Mahoning Valley 5
Cyclones 1
August 25 at MCU Park
The Cyclones late-season slump continued on Thursday night as Brooklyn dropped a 5–1 loss to Mahoning Valley at MCU Park.
Starting pitcher Erik Manoah couldn’t make it out of the fourth, but the right-hander impressed Brooklyn skipper Tom Gamboa in his short stint on the mound.
“Personally, I thought that this was some of the best stuff that Manoah had all year,” Gamboa said. “But this is reflective of what the minor leagues is about. The bare minimum out of a night when he had real good stuff.”
The Scrappers got on the board in the third. Andrew Calica reached after he was hit by a pitch and two singles loaded the bases for Gavin Collins, who worked a walk of his own to push across the first run of the night.
The Cyclones tied things up in the bottom of the frame as Gene Cone singled, stole second and scored on Desmond Lindsay’s single.
Mahoning Valley took the lead right back in the fourth. Jack Goihl led off with a triple to center as the ball almost went all the way to the wall after Lindsay’s failed diving attempt. Goihl had fallen behind 0–2 and Manoah blew a fastball by him, giving him the perfect pitch to hit.
“Instead of throwing two more, the next pitch was a changeup that speeded up his bat,” Gamboa said.
An infield single put runners on the corners with nobody out. A passed ball scored Goihl to give the Scrappers a 2–1 advantage. Andrew Calica padded the lead with a two-out home run off the right field foul pole, making it a 4–1 game.
“Once again, [Manoah] not using the good fastball that he had,” Gamboa said of the home-run pitch.
Manoah threw just 87 pitches in three-and-two-thirds innings, giving up four runs on six hits, walking three and striking out six. The righty dropped to 5–4 with a 5.43 earned run average.
The Scrappers added a run in the sixth against Dillon Becker as Calica tripled with two outs and scored on Emmanuel Tapia’s single two batters later.
Mahoning Valley reliever Ryan Colegate threw four shutout innings to pick up the win. Henry Martinez pitched a scoreless ninth.
The 32–33 Cyclones return to the road this weekend for a series against the Williamsport Crosscutters.
UPS AND DOWNS
Because of a pitching shortage, Franklin Correa, an infielder who tossed two shutout innings on opening night, pitched the ninth inning and fanned two Scrappers. “I just said, ‘Hey, Franklin, just straight and change and throw it right down the middle and let the defense make the plays,” Gamboa said.
Gamboa said that the playoffs are probably not happening for the Clones this season – barring a miracle. “We’re in position to finish over .500 and that should be our immediate goal
