Archive for the ‘Scrappers’ Category

Wednesday, the New York Penn League named five Mahoning Valley Scrappers to the 2012 All-Star team.  The five Scrappers named were (above, l-r) Jacob Lee, Joe Sever, Charlie Valerio, Joe Wendle, and Luis DeJesus.

The game will be held at Eastwood Field in Niles for the first time ever.  Scrappers Coach Ted Kubiak and his staff will handle the duties of mentoring the American League team while the Jamestown Jammers will handle a Tri-City laden National League squad.

All-Star week kicks off on Monday, August 13 at Packard Music Hall when the participants for both teams will be introduced.  The All-Star Gala begins at 6 and will feature foods unique to the Mahoning Valley. A culinary diversity will be on display for sure.

Tuesday is loaded with activity featuring an All-Star luncheon at the Magnuson Grand Hotel featuring keynote speaker, Mike Hargrove.  Following the luncheon, the players from both the American and National League teams will partake in an autograph signing.  The home run derby is next at 5:30 followed by the game itself which will begin at 7:35.

Small quantities of tickets remain and you can still get in by calling the Scrappers box office at 330-505-0000.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers returned home after a rough road trip in hopes of regaining their winning form.  Williamsport made sure the ship would not be set straight.  The Crosscutters took advantage of two early home runs and marched past the Scrappers, 6-2.

Jake Sisco coasted through the first three innings without giving up a hit.  In the fourth inning, however, the Scrapper starter surrendered his first hit, a solo home run to Kyle Hoppy.  The next hit he would give up would be in the fifth inning, a two-run homer to Tyler Greene.

After Williamsport tacked on another run in the top of the sixth, Joe Wendle (above) hit a two-RBI triple to make it a 5-2 game.  For Wendle, his fourth triple of the year yielded his 23rd and 24th RBI’s.  Wendle has been the most consistent Scrapper this season, both offensively and defensively.

Sisco would pitch six complete innings for the Scrappers but would take the tough loss.  In his six innings, Sisco threw 89 pitches, 55 for strikes, he only gave up four hits that resulted in five earned runs.  Sisco walked two and struck out seven but had the two costly home runs.

Kevin Brady was effective for the Crosscutters.  Brady also gave up four hits but those hits only cost his team two runs before he was yanked during the sixth.

The Scrappers got two innings out of James Stokes, who looked decent in relief and worked out of a bases loaded jam.  Jack Wagoner pitched the ninth.

Wendle would finish the game 3-4 with two singles, a triple, and two RBI.  He would reach in the ninth after Hunter Jones singled to put runners on first and second with nobody out.  Joe Sever struck out swinging and Evan Frazar hit into a double play to end the game.

The Scrappers will face the Crosscutters again on Wednesday, their last home game before hosting the New York Penn League All-Star Game on Tuesday night.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers will return home to play two games on Tuesday and Wednesday.  The bus couldn’t pull out of Tri-City’s parking lot fast enough as the Scrappers were swept following Monday’s 5-1 loss.

In what is turning out to be the normal scenario for these Scrappers, a starting pitcher does real well and turns the ball over to the bullpen.  Things go downhill from there.  Jacob Lee was the latest Scrapper starter to pitch his heart out only to get a ‘no decision’.

Lee worked himself out of a bases-loaded first inning jam and went on to surrender just one hit over his four innings.  Lee walked two and struck out five to increase his team lead in strikeouts to 38 on the season.  Geoff Davenport came in and allowed five hits and two runs in taking the loss for the Scrappers.  Cody Penny and Luis Encarnacion followed in relief and also gave up at least one run in their stints.

Evan Frazar had three hits for Mahoning Valley.  His RBI-double knocked in Joe Sever with the Scrappers only run in the contest.

Williamsport will be in town for a pair of games, the last two home games before the All-Star game at Eastwood Field.  Two-dollar Tuesday is a good deal!  Get there early and take in a game!

Luis DeJesus has been the best starter the Mahoning Valley Scrappers have had all season.  Friday, DeJesus, a converted reliever, threw his best foot forward in a 2-0 win over Vermont.  In earning his fourth win, DeJesus definitely stuck his flag in the dirt to be the starting pitcher on August 14th at the NYPL All-Star Game to be held at Eastwood Field.

DeJesus entered Friday nights game against the Lake Monsters ranked 4th in the NYPL with a 1.64 ERA.  He was masterful throwing 76 pitches, 62 of them for strikes in the win.  DeJesus was perfect through 4-1/3 innings before giving up a single.  The Scrapper hurler completed 7 strong innings, only giving up three hits.  He didn’t walk anyone and struck out six.

Rafael Homblert started the eighth and after recording a quick out, he got into a jam.  Homblert was yanked with the bases loaded and two outs in the eighth but Jack Wagoner was able to come in and prevent DeJesus losing another victory after leaving with a lead.

Wagoner struck out Chris Bostick to leave the bags loaded to end the inning.  He would also pitch a scoreless ninth to earn his first career save.

The Scrappers offense scratched out just enough run support to chip in.  Erik Gonzalez walked to start the third inning.  A passed ball and a groundout got Gonzalez to third base with two outs.  Jairo Kelly, who has really been struggling at the plate, came through with a big situational single to right to plate Gonzo.

The Scrappers would tack on an insurance run in the 7th inning.

Mahoning Valley boards the bus and heads to Tri-City for a three-game set before coming home to face Williamsport on August 7th.

Catch the road games on AM-1570 with Tim Pozsgai calling the action.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers wrapped up a seven game homestand.  Brooklyn got the best of the host team riding the strong pitching performance of Rainy Lara.  Lara gave up one run in the first inning and his Cyclones buckled down to tame the Scrappers, 5-1.

The Scrappers got on the scoreboard in their half of the first inning.  Tyler Naquin slapped a double to left.  One out later, Charlie Valerio singled to plate a hustling Naquin.  The Indians first round pick in the 2012 MLB Draft, Naquin, finished the game with three of the Scrappers four hits.

The momentum shifted in the third.  Scrapper starter Luis Morel (below) caught a bad break when Eudy Pina broke for second and Scrapper shortstop Jairo Kelly went to cover second base on the steal attempt.  The vacancy Kelly left turned a routine double play ball into runners at first and second with nobody out.

Brandon Nimmo singled home Pina.  Nimmo had been killing the Scrappers the whole series.  With that hit, Nimmo was 8-14 in the series.  Jayce Boyd had an RBI single later in the inning to plate Nimmo that gave the Cyclones a 2-1 lead.

Morel did not get out of the fifth inning.  Brooklyn added a couple of unearned runs in the inning to make it a 4-1 game.   Robbie Aviles relieved Morel and gave up a run in the fifth.

The Scrappers struggled offensively after the first inning.  In fact, they did not get another hit until the sixth inning.  Rainy Lara settled in for Brooklyn and pitched into the seventh inning with a four run lead.  Lara struck out ten Scrappers in picking up the win.

The Scrappers head to the road for awhile in pursuit of league-leading Auburn before welcoming Williamsport to Eastwood Field on August 7th and 8th.

Catch Tim Pozsgai on AM-1570 for all of the action on the road.  If you haven’t had a chance to yet, treat yourself to a very unique and entertaining broadcast style.

Following this Sunday’s Scrapper game, the MCW rolls in for a postgame wrestling card. The card has become an annual tradition at Eastwood Field and this year’s schedule is loaded.  Watch the Matt Hardy video above for more details.

Kevin Bellew, the promoter for MCW is delivering serious talent for the 2012 card. Hardy will be joined by Tommy Dreamer, Rhino, and Carlito. All four of these wrestlers were main event status superstars in the WWE and none of the four are washed-up glory seekers, but rather still among the elite wrestlers in a crowded industry.

Bellew also guaranteed a surprise appearance by a current belt holder from one of the two televised promotions (WWE or TNA) to be at Baseball Brawl on Sunday.

“I can’t say who the mystery superstar is”, said Bellew via telephone.  “I can guarantee that the mystery superstar is a current champion and is on television every week.  He will be there (not a women’s champion) signing autographs and greeting fans in Niles on Sunday.”

The Scrappers give Bellew an allotted budget to work with each year.  Bellew then contacts stars that would draw, sometimes risking his own money over the budget amount, to guarantee the fans will enjoy the show filled with some recognizable names.

“We probably could have just used Matt Hardy and any one of the other three and it would have drawn”, said Bellew.  “By using all four superstars, plus a confirmed huge name as a mystery guest, we are proving to everyone that the commitment is strong to provide the best and most entertaining lineup we can.”

The wrestlers will greet fans and sign autographs throughout the day before the ring will be set up on the infield for the wrestling show.  This is the day to be there!  Call the Scrappers box office at  330-505-0000 for VIP and ticket information.

Should be a great day, as it is also Luke Holko day.  Luke will be in attendance, as will Ben Carlson.  Holko and family and Carlson have remained in contact, which is another story worth hearing.  All parties involved are the best kind of people created.

Don’t miss a Sunday at Eastwood Field that will offer something for everyone and an unsolved mystery to boot!

The weather has been miserable, and the Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Staten Island Yankees have probably played more pinochle than baseball in the last 48 hours.

On Friday, a scheduled doubleheader was almost halfway completed when Mother Nature decided the corn needed more water.  The Scrappers were ahead, 5-3,  in the seventh when play was delayed.  The game would never resume and the result was a win for the Scrappers to push to 20-18 on the season.

Jake Sisco picked up his first professional win for Mahoning Valley throwing 5-2/3 innings and surrendering three earned runs off of seven hits.  Sisco has exited plenty of games with leads only to watch the bullpen buckle to prevent him of getting into the win column.

Offensively, Mahoning Valley put all the runs they would need on the board in their half of the second inning.   With one out, Evan Frazar singled.  Jeremy Lucas followed with a walk.

Juan Romero (above) reached on an infield single to load the bases.  Robel Garcia then doubled home both Frazar and Lucas.  Hunter Jones followed with a single to plate Romero and Garcia.

The Scrappers never trailed.

Brooklyn now comes in tomorrow for three games starting with Saturday’s scheduled 7:05 start.

Two things happened for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Sunday in a 2-1 win over the Jamestown Jammers.  First off, situational hitting has been an issue at times this year, but Robel Garcia hit a full-count pitch to plate Erik Gonzalez with the game-winning run in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the Scrappers to a victory.

The second good thing that happened was that the bullpen kept a tie game knotted as Rafael Homblert picked up his first win in relief of Luis DeJesus.

DeJesus has been dominant and has pitched well in every start.  Homblert, on the other hand, seems to be turning a corner from where he had been before this week started.  He picked up a save earlier in the week and nabbed a win in this game.  Prior to the good results on Sunday, Homblert’s ERA was higher than three gallons of gas on the turnpike.

Robbie Aviles and Michael Peoples combined to throw two innings of scoreless relief before Homblert pitched the final two innings.

Tyler Naquin started the fourth inning with a hustle double and advanced to third on a wild pitch.  Joe Sever (top photo) poked a single to right to knock Naquin in and tie the game at 1-1.

The game would stay deadlocked until the bottom of the ninth.  Depending on how you look at it, the hitters were struggling, or the pitching was outstanding.  This result was a combination of both as the Scrappers stranded eight men on base.

The Scrappers are headed East to Williamsport for a pair before returning home to host Staten Island Yankees on Wednesday.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers split a pair of games with Jamestown on Friday.  The first game was a continuation of Thursday’s rain-halted contest.  Leading 6-3 in the continuation game, the bullpen got rocked for six runs in the eighth and the Jammers took the first game, 9-7.

Evan Frazar hit a grand slam before the rain came, but when play resumed on Friday, the skies may have cleared, but the Scrapper bullpen remained cloudy.

In the Scrapper half of the sixth, Joe Wendle doubled home Robel Garcia to push the advantage to 7-3.  Jack Wagoner (1-3) surrendered the final three runs to take the loss for the Scrappers.

In the second game, the bullpen was able to preserve a spectacular performance by Scrapper starter, Jacob Lee.  All Lee did was throw five perfect innings, while tallying five strikeouts.  The Scrappers ended up on the right end of a 2-1 verdict.

Juan Romero hit his sixth homer of the season, a two-run bomb to center.  Those two runs in the second would prove to be enough run support for Lee.

Rafael Homblert worked the seventh inning to notch his first career save for Mahoning Valley.

The Scrappers return home for a two-game set with the same Jamestown Jammers on Saturday and Sunday at Eastwood Field.  First pitch is at 7, and the Sunday game will start at 5.

In a race, the way you finish overshadows the way you start in most cases.  Nobody remembers, or for that matter, cares who was winning at the halfway point.  For the Mahoning Valley Scrappers, 2012 has been that kind of race.  The offense bailed out the bullpen in a big way as the Scrappers got by the State College Spikes, 7-3.

The above analogy does not fully orchestrate how good the Scrappers starting pitching has been and how (politely) ineffective the bullpen has been.  Granted, the Scrappers starting pitching rotation has been helped and hurt as a result of run support, but the bullpen has been consistently struggling.  Losing Enosil Tejeda and Luis Head to Lake County should make it tougher yet to maintain leads.

“Merritt had a good start tonight and we couldn’t hold it for him”, said Scrapper Manager Ted Kubiak.  “We are shuffling guys into different roles in the bullpen and trying different combinations of things.  As you can see, this team fights back.”

The Scrappers scored the first run of the game in the second inning when Tyler Naquin singled home Jairo Kelly.  Naquin’s status coming into the game was unknown as he was hit on the elbow on the recent roadtrip.  No ill effects on that hit or the diving sixth inning catch he made in center.

Ryan Merritt (above) had perhaps his best start as a Scrapper.  In the seven innings Merritt pitched, he only walked one Spikes hitter and struck out five.  He left the game with a 3-1 lead, and would be assured a win if the bullpen could nail it down.

Charlie Valerio (below) did his part to help Merritt earn a win in launching a towering bomb to center field that found its way out to give Mahoning Valley  a 2-0 lead.

“I was sitting on a fastball when it was two balls and no strikes”, said Valerio.  “I guessed good and it got out of the park.”

In the sixth, Merritt made a mistake and Barrett Barnes made him pay with a homer to left field.

The Scrappers scored a run in the bottom of the sixth to make it 3-1.  Naquin walked and then scored on a Joey Wendle double.

The Scrapper bullpen hit the mound to start the eighth inning.  James Stokes walked the first two Spikes he faced and then threw a sac bunt attempt that he fielded and threw wide of the third baseman, Wendle, to load the bases with nobody out.

The Scrappers then caught a break when Barnes hit what looked to be a double play ball.  The Scrappers got the out at second but the throw was wide at first.  The umpires ruled it was an out-of-the-baseline intentional slide and gave the Scrappers two outs with no runs because everyone was sent back.

Stokes got off the hook with the break.  Enter Jacob Lee.  First batter, 2-2 pitch, single up the middle, tie game, implosion – yet again.  Yet Lee gets the gift win as the Scrapper offense roared in the eighth.

The Scrapper offense, in the eighth, fought back as Robel Garcia singled.  Kelly tried to bunt Garcia over and Spikes relief pitcher Jordan Cooper fielded the ball and flung it about three feet over Jordaneli Carvajal‘s head and into right field.  Garcia scored on the play and Kelly hustled all the way to third.  Naquin was then plucked, and Wendle got his second hit to drive Kelly in and give the Scrappers a 5-3 lead.

With two outs in the eighth,  Aaron Siliga singled home Naquin and Wendle to make it 7-3 to close out the scoring.