Skipper isn't satisfied

By BRIAN RICHESSON
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
NILES -- Winning six of their last eight games, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers have restored some consistency to their New York-Penn League stretch drive.
But that doesn't necessarily translate into satisfaction inside the manager's office.
Such was the case Sunday after the Scrappers split a doubleheader with the Staten Island Yankees at Cafaro Field.
Jesus Colmenter's game-winning single gave the Scrappers a 5-4 victory, salvaging a split after New Castle native and Union High graduate Matt DeSalvo pitched Staten Island to a 5-3 victory in the opener.
Kubiak irritated
After the games, however, as music played throughout the Scrappers' clubhouse, manager Ted Kubiak criticized his team for failure to execute in certain situations.
"When it looks like there's no effort and no concentration, stuff like that tells me they're not going on the field thinking what they have to do to help their team win," Kubiak said. "They're just going out and playing, and that's [bull]."
Kubiak cited poor execution from his batters (bunting) and pitchers (wild pitches and missing signs). He was further angered by his players arriving late for scheduled instruction and not asking enough questions.
"If you ask somebody for questions and they don't answer, you figure they know what you're talking about," Kubiak said.
If there were any positives from Sunday's doubleheader, it was the play of Colmenter, the 21-year-old Venezuelan, who went 4-for-8 with three RBIs and a run scored.
"I felt good at the plate. I was able to recognize pitches better than last week," said Colmenter, who focused on squaring himself at the plate. "I just tried to hit good pitches."
In the Scrappers' final at-bat, with two outs and Jonathan Van Every on second, Colmenter ripped a single down the left-field line to score the game-winning run.
DeSalvo's return
The opener served as a reunion for DeSalvo, who took the mound in front of hundreds of family and friends.
"It was nice because some of my family haven't seen me pitch since I was younger," said DeSalvo, 22. "I was nervous in the first inning. You could tell I was a little wild, but I settled down."
DeSalvo threw 27 pitches in the first inning while surrendering three hits, but he kept the Scrappers (25-28) scoreless.
"I felt like I was getting behind everybody [in the count]. If I would have jumped ahead, I could have been more successful," said DeSalvo, who was a standout at Marietta College. "But we won, and that's all that matters."
The Yankees (20-33) scored five runs off Scrappers starter Adam Brandenburg in the fifth inning. The left-hander carried a one-hit shutout into the fifth before being roughed up.
"For some reason, he gets to 50 or 60 pitches and he just starts struggling," Kubiak said.
Brandenburg was bested by DeSalvo, who finished the fifth inning, but not before allowing the Scrappers' three runs, only one of which was earned. He struck out three and walked one in improving his record to 3-3.
DeSalvo reportedly was being promoted to Class A full-season Battle Creek (Mich.) this week, but he wouldn't confirm the move following Sunday's game.
GAME 1
STATEN ISLANDSCRAPPERS
abrhbiabrhbi
Cabrera cf3001Snyder cf3100
Cruz 2b4121Colmenter dh4120
Shorts dh3000Kouzmanff 3b4022
Zamora 3b3012Mulhern 1b4020
Treadway lf3000Garko c4011
Gonzalez rf3120Conroy lf3010
Robles 1b2100Cotto ss2000
Rosario c2110Van Every rf3000
Slevin ss3111Lunetta 2b3100
Totals26575Totals30383
Staten Island0000500--5
Scrappers0000300--3
E--Slevin, Cruz, Robles. DP--Scrappers 1, Staten Island 1. LOB--Scrappers 8, Staten Island 3. 3B--Conroy. 2B--Mulhern. SB--Slevin, Zamora, Van Every. CS--Colmenter. SF--Cabrera.
IPHRERBBSO
Staten Island
DeSalvo W, 3-3573113
Thorp S, 5210001
Scrappers
Brandenburg L, 1-34 2-365523
Hanson2 1-310000
WP--Brandenburg. HBP--Cotto (by DeSalvo). Umpires--John Tumpane, home; Darren Budahn, bases. T--2:10.
HOW THEY SCORED
FIFTH INNING
STATEN ISLAND 5, MAHONING VALLEY 3
Yankees: Adam Brandenburg pitching. Edwar Gonzalez singled to left, Luis Robles walked, Gonzalez to second. Carlos Rosario singled in the infield to load the bases, Gonzalez to third, Robles to second. David Slevin singled to left, Gonzalez scored, Robles to third, Rosario to second. Melky Cabrera lined out to center to sacrifice Robles home, Rosario tagged and advanced to third. Enrique Cruz singled to left, Rosario scored, Slevin to second. Wild pitch advanced Slevin to third, Cruz to second. Adam Shorts flied out to third. Hector Zamora singled to center, Slevin, Cruz scored. Zamora stole second. Adam Hanson pitching. Jared Treadway flied out to center. 5 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 left.
Scrappers: Matt DeSalvo pitching. Anthony Lunetta reached on an error by the shortstop, Brad Snyder walked, Jesus Colmenter reached on an error by the second baseman to load the bases. Kevin Kouzmanoff singled to right, Lunetta, Snyder scored, Colmenter to third. Ryan Mulhern grounded into a 5-4-3 double play. Ryan Garko singled in the infield, Colmenter scored. Mike Conroy flied out to left. 3 runs, 2 hits, 2 errors, 1 left.
GAME 2
STATEN ISLANDSCRAPPERS
abrhbiabrhbi
Cabrera cf3221Snyder cf4121
Cruz 2b3010Colmenter ss4023
Gonzalez rf4011Kouzmanff 3b3010
Zamora 3b2111Mulhern dh2000
Treadway lf3000Conroy lf3000
Robles c3000Garko c3120
Covarrubias dh3010Noviskey 1b3110
Urick 1b3000Van Every rf3220
Slevin ss2110Lunetta 2b1001
Totals26473Totals265105
Staten Island1001200--4
Scrappers0400001--5
Two outs when winning run scored
E--Lara, Colmenter. DP--Scrappers 1, Staten Island 1. LOB--Staten Island 5, Scrappers 4. HR--Zamora. 2B--Snyder. SB--Gonzalez, Van Every 2, Snyder. CS--Mulhern, Lunetta. SH--Cabrera, Cruz. SF--Lunetta.
IPHRERBBSO
Staten Island
Harmsen684424
Picco L, 4-32-321100
Scrappers
Lara554304
Pereyra W, 1-1220011
WP--Lara 2. HBP--by Lara (Zamora). PB--Robles. Umpires--Darren Budahn, home; John Tumpane, bases. T--1:52. A--5,943.
HOW THEY SCORED
FIRST INNING
STATEN ISLAND 1, MAHONING VALLEY 0
Yankees: Juan Lara pitching. Melky Cabrera singled to right, Enrique Cruz grounded out to the pitcher. Edwar Gonzalez singled to right, Cabrera to third. Gonzalez stole second, Cabrera scored on an error by the pitcher, Gonzalez advanced to third. Hector Zamora was hit by a pitch. Jared Treadway struck out. Luis Robles grounded out to the pitcher. 1 run, 2 hits, 1 error, 2 left.
SECOND INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 4, STATEN ISLAND 1
Scrappers: Brandon Harmsen pitching. Mike Conroy flied out to first. Ryan Garko singled to left, Josh Noviskey singled to left, Garko to second. Jonathan Van Every singled to right to load the bases, Garko to third, Noviskey to second. Anthony Lunetta flied out to right to sacrifice Garko home, Noviskey to third. Van Every stole second. Brad Snyder singled in the infield, Noviskey scored, Van Every to third. Snyder stole second. Jesus Colmenter singled to left, Van Every, Snyder scored, Colmenter to second on the throw. Kevin Kouzmanoff grounded out to second. 4 runs, 5 hits, 0 errors, 1 left.
FOURTH INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 4, STATEN ISLAND 2
Yankees: Lara pitching. Zamora homered over the right-field wall. Treadway reached on an error by the shortstop, Robles grounded out to third, Treadway to second. Nick Covarrubias grounded out to short, Treadway to third. John Urick struck out. 1 run, 1 hit, 1 error, 1 left.
FIFTH INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 4, STATEN ISLAND 4
Yankees: Lara pitching. David Slevin singled to right, advanced to second on a wild pitch. Cabrera singled up the middle, Slevin scored. Cruz bunted to sacrifice Cabrera to second. Cabrera advanced to third on a wild pitch. Gonzalez grounded out to short, Cabrera scored. Zamora grounded out to second. 2 runs, 2 hits, 0 errors, 0 left.
SEVENTH INNING
MAHONING VALLEY 5, STATEN ISLAND 4
Scrappers: John Picco pitching. Van Every singled to right, Lunetta flied out to the catcher. Van Every stole second. Snyder flied out to short. Colmenter singled down the left-field line, Van Every scored. 1 run, 2 hits, 0 errors, 1 left.
richesson@vindy.com