Late offense not enough on Father's Day
AUBURN, NY - On Saturday night, the Doubledays jumped out to a 2-0 lead within the first three batters and held it for nearly the entire game, only to see it blasted to smithereens in a seven-run 8th. On Sunday afternoon, it was the Muckdogs' turn to go ahead 2-0 by the time the cleanup hitter entered the batter's box.
There was no miracle inning. Brian Anderson's two-run home run off Luis Reyes in the first got the Muckdogs a lead they would not relinquish, as Batavia topped Auburn 6-3 in front 1,017 fans at Falcon Park. The Muckdogs tacked on four more in the seventh and, despite four errors and a Diomedes Eusebio three-run blast in the bottom of the eighth, held on to take the third of a four-game home-and-home set.
Reyes, making just his second domestic appearance after pitching most of year in the Dominican Summer League, found trouble early when Batavia third baseman Mason Davis rapped a one-out single. Anderson followed with a monstrous tater over the left-centerfield fence, the first home run hit at Falcon Park in 2014. Reyes took the loss but settled in to finish five innings, allowing just one more hit over the course of his outing. He walked one and struck out six.
Things cruised along until the seventh, when Batavia brought their voodoo from last night and unleashed it on Doubledays reliever Matt Derosier. Kevin Grove led off the inning and struck out, but reached on a wild pitch. After Eric Fisher flew out and Miles Williams singled, a passed ball by Austin Chubb pushed the runners to second and third. Derosier was then instructed to intentionally walk Luis Alberto Sanz, which loaded the bases. Three straight Muckdogs lined RBI hits against Derosier, and by the time the beleaguered righty struck out Anderson to end the inning, four runs had crossed the plate.
Eusebio did his best to get Auburn back into it in the bottom of the eight with a booming three-run homer, but other than that bomb from the 21 year-old Dominican, the Doubledays managed no other offense on the afternoon. The team ended with just six hits, four of which came against the Muckdogs bullpen in the final three innings.
The scariest part of the afternoon came in the bottom of the first, when the rehabbing Drew Vettleson was struck in the back of the head by a Gabriel Castellanos curveball. Vettleson, only in Auburn because a pitch broke his hand in Double-A Harrisburg, was removed from the game, but was not seriously hurt.
The Doubledays wrap up their four-game series with the Muckdogs tomorrow night in Batavia. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 from Dwyer Stadium as 21 year-old Venezuelan right-hander Anderson Martinez takes the ball for Auburn against Batavia's Jorgan Cavanerio. The game will be broadcast live on 98.1 FM and 1590 AM WAUB, with pregame coverage beginning at 6:50.