Beyond the Box Score: Lake Monsters 4, IronBirds 2
Despite solid pitching and some great defensive performances, the Aberdeen IronBirds fell 4-2 to the visiting Vermont Lake Monsters last night.
Tanner Chleborad got his fourth start of the season and pitched well. In his four innings, he allowed only two hits and didn't give up any runs while recording a season-high three K's. This performance isn't really anything new for Chleborad, who's been as good as they come in his last two starts, as he has combined for 10 innings pitched, eight hits and two runs (one earned), while recording three strike outs.
"I've just been keeping the ball low and hitting my spots and not trying to do too much with it," Chleborad said. "I'm not a strikeout pitcher. I'm a groundball, early-in-the-count type of guy, so I use that to my advantage."
The IronBirds didn't have any real trouble with the Lake Monsters until the sixth, one inning after Crichton relieved Chleborad. Crichton allowed three hits and one run before allowing another two hits and a single run in the seventh. Matt Trowbridge relieved Crichton in the eighth and gave up two runs on two hits, earning him the loss.
Although Chleborad thought he could've went longer, he understood why they coaches made the changes when they did.
"They have their reasons and they're being smart about it, and the recently drafted guys - they don't want to throw them too much." Chleborad said.
Giving up runs in the mid-to-late innings has been a real issue for the IronBirds this season, who have been outscored 94 to 62 in innings six through nine.
One individual performance that might be overshadowed by the pitching and final score was that of DH Cory Segui. Segui, who has struggled at the plate this year, finished the night 2-4 with a double and run scored. Last night's game was his second straight multi-hit game. Prior to his past two outings, Segui was batting 0.90 with six hits and no extra-base hits and only one RBI. He's now batting .133.
Segui is always in the batting cage and he's finally seeing the results of that hard work.
"I've always been putting the work in and I've just continued to keep working to get my swing right and let it happen," Segui said. "Early on I was pressing and trying to make things happen too much, and recently I've just started to trust my work and let it happen come game time."
Last night's circumstances weren't anything new for the IronBirds this season, as hitting consistency has eluded them throughout the year. The IronBirds hit totals in their last six-game road trip do a good job of showing the ups and downs the team has experienced: 11, five, nine, four, four and nine hits, respectively before registering seven last night.
Tonight the IronBirds will look to break the pattern and get a double-digit-hit night against the Vermont Lake Monsters, who have the 13th ranked team ERA in the New York-Penn League.
(Photo of Tanner Chleborad by Bob and Corey Rinker)