43
Comedy of Errors
Scrappers pitchers feeling heat; miscues offset decent performances
By Steve ruman
NILES
The Mahoning Valley Scrappers (2-9) displayed a condensed version of their season in the first inning of Monday’s 11-5 loss to the Batavia Muckdogs at Eastwood Field.
The Muckdogs’ offense failed to send the ball out of the infield, yet took a 3-0 lead.
In fact, the Muckdogs sent 17 men to the plate before a Rony Cabrera single in the fourth inning found its way to the outfield grass.
When all was said and done, Batavia saw its record also go to 2-9 in the New York-Penn League game played in front of 2,135 fans.
Batavia had entered the three-game series against the Scrappers 0-8, but left town with a series win.
The Muckdogs took a three-run lead thanks to a pair of infield singles, a pair of walks and two errors committed by the Scrappers.
An error helped Batavia scored one of its two runs in the fourth inning. A fourth Scrappers error was part of a three-run Batavia seventh inning.
Seven of the 11 Batavia runs were unearned. The Muckdogs also benefitted from 10 walks.
The Scrappers are struggling even though their pitching staff has turned in solid performances almost on a nightly basis. The Scrappers entered Monday’s game with a 2.51 team ERA, fifth-best in the New York-Penn League.
“We’ve already seen improvements during the first two weeks,” Scrappers pitching coach Tighe Dickinson said. “We saw a lot of adrenaline with some of these pitchers their first time out, but they have settled down.”
“There is a lot of adjustments to be made for most of these guys who are getting their first taste of professional ball,” Dickinson said. “They’ve handled things well.”
Micah Miniard was Monday’s starter. The righty gave up just one earned run in 3 1/3 innings. He owns a 2.57 ERA through three starts.
“Micah is a true professional with a tremendous work ethic,” Dickinson said. “He is very mature for his age, and he does a great job of mentally preparing himself every night.
“Micah throws in the mid-90s,” the pitching coach said. “He has nice cut action on his fastball, he’s got a good slider and he has really improved his change-up.”
The game got so out of hand that Scrappers catcher Juan Gomes pitched the ninth inning. He gave up a run on two hits while walking a pair of batters.
Muckdogs leadoff hitter Corey Bird collected three hits and three RBIs.
Emmanuel Tapia, Gavin Collins and Grofi Cruz each collected two hits for the Scrappers.
Dickinson noted that a handful of Scrappers pitchers are adjusting to throwing on fewer days rest than when they were in high school or college. Others are pitching out of the bullpen after being starters their entire careers.
“Learning to manage your workload is vital,” Dickinson said. “Everything here is condensed, and a lot of times that takes its toll on pitchers. In our case, our guys seem to be ahead of the curve and are adjusting nicely.”
The Scrappers begin a three-game home series tonight against Auburn.