Ducks hit road on hot streak

An upcoming nine-game road trip is sure to test the Long Island Ducks, who last Sunday completed a series sweep of the Somerset Patriots with an 11-3 victory at Bethpage Ballpark to move into first place in the Atlantic League’s Liberty Division.

Lew Ford, Freddie Thon and Dan Lyons drove in two runs apiece and Ray Navarrete capped the day with a solo homer as the Ducks won for the fifth straight time and improved to 20-12. Ruddy Lugo picked up the win on the mound despite allowing 10 hits in five innings. Three relievers combined to allow just three baserunners over the last four innings.

“We’ve been playing great at home and now we have an opportunity to get our road record to .500 or better,” Ducks manager Kevin Baez said. “We’ve got outstanding chemistry on and off the field.”

Long Island outscored Somerset 36-13 during the three-game sweep that included a near-record 20-run outburst last Saturday night. The Ducks scored seven runs in the first inning and added eight more in the seventh on the way to falling just two runs shy of the franchise single-game record set Aug. 23, 2004.

Catcher J.R. House doubled and homered and drove in seven runs, one short of Navarrete’s franchise record set June 8, 2008. Seven Ducks had at least two hits, including Navarrete who earlier in the season became the team’s all-time hits leader.

“This team was built to compete for a championship and that’s what we’re striving to accomplish,” said Navarrete, who has six homers and 17 RBI through 32 games. “We’re about halfway through the first half, and our goal right now is to win the first half and go from there.”

A roller coaster opening month saw the Ducks enter June with a 15-12 mark. They enjoyed a six-game winning streak — all at home — in early May, with southpaw Lenny DiNardo earning two victories on the mound, followed by a five-game slide — all on the road.

“It’s just a matter of consistency,” Navarrete said. “We have an amazing pitching staff and a solid lineup, but there have been games where we struggled defensively and others where we didn’t pitch or hit as well as we’re capable.”

DiNardo became the first Duck to be signed by a MLB team in 2011. His contract was purchased May 20 by the Oakland Athletics, who assigned him to their Triple-A affiliate in Sacramento. “We are happy Lenny will get a chance to return to the Majors,” Baez said. “He was a tremendous addition to our pitching staff and will surely be missed.”

Mike Loree leads the Ducks staff with a 4-1 record in nine appearances, including five in relief. He has 37 strikeouts and nine walks in 30 innings and a 2.40 ERA. Joselo Diaz and Mike Parisi have three wins apiece.

“Our starting pitchers have kept us in every game,” Baez said.