43
Spinners rough up NY-PL All-Star Lugo, Scrappers
Photo
Lowell second basemen Deiner Lopez, left, throws to first base after forcing out Scrappers base runner Claudio Bautista (12) to start a fourth-inning double play Wednesday night.
By Steve Ruman
NILES
For a short time on Wednesday afternoon, it appeared as though the Scrappers’ scheduled home game against Lowell would be jeopardized by late afternoon thunderstorms.
The heavy band of rain eventually moved out of Niles, allowing for the game to go on as planned.
Unfortunately, a black cloud of sorts was left behind, and it spent the evening hovering over the home team.
The result was a 7-0 Lowell win in front of 2,159 fans at Eastwood Field.
After winning 10 of 12, the Scrappers have now lost three straight. The loss to the Spinners assures the Scrappers of losing a series for the first time since July 15.
Scrappers starter Luis Lugo on Monday was named to the New York-Penn League all-star team. On Wednesday, he experienced his roughest outing of the season, giving up six runs (four earned) in four innings of work.
Lugo wasn’t exactly roughed up. He gave up just four hits and struck out five. Three of the Spinners’ hits off of Lugo never left the infield.
However, the lefty hurt himself by throwing a wild pitch which scored a run, committing a throwing error which resulted in a run scored, and hitting a pair of batters.
Both of those hit batsmen also eventually crossed the plate.
“You have these types of outings throughout the course of a season, but you just have to put them behind you and keep your head up,” Lugo said.
“I just have to move forward and make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
Lugo hit the first batter he faced, Lowell center fielder Forest Allday. Tzu Wei-Lin then reached on an error by Scrappers third baseman Robel Garcia, followed by a Kevin Mager infield single.
On the Mager hit, Allday scored when Lugo fielded the ball and threw it beyond the reach of first baseman Nellie Rodriguez.
On the next pitch, Lugo hurled a ball to the backstop, plating Lin.
The Spinners added four runs in the fourth, despite getting just three hits in the inning.
Again, Lugo’s wildness was his worst enemy.
He walked the leadoff man, and followed that by hitting a batter. Both runners eventually crossed the plate.
“It’s frustrating at the moment, but it’s just something you have to quickly put behind you then concentrate on the next batter,” Lugo said.
“I try to take away the positives. I was working on my curve ball tonight, and I thought I threw it pretty well.”
The Scrappers offense was limited to just six hits. Twice, potential rallies were halted by double plays. Right fielder Brian Ruiz ended the fourth inning when he unsuccessfully tried to stretch a single into a double. In the eighth, the Scrappers left the bases loaded.
Ruiz, who entered the game batting just .073, did collect two hits.
“I sort of got away from my approach lately, and that caused me to struggle,” Ruiz said. “Today, I worked with our batting coach, and we focused on getting back to doing things the way I used to do. I felt comfortable in the batting box tonight.”
Ruiz believes the Scrappers will quickly put the loss behind them.
“We’re not going to let the last two games get us down,” Ruiz said. “Before these two, we were playing really well. We know we can come back strong.”
The Scrappers and Spinners conclude their three-game series tonight at 7:05.