubs (ALPB) has named Long Island Ducks left-handed pitcher Rio Gomez the league's Pitcher of the Week after an impressive pair of performances to begin his Ducks career.

Gomez earned the honor after picking up his first victory with the Flock on Saturday, Aug. 1, against the Staten Island FerryHawks. Making his home debut, the left-hander tossed five scoreless innings in the Ducks' commanding 20-6 victory.

The 31-year-old allowed just one hit—a third-inning single by Anthony Abbatine—while hitting one batter and striking out seven. Gomez threw 64 pitches, with 48 of them landing for strikes, an impressive 75 percent strike rate.

His dominant outing came on the heels of another stellar performance in his Ducks debut on July 26 at Hagerstown. In that appearance, Gomez retired every batter he faced over three perfect innings while striking out five.

The strong start has made an immediate impact for Long Island and earned Gomez his first weekly honor since joining the club.

Gomez is the second Ducks pitcher to receive the Atlantic League's Pitcher of the Week Award this season. He joins right-hander Tanner Jacobson, who earned the recognition for the week of June 30 through July 5.

Jacobson nearly made history on July 3 against Hagerstown, carrying a no-hitter into the ninth inning before allowing a leadoff single. He finished with eight no-hit innings, falling just three outs shy of becoming one of the few pitchers in Atlantic League history to throw a no-hitter.

With Gomez and Jacobson leading the pitching staff, the Ducks continue to receive dominant performances on the mound as they push through the second half of the Atlantic League season and look to build momentum for a postseason run.