Rio Gomez earns Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week honors for Ducks

Rio Gomez turned one crisp late-summer outing into Atlantic League Pitcher of the Week honors, and the Long Island Ducks now have a stronger case that their left-hander can handle pressure innings down the stretch. The Ducks announced the award on Aug. 6 after Gomez allowed just one hit over six shutout innings, a performance that also brought him his first win in a Long Island uniform.

The league’s weekly awards page listed Gomez as Pitcher of the Week for July 28-Aug. 2, while the Ducks framed the same recognition around a July 27-Aug. 2 window. Either way, the timing lined up with a stretch that matters in the standings, when every effective start helps a club protect its bullpen and keep pace in a crowded race. York’s Alex Phillips shared the league spotlight as Player of the Week for the same period, underscoring that Gomez’s work stood out across the Atlantic League rather than only inside one clubhouse.

For Long Island, the biggest detail was not just the award, but the way Gomez earned it. The Ducks described him as a southpaw who kept hitters off balance and prevented damage throughout six scoreless frames. In a league built on offense and constant roster movement, that kind of command and run prevention can stabilize a staff quickly, especially when a team needs one pitcher to lengthen games and take pressure off the late innings.

Gomez arrived with a long professional track record that helps explain why the Ducks could trust him in that spot. MiLB.com lists 152 appearances in affiliated minor league baseball for Gomez, along with a 12-12 record, a 3.70 ERA, 294.0 innings, 329 strikeouts and a 1.33 WHIP. Those numbers point to a veteran arm who has worked through lineups before, and they give Long Island reason to believe the recent surge may be more than a one-week spike.

The South Shore Press had already identified Gomez as one of the Ducks’ newest additions getting standout work on the mound, and this honor sharpened that impression. In an independent league and MLB partner circuit where pitching depth is often tested by travel, traffic and offensive swings, one clean outing can look like a hot streak. Six shutout innings and one hit allowed suggest something more useful for Long Island: a late-season arm that may be settling in at the right time.