For Scrappers, home is where the heartache is

August 4, 2015 at 12:05a.m.

Scrappers fall to 6-12 at Eastwood

By Steve ruman

NILES

Like father, like son.

Or in this case, like parent club, like minor league affiliate.

Because of a dismal home record (20-32), the Cleveland Indians are mired in last place in the Central Division of the American League. This, despite the fact that the Tribe owns a respectable 28-24 road mark.

The Indians’ Class-A affiliate Mahoning Valley Scrappers are 13-10 on the road, including their most recent trip which netted a 4-1 record.

Unfortunately, like the Indians, the Scrappers can’t figure things out at home. On Monday, they returned to Eastwood Field on a high, only to fall to Williamsport 10-4 in front of 1,989 fans.

The latest home setback dropped the Scrappers’ home record to 6-12, a New York-Penn League low. Entering the game, the Scrappers had won nine of their last 12 games.

The Scrappers’ loss came at the hands of a Williamsport team which owns the best record (28-15) in the NYPL. The Crosscutters flexed their muscles early and often, scoring six runs off of Scrappers starter Jared Robinson. The righy lasted just four innings, surrendering nine hits.

Mahoning Valley fought back with a run in the second on a Connor Marabell RBI single. They then enjoyed a three-run fourth inning, highlighted by a Juan De La Cruz two-run home run to right-center.

De La Cruz was picked up by the Indians as a non-drafted free agent in 2009. He began this year at Lynchburg, and was moved to Mahoning Valley last week. Since donning a Scrappers uniform, the infielder is 8-of-14 with three RBIs.

Scrappers left fielder Ka’ai Tom also maintained his recent torrid pace at the plate. Tom went 11 for 22 on the Scrappers’ recent road trip. He followed that up Monday with a 2-for-4 performance with a stolen base.

“I just started hitting in the batting cages before the games just to get on track with my swing and keep it polished,” Tom said. “I wanted to stay focused and stick to the process, and it’s worked out so far.”

Tom said that patience at the plate also helped him adapt to professional ball.

“Getting on track offensively was an at-bat thing, taking one at-bat at a time,” Tom said. “You can’t be too frustrated when things don’t go your way. Baseball is a pretty big mental sport and you have to stay balanced mentally. You can’t ever be too high or too low, or it will eat you up.”

Leading 7-4, Williamsport added three runs in the ninth to break the game wide open. Josh Tobias, Carlos Duran and Dylan Bosheers each had three hits for the Crosscutters. Bosheers entered the game batting .079 (5-for-63).

The Crosscutters collected 17 hits on the night.

Asked about the Scrappers’ home woes, Tom couldn’t come up with an explanation.

“I have no clue, no clue whatsoever,” Tom said. “I guess it’s just the bad luck of the draw, but we’ll get right back at it tomorrow.”

The Scrappers and Crosscutters continue their three-game series tonight.