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Scrappers get blanked again
Mahoning Valley’s scoreless streak reaches 21 innings after loss to HV
By Steve ruman
NILES
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers’ offense this season has been a mirror image of the Valley’s summer weather.
Early on, the Scrappers’ bats were unpredictable and offered a wide variety of peaks and valleys. Just six days ago, the Scrappers owned the best team batting average in the New York-Penn League.
But just as a dry spell began gripping the area, the Scrappers’ offense turned as dry and dormant as a rain-thirsty lawn baking in the summer sun.
Mahoning Valley’s offensive woes continued Friday in a 7-0 loss to Hudson Valley in front of 2,653 fans at Eastwood Field.
The Scrappers (23-29), who were also shut out by the Renegades on Thursday, have now gone 21 innings without scoring a run. They’ve scored just two runs in their last 31 innings.
“It’s frustrating, because we’ve shown that we can hit,” said Scrappers second baseman Mark Mathias. “It just goes to show that baseball can be a game of streaks, whether it’s an individual or a team.
“I really believe hitting is contagious. Sometimes one or two players get on a roll, and it begins to carry over to the rest of the team. Likewise, when a few guys start slumping, it’s like everyone else starts pressing and it rubs off on the team.”
Against the Renegades, Mathias had a single and a double, accounting for two of the Scrappers’ five hits.
Meanwhile, Hudson Valley pounded out 11 hits and roughed up Scrappers starter Kieran Lovegrove for four runs on five hits in just three innings pitched. The Renegades scored a run in the first and added three in the third before Lovegrove (1-5, 6.00 ERA) exited the game. The visitors added single runs in each of the final three innings.
Hector Montez collected four RBIs with a trio of singles. Angel Moreno singled, doubled, hit a home run and scored three runs.
Lovegrove threw 72 pitches in his three innings of work. By comparison, Renegades starter Cameron Varga (2-4, 2.74 ERA) worked six innings and threw just 65 pitches.
“I think we were a little too aggressive at the plate, we didn’t make (Varga) work very hard tonight,” Mathias said. “He was zoned in, and we were helping him out. I think that as a team we were just pressing to get something going.”
A back injury to Scrappers leadoff hitter Willi Castro kept the shortstop out of the lineup during the Hudson Valley series. Mathias believes Castro’s absence has hurt the offense.
“Not to make excuses, but Willi is a spark plug. He gets on base and and guys look to him to get things going,” Mathias said.
Meanwhile, Hudson Valley (25-28) continues to win on the road, keeping it in the thick of the playoff picture. The Renegades are just 1.5 games behind Staten Island in the McNamara Division.
“We’re getting a good mixture of solid pitching and timely hitting right now,” said Renegades manager Tim Parenton. “In this league, you don’t concern yourself with wins and losses as much as you do development. But yeah, when it gets late in the season and you’re close in the standings, players take notice.”
The Scrappers begin a two-game series at Williamsport today before the All-Star break.