In the first of two games at Eastwood Field, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers cashed in on a decent start by Clayton Cook (pictured) to post a 2-0 victory over the Jamestown Jammers.  Cook worked hard and got himself out of trouble a couple of times during his appearance.

Cook made the most of his start by going 5 innings, while only giving up three hits and a walk. The win improved Cook’s record to 5-3 and lowered his ERA to 2.97. He also struck out six Jammers hitters. Matt Packer pitched the final two innings giving up a hit and striking out two en route to his first save of the year.

Offensively, the Scrappers got an RBI each from Jason Kipnis and Ben Carlson knocking in Tim Palincsar and Jesus Brito respectively.

Both games were shortened to seven innings to make the rare doubleheader fit into a reasonable time frame.

The Scrappers have already clinched the division and are assured a playoff berth for the first time since 2004. The significance of the back-to-back doubleheaders is to jockey for home playoff positioning. The early clinching by the Scrappers was highlighted by a 20-6 August record, best in the league.

Travis Fryman was pleased that Cook was able to get the win despite not having his best stuff.  “Clayton wasn’t sharp today.  His last two or three outings have not been really sharp.  He got out of a jam in the first, he got a double play ball later, he kept us in the ballgame and we got some timely hits and came out okay.”