AUBURN, NY - With a pair of dominant performances on both sides of the ball on Saturday and Sunday, the Doubledays (25-43) appeared to be in a good position to take their third straight victory for the first time since June 30-July 2. But after Monday's shaky 9-3 loss against the
AUBURN, NY - With a pair of dominant performances on both sides of the ball on Saturday and Sunday, the Doubledays (25-43) appeared to be in a good position to take their third straight victory for the first time since June 30-July 2.
But after Monday's shaky 9-3 loss against the Scrappers (34-34), the quest for three straight will have to wait.
Auburn starter Niomar Gomez couldn't replicate the results of his three-hit, six-inning outing that he had against State College his last time on the mound. After retiring the side in order to open up the contest, Niomar allowed a first-pitch leadoff home run to Yainer Diaz to open up the second. That wouldn't be the only first-pitch home run that he would allow as - after a two-run third inning for the Scrappers - Felix Fernandez took Gomez deep to left-center in the fourth for his first home run of the season.
Mahoning Valley kept the rally going, loading the bases and scoring three more times to extend their lead to 7-0 while also knocking Gomez out of the game.
On the mound, Scrappers pitcher Francisco Perez held the Doubledays to just three hits and one walk. Landerson Pena - now batting .400 over his past five games - was the only batter to put himself in scoring position by lining a one-out double in the third inning, only to be stranded three pitches later.
Jordan Bocko - who finished off the fourth inning - pitched a quiet fifth before running into trouble in the sixth. A pair of singles to open the inning ended up at second and third on a groundout. The Scrappers tacked on another run on a Yainer Diaz single, but the Doubledays managed to catch a break as he was thrown out trying to advance to second base on the throw home. Mahoning Valley, however, was still able to bring in another run on yet another single for a commanding 9-0 lead.
The Doubledays avoided the shutout and cut the Scrappers' lead by a third in the bottom of the seventh with a two-out, three-run home run from Anthony Peroni. Jack Dunn hustled to first base on a fielder's choice that nabbed Onix Vega out at second, and J.T. Arruda battled for a nine-pitch walk. Then, on a 2-2 count, Peroni launched his first homer of the season on a no-doubter to center field.
Peroni's home run would be the last action that the Doubledays offense would see, as Scrappers pitcher Gregori Vasquez retired the next seven batters to close out the game.
The Doubledays will be back in action Tuesday at 7 PM for the series finale against the Scrappers. Listen in on the action on fingerlakes1.com, milb.streamguys1.com, or the TuneIn app.
