Scrappers lose to Doubledays, 8-1

By STEVE RUMAN

sports@vindy.com

NILES

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Friday paid homage to one-time Niles resident Harry Stevens, the concessionaire who helped establish the hot dog as a staple at baseball games.

The Scrappers entered their game against Auburn as the hot team in the New York-Penn League, while the Doubledays were in the doghouse with a league-worst 1-5 record.

On this night, however, the Doubledays were the top dogs and the Scrappers (5-3) were just doggone bad, resulting in an 8-1 Auburn win in front of 2,856 fans at Eastwood Field.

“It was just one of those games,” said Scrappers pitching coach Jason Blanton. “That’s the game of baseball. You see it at every level from the big leagues on down. It is what it is, we just have to turn the page, come back tomorrow and get another W.”

Auburn scored the first run of the game in the top of the second inning when J.D. Arruda crossed the plate on an Adalberto Carillo groundout. Arruda was hit by a pitch to lead off the frame.

Scrappers starter Matt Turner worked four solid innings, but in the fifth he allowed the first three batters to reach base before giving way to Jordan Scheftz.

“Matt is very level-headed for his age (19), he just goes out there and competes,” Blanton said. “Nothing fazes him. He had a few rough spots, but he was able to work out of trouble. I went out there a couple of times and told him to just trust his stuff. When he does that he’s okay because he has good stuff.”

Scheftz was grilled by the Doubledays and by his own wildness. The right-hander worked just 1.1 innings and allowed three earned runs on three hits and three walks. He also threw a trio of wild pitches.

In just 3.1 innings of work this season, Scheftz has given up six runs while issuing nine walks and five wild pitches. He has also hit a batter.

Scheftz was with the Scrappers last summer.

“Right now, I think that Jordan is struggling both mentally and mechanically,” Blanton said.

Scrappers third baseman Henry Pujols, who committed a team-high 17 errors a year ago, made his first start of the ’19 season. He was added to the roster after spending the past two weeks at Lake County. Pujols committed a pair of errors and also misplayed a popup while going 0-3 at the plate.

The Scrappers scored their lone run in the sixth when Ray Delgato hit a leadoff double, then scored on a George Valera groundout.

The Scrappers mustered just three hits on the night.

“We just have to stick to our approach and come back tomorrow for a new beginning,” said Scrappers center fielder Korey Holland, who had a single and three walks.

Holland, who was selected by the Indians in the 2018 June draft out of high school, acknowledged that he and his young teammates are still getting acclimated to professional baseball.

“The long bus rides and such, it’s different,” Holland said. “I mean, it’s all a part of the game and we love it but it does take some getting used to.”