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Cannon’s two hits help Mahoning Valley beat H.V.
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Asdrubal Cabrera
SEE ALSO: Scrappers benefit from Cabrera stint .
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The Scrappers' Chase Burnette rounds first during the second inning of Tuesday's game against the Hudson Valley Renegades at Eastwood Field.
By JON MOFFETT
Niles
Who better to lead the Mahoning Valley Scrappers to a victory on National French Fry Day than the Fryman himself?
Manager Travis Fryman and his team snapped a four-game losing streak with a 4-2 victory over the Hudson Valley River Renegades at Eastwood Field on Tuesday. The Scrappers (11-14) used an opportunistic offense, and the help of a major league hitter, to win.
Cleveland Indians shortstop Asdrubal Cabrera completed his second and final game with the Scrappers as part of a rehab trip. Cabrera went 2-for-6 in his first assignment — including 1 for 3 on Tuesday — and will report to the Akron Aeros today. Over the two days, he had a double, two RBIs, a walk and struck out once.
The Renegades (10-14) didn’t let Cabrera beat them. But the rest of the Scrapper bats stepped up and won the fifth home game this season. The Scrappers will travel to Brooklyn tonight for a three-game series.
Prior to the game, Fryman said Cabrera’s presence was a positive for the club. He said having a big-leaguer to lead by example is sometimes easier than his preaching.
Well, Tyler Cannon and the rest of the Scrappers took those words — and actions — to heart.
“I’ve never been on a team with a major leaguer before, so that was new,” Cannon said. “Obviously he helped us. That was awesome. It was just fun watching him field and swing the bat. He’s as smooth as they come.”
Cannon had two hits in his four at bats. He also brought in the game’s first two runs. The first came on a single in the bottom of the second, and the other came one inning later on a double.
“We had a tough loss a couple of days ago in extra innings, and we didn’t want to go out and get swept,” he said. “So it was a good win for us.”
Fryman said he had given Cannon a day off to help rejuvenate his game.
“A little rest goes a long way,” Fryman said. “It really does, especially for these guys who come off of a college season. They come in here and they’re trying to play for the most part every day.”
““I’ve noticed these last three years that if you give them one or two days off, they’ll come back and have a good day or two, and then it’s a letdown. I think they really begin to realize just how physical baseball is at this level is. And it doesn’t get any easier, obviously. But a little rest does good.”
On the other side, the Scrappers got a good pitching appearance from Jordan Cooper. Cooper, the ninth-round pick of the Indians this year, pitched 52/3 innings. He allowed one earned run on nine hits, striking out six.
“We got great pitching. That was a ninth-round draft pick, and that’s what you want him to look like right there,” Fryman said. “His tempo was good today, he pitched inside well and he pitched ahead. That’s what you expect to see from a guy drafted that high.”
Cabrera finished his brief Scrapper career by striking out in the seventh inning. But the crowd gave Cabrera a nice ovation.
Cannon said these two days have been invaluable.
“In a couple of weeks, he’ll be back in Cleveland, and that’s all of our dreams,” he said. “We want to play in the major leagues, and we’re going to do the best we can to develop into majorleague baseball players.”
He added, “That’s been my dream since I’ve been growing up.”
Scrappers notebook
Out of his league: Scrappers manager Travis Fryman, a five-time All-Star with the Indians and Tigers, won a Gold Glove at third base in 2000 but said he’s not in the same league as players such as Tribe shortstops Asdrubal Cabrera (who was in Niles on a rehab assignment Tuesday) or Omar Vizquel (who played next to Fryman when he was with the Indians). “Watching Asdrubal play out there, I’m like, ‘Gosh, I can’t do that,” said Fryman. “You don’t watch him to learn from him. You just watch him to appreciate what a good athlete he is. It’s like watching Omar Vizquel play shortstop. I appreciate it for what it is but I can’t do that. I’m a little more reachable or attainable than a lot of these guys. People looks at me and they’re like, ‘Gosh dang, you’re not as big as I thought you were.’” Fryman said he always got treated well on minor league rehab assignments. “It was always a great thrill to go down and people ask you questions and pick your brain a bit,” he said. “And they’re watching.”
Feeling better: Scrappers catcher Diego Seastrunk hit his second homer of the year on Monday night against Hudson Valley. The Humble, Texas, native also walked and scored two runs. He’s hitting just .135 in 12 games but said he’s felt better over the last few days as he adjusts from “the tin can to the wood bat.” The tin can? “Yeah,” he said, chuckling. “I heard a bunch of older coaches that don’t like them [aluminum bats] call them tin cans.” Seastrunk should see more playing time now that catcher Wyatt Toregas is playing with Triple-A Columbus. “I was upset to see him go,” said Seastrunk, who splits time at catcher with Moises Montero. “Wyatt helped me out a lot. He was one of the nicest guys I’ve met since I’ve been here. It was kind of like a mentor sort of thing that we had going, but I’m excited about getting more playing time.” Toregas, a 2004 draft pick, played 19 games with the Indians last season.
Recent signees: The Indians recently signed their No. 6 and No. 7 picks from this year’s draft. Sixth-rounder Nick Bartolone, a shortstop from Chabot (Calif.) Junior College, is now in the Arizona League, while seventh-rounder Robbie Aviles, a right-hander from Suffern (N.Y.) High School, underwent Tommy John surgery and will be out for a year.
Joe Scalzo