Sunday, July 24, 2016
By Steve Ruman
NILES
Sundays are dubbed Family Fun Days at Eastwood Field.
Mahoning Valley Scrappers left fielder Todd Isaacs decided to celebrate the promotion one day early.
Isaacs belted a two-run home run and went 2 for 5 on Saturday, leading the Scrappers to a 7-2 win over Lowell in front of 2,529 fans at Eastwood Field. The crowd included Isaac’s mom and brother. It marked the first time in his professional career that Isaac played in front of his mother.
Isaacs was selected by the Cleveland Indians in the 19th round of the 2015 draft. He spent last summer in the Arizona League.
“I was looking forward to my mom finally getting to see me play, and she brought me some good luck today,” Isaacs said. “It was pretty neat. She was seated behind home plate, so I was able to look at her and give her a little wink after I hit the home run.”
The Scrappers scored the game’s first run in the third without hitting the ball out of the infield. Gabriel Mejia led off with an infield single, then Lowell starter Dakota Smith — making his professional debut — threw 12 consecutive balls to force in a run. Scrappers second baseman Erlin Cerda earned an RBI with his bases-loaded walk.
After the Spinners tied the game at 1 with a run in the top of the fourth, the Scrappers took the lead for good with two runs in their half of the frame. Isaacs gave the Scrappers a 2-1 lead with his second home run of the season. Second baseman Andrew Calica extended the lead to 3-1 with a two-out RBI double.
Alexis Pantoja gave the Scrappers their fourth run on a two-out RBI single in the fifth. In the sixth, the Scrappers plated three runs. The first came when Calica scored on a wild pitch. Emanuel Tapia later knocked in a pair of base runners with a double.
“The last few weeks, we’ve been lighting it up offensively,” Isaacs said. “We’re hitting the ball great, and playing great defense. You can definitely see a team improvement.”
Isaacs batted just .214 a year ago in the Arizona League. This summer with the Scrappers, he is batting .354 (17 for 48) with five RBIs.
“That first year in pro ball is always tough, the competition is way different,” Isaacs said. “In college I was able to get away with a lot of things. Here, the game is so sped up. Last year, I was just trying to get acclimated. Now I feel like my body has grown physically, and I’ve learned more about the game.”
“I give all the credit to my teammates, coaches, family and support system.”
After losing their first eight series of the season, the Scrappers (14-21) have now won four consecutive series.
Scrappers starter Aaron Civale pitched three scoreless innings, surrendering just one hit while recording three strikeouts. Tanner Tully worked the next four frames, giving up just one run on three hits.
“This whole staff, especially our starters and Tully coming out of the pen, they have been extremely reliable all year long,” said Scrappers pitching coach Tighe Dickinson. “It’s been a great relief, because we don’t have to go deep into our bullpen night after night.”
“Early in the season, we were having to extend some of our relief pitchers, and it proved to be costly. Right now, we’re getting some solid starts and some great innings from Tully. It’s taking some pressure off the rest of the staff. It’s a good situation.”
The Scrappers begin a three-game home series today against Connecticut.