43
No relief: Scrappers bullpen can’t hold lead
Photo
Scrappers baserunner Evan Frazar slides into third base while Connecticut third baseman Tyler Hanover waits to field the ball during Monday’s game at Eastwood Field.
NILES
Connecticut tied the game with a three-run eighth inning, then scored its go-ahead run in the top of the ninth to beat Mahoning Valley, 5-4, at Eastwood Field on Monday night.
“You can never lose faith,” said Jake Stewart, who had one of his two singles in the game in the eighth for the Tigers (6-16), who snapped a six-game losing streak.
“We were down 4-0 in the second inning, but we had a lot of outs left and a lot of innings to play,” he said. “That’s the good thing about baseball, is that there is no clock, so you can battle back to the end.”
He said it was a gutsy performance, especially by Will Clinard.
“He kind of shut it down for us,” Stewart said of the pitcher who worked the final two innings to get the win.
“We come in here and kept competing,” he said after the Tigers lost the first two games of the series. “We have a lot of talent on this team.”
Obviously, Mahoning Valley manager Ted Kubiak didn’t like the finish.
“The seventh, eighth and ninth innings weren’t too pretty and we wasted a good pitching performance,” he said of starter Jake Sisco’s four-hitter over six innings.
Kubiak also mentioned that at least a half-dozen players were ill enough to limit the Scrappers’ pitching supply.
“When you get ahead like that you hate to lose. It’s a frustrating loss. We needed to make some pitches to get them out.”
In the bottom of the second, Mahoning Valley’s Richard Stock reached first base on an infield single. Then, with Stock and Evan Frazar on second and first, respectively, Robel Garcia’s single up the middle drove in Stock for a 1-0 lead. Frazar sped to third base on Garcia’s hit, which came with two outs.
The next batter, the lineup’s leadoff man, Jairo Kelly, put a fly ball into center field to score Frazar to give the Scrappers a 2-0 edge.
Tyler Naquin’s triple that reached the left field wall brought Garcia and Kelly home for a 4-0 advantage.
Through five innings, Mahoning Valley starter Jake Sisco had a three-hitter until Stewart, the first batter in the top of the sixth, singled into center. However, Stewart was thrown out on catcher Stock’s throw to Garcia to second. Shortstop Kelly assisted on the inning’s second out when his bare-handed stop and throw to Mitch Nilsson at first got Danry Vasquez. Juaner Aquasvivas flied out to center to end Connecticut’s inning.
In the eighth, Connecticut’s Tyler Hanover doubled to push Stewart to third. With no outs, pitcher Robert Aviles was replaced by Louis Head, but the Tigers scored their second run when Vasquez’s hit to the outfield brought Stewart home, while Hanover was thrown out at home when catcher Stock applied the tag. Travis’ hit scored Vasquez to pull Connecticut within 4-3. Patrick Smith’s fly to left-center scored Travis to tie the game, 4-4.
After pinch-hitter Charlie Valerio walked in the eighth, he reached second on Juan Romero’s ground ball fielder’s choice. He went to third on a wild pitch but the inning ended when Nilsson grounded out.
In the top of the ninth, Bennett Pickar walked and moved to second on Luis Cortez’s sacrifice bunt. With one out and a full count, Stewart was thrown out at first when Kelly fielded a slow bouncer and threw to Nilsson. With Hanover at the plate and Pickar on third, Hanover singled past second to score Pickar with the Tigers’ fifth run.
In the bottom of the ninth, Garcia’s sacrifice bunt pushed pinch-runner Erik Gonzalez to second. Gonzalez was running for Frazar, who had singled. After Kelly struck out looking, Tyler Naquin approached the plate facing closer Clinard with two outs. Naquin struck out swinging.
CONNECTICUT 5, SCRAPPERS 4
ConnecticutScrappers
abrhbiabrhbi
Stewart cf5120Kelly ss5121
Hanover 3b5021Naquin cf5022
Vasquez lf5111Bradley dh2000
Aguasvs 1b4000Siliga lf4010
Travis 2b3221Stock c3110
Smith rf4011Romero rf3000
Dean dh3021Nilsson 1b4000
Pickar c3110Frazar 3b3120
Cortez ss3000Garcia 2b3111
Totals355115Totals32494
Connecticut000000131—5
Scrappers040000000—4
E—Kelly (2). DP —Connecticut 1, Scrappers 1. LOB—Connecticut 7, Scrappers 7. 2B—Hanover (5), Smith (2). 3B—Naquin (2). SB—Travis (1), Dean (4). CS—Stewart (1), Frazar (1), Romero (2).
IPHRERBBSO
Connecticut
Gillies454424
Turley330023
Clinard W, 2-1210013
Scrappers
Sisco651124
Aviles132211
Head L, 0-2243211
WP—Clinard. Umpires—Home, Ben Levin; Bases, Ryan Simmons. T—2:55. A—2,532.