Scrappers hit on all cylinders in a 12-1 rout of Brooklyn; Bellows has five RBIs

Greg Folgia and Jason Kipnis also had productive nights at the plate for Mahoning Valley.

By JOE SCALZO

Vindicator sports staff

NILES — Newly-minted All-Star Clayton Cook showed off his arm, third baseman Kyle Bellows showed off his legs and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers showed their resilience.

One night after one of the most disappointing losses of the season, the Scrappers jumped on the Brooklyn Cyclones early en route to a 12-1 victory Wednesday in a New York-Penn League game at Eastwood Field.

“It was a good night for our guys coming back from a pretty tough loss,” said Scrappers manager Travis Fryman.

In a matchup of the NYPL’s two best teams, the Scrappers (34-19) jumped out to a 12-0 lead after six innings to regain the league’s best record by one game.

Bellows went 2-for-5 with two triples and five RBIs — all with two outs — to lead Mahoning Valley.

“I guess I hit it at the right spot at the right time,” said Bellows. “We got the win and that’s all that matters.”

Greg Folgia added two hits and three RBIs and Jason Kipnis had a single, three walks and three runs scored. Kipnis, the Indians’ second round pick out of Arizona State, joined the team on Aug. 2.

“Bellows obviously had a big night, which was good; we needed to see that,” said Fryman. “Kipnis is coming around and obviously gives our lineup a different look, which is encouraging too.

“And Folgia had a good night, too, and that’s encouraging as well.”

The win came one night after the Scrappers blew a one-run lead in the ninth inning to the Cyclones, who rallied for a 4-2 victory Tuesday. It was the first time this season the Scrappers lost when they were leading after eight innings.

“Travis preaches today is a new day,” said Bellows. “We just came out and played hard and got this win.

“Everybody contributed today, which was good. The pitching was great and the defense was great.”

The Scrappers did have two errors, but they capitalized on Brooklyn’s mistakes all night, most notably in the fifth inning. With two outs, shortstop Kyle Smith reached on a fielding error. Two batters later, with the bases loaded, Bellows hit a three-run triple.

Brooklyn (33-20), which leads the league in defense, finished with three errors.

“As a club, we do a good job of seizing on other team’s mistakes,” said Fryman. “Our issue is we keep making our own out there.

“I haven’t quite figured out to fix that.”

Mahoning Valley opened up a 31‚Ñ2-game lead on Williamsport in the Pinckney Division with 23 games left.

Cook (4-2, 2.06 ERA) started and threw five shutout innings, striking out four, walking one and giving up four hits.

Cook was one of three Scrapper pitchers named to the All-Star team, joining reliever Corey Burns and starter Marty Popham. Outfielder Jordan Henry and infielder Kyle Smith will also represent Mahoning Valley at Tuesday’s game, as will Scrappers manager Travis Fryman and his pitching staff.

“It’ll be fun,” said Fryman, who was a five-time All-Star with the Cleveland Indians and the Detroit Tigers as a player. “It will be a good experience and I’m looking forward to it.

“The All-Star break you always take with a grain of salt. It’s fun, but days off are better.”

Mahoning Valley’s Austin Adams gave up one run on a homer to Ralph Henriquez in two innings of relief, striking out two. Jose Urena closed it out with two no-hit innings, striking out two and walking two.

Darin Gorski (2-3) started for Brooklyn and lasted just 32‚Ñ3 innings, giving up eight runs (four earned) on six hits to get the loss. He walked four and struck out three.

Brooklyn 7th — Henriquez homers to right. Shields grounds out (5-3). Servidio grounds out (5-3). Eigsti flies out (F-9). 1 run, 1 hit, 0 errors, 0 LOB.

scalzo@vindy.com