Posts Tagged ‘Jordan Henry’

Photo -Courtesy of Nick Mays

The Scrappers Marty Popham and the Yankees Sean Black pitched like anything but short season Single-A prospects. Through four complete innings, the two starting pitchers combined for a total of 13 strikeouts.  In the end, it was a crack off the bat of Chun Chen in the bottom of the 11th inning that vaulted the Scrappers to knotting the series at one game apiece.

The irony of the Scrappers walk-off homer win is that Staten Island had hit 45 homers during the regular season and Mahoning Valley only had 11.

The Yankees got a lead in the top of the fifth inning. With two outs, Carmen Angelini singled. The next batter for the Yankees, DH Jimmy Paredes doubled driving in Angelini. DeAngelo Mack continued the two-out hitfest with a single up the middle which scored Paredes. After four-and-a-half innings the Yankees held a 2-0 lead.

Jason Smit doubled to start the bottom half of the fifth inning. He advanced to third on a wild pitch with nobody out. The next batter, Casey Frawley doubled deep off of the left-centerfield wall scoring Smit and cutting the Yankees lead to 2-1 and knocking Black out of the game.  Chun Chen laid down a sacrifice bunt off of new Yankee pitcher Griffin Bailey moving Frawley to third with one out. Argenis Martinez singled with two outs to plate Frawley and tie the game at two runs apiece.

With one out in the ninth inning, Jordan Henry singled and Martinez walked, but the Scrappers failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

In the bottom of the 11th inning of the 2000 NYPL finals, the Scrappers were playing Staten Island, and won that game on a leadoff homer in the bottom of the 11th inning.  Props to GM Dave Smith who walked into the pressbox during the tenth inning and laid claim to history repeating itself.  With one swing of Chen’s bat off of Staten Island pitcher Ronny Marte,  Smitty looked like a genius.  Chen was due to have a big hit sooner or later, he is just too good of a hitter.  “That was my biggest hit of my career”, said Chun through his interpreter (Jason Lynn), “I got a fastball, put a good swing on it, and the ball carried out”.

Jason Smit, Ben Carlson, Chen, and Martinez all had two hits each for the Scrappers.

Cory Burns was awesome in 3 1/3 innings of relief in garnering the win.  Burns had it going striking out 4 Yankees in his appearance and is credited with the win.  Antoine Hubbard and Matt Packer also pitched scoreless relief in keeping the loud Yankee bats quiet.

After the game, Travis Fryman tried to offer explanations on the mystique of this 2009 Scrappers team.  ” Our strength all year has been our pitching depth and ability to just win games.  I can’t explain that, I have been scratching my head all year trying to figure out how we ended up with the best record in the league.  I don’t think we had the most talented club in the league by any means, but I think tonight was a great example of what kind of ballclub we have, just finding ways to win”.

The Scrappers and Yankees hook it up Wednesday night, winner-takes-it-all.  Clayton Cook will start for the Scrappers.  “Cookie and some good guys in the bullpen, I like our chances”, said Fryman about the deciding contest.  First pitch is at 7:05 PM at Eastwood Field.  Marc Means will be on AM-1390 calling the game for those unable to attend.

$2 made from every ticket sold is being donated to the Luke Holko Fund.

Playoff Smit-O-Meter:  2-4, 2B (1), Run

Jason Kipnis (pictured) is proving why being drafted in the second round of the 2009 MLB Draft was a wise choice for the Cleveland Indians.  Kipnis gave Mahoning Valley some breathing room with a towering two-run homer in the third inning and the pitching staff was up to the task as the Scrappers advanced to the New York/ Penn League Finals with a 3-1 victory over a good Brooklyn Cyclones team.

The Scrappers got on the board in the bottom of the second inning.  Casey Frawley walked on four pitches.  With a one-ball, no-strike count, the Scrappers executed a perfect hit-and-run as Jesus Brito singled and Frawley advanced to third.  Ben Carlson then singled up the middle to plate Frawley and give the Scrappers a 1-0 lead.

In the bottom of the third inning, Argenis Martinez singled with one out.  Kipnis then unloaded to deep right center with his first homer at Eastwood Field to put Mahoning Valley up 3-0.

The Cyclones scored a run in the seventh inning on a John Servidio RBI-double to cut the Scrapper lead to 3-1.  After walking the the bases full, Austin Adams was bailed out of a jam when Jordan Henry made a beautiful running catch in centerfield to end the inning.

Vidal Nuno was a workhorse for the Scrappers.  Marty Popham was scheduled to start but was out with the flu.  Nuno stepped up and came through making the absolute most of an important start.  In his five innings pitched, Nuno gave up just a walk and a hit while striking out five Cyclones.  Austin Adams threw the next two innings.  Tyler Sturdevant pitched a scoreless inning.  Guido Fonseca pitched a perfect ninth to record the save. 

Cyclones Manager Pedro Lopez and 2B Jordany Valdespin were ejected in the top of the second inning for arguing with the home plate umpire Jose Rivera.

Kipnis commented on his home run.  “Felt great, was my first one here.  I was actually glad to finally hit one at home.  I’m just happy I could score some runs for this pitching staff.”  Kipnis was also very complimentary of center fielder Jordan Henry and the Scrapper defense.  “The kid [Henry] is a tremendous cenerfielder.  And what’s new?  Henry made another great play tonight.  The infield also did a good job knocking balls down.  With good pitching comes good defense, everyone is on their toes and ready to play behind them.”

Travis Fryman was very pleased with the efforts of Nuno and the defense.   “He’s [Nuno] been lights-out.  He wasn’t supposed to be in the rotation for the postseason.  Marty Popham got sick and we had to change the rotation up, so Vidal, again, has stepped in and pitched extremely well.  Obviously there is more than one way to contribute to a win and we saw that tonight with two plays in my opinion.  Argenis Martinez made an over-the-shoulder catch early which really changed the momentum.  The play Jordan made, that’s way too much drama for me, I don’t like drama in a baseball game.  Jordan is struggling at the plate but is playing lights-out in centerfield.”

It was also a night where the Scrappers raised money for Luke Holko.  Before the game, a collection from the players and coaches raised $1700.  There were firemen in full uniform passing a boot in honor of Chad Holko, (Luke’s father is a fireman) to aid the cause.  There were also several people selling Daffin’s chocolate bars for $1.

The attendance was listed at slightly over 1200, but it felt different tonight.  The people who showed up tonight were baseball fans.  I have been there on Buck Night when 5,000 people go nuts over the throwing of soap and pizza boxes, but barely make a peep when the Scrappers have the bases loaded and nobody out in a tie game.  Hats off to the attendees of this game for clapping and screaming for the Scrappers at the right times.

Tonight also marked the return of a player I figured to be shut down for the year.  Jason Smit was a surprise starter in right field prompting me to bring back something that I enjoyed doing, the Smit-O-Meter, playoff style.

Playoff Smit-O-Meter:  1-3, batting .333

***Lowell defeated Staten Island 3-2 to even their series at one win each.  The Scrappers will play the winner of this series to be decided on Thursday.

On Browns-Steelers promo night, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers played the role of Pittsburgh, and Jamestown got to be Cleveland (at least thats how its been for a few years now).  The Scrappers were not at their sharpest, but were able to come away with a 7-5 victory and tie a franchise record for victories in a season (48).

Greg Pruitt was at Eastwood Field representing the Browns, and Robin Cole was also on hand to represent the Steelers in front of 2,969 fans.  Browns and Steelers highlights were shown on the scoreboard and plenty of fans wore team jerseys of their choosing.  I would guess the crowd was 60-40 Pittsburgh.

The Scrappers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first. Argenis Martinez walked, stole third, and scored on a Chun Chen single to put the Scrappers ahead 1-0.

Jamestown answered in the top of the second scoring a run on a long sac fly from Mark Wyatt to tie the score. The Jammers had the bases loaded with nobody out, but starter Vidal Nuno did well to limit the visiting team to a single run.

In the bottom of the fourth, Chun Chen reached on an error, stole second and would score on a Ben Carlson RBI single to put Mahoning Valley up 2-1. Carlson would later score in the inning on a Moises Montero groundout making it 3-1 in favor of the Scrappers.

With one out in the third, Martinez, Jason Kipnis, and Chen all walked. Martinez scored on a passed ball to push the lead to 4-1.

Jamestown would take a 5-4 lead in the sixth inning on a three-run homer off of the bat of Jamestown DH Carlos Paulino.

The Scrappers tied the game at 5 in the bottom of the sixth inning when Martinez singled home Tim Palincsar who walked earlier.

In the bottom of the seventh inning, Chen led off and was hit by a pitch. He would score as the next batter, Jesus Brito, tripled to deep right center putting Mahoning Valley back on top 6-5. It didn’t take long for Brito to score as the next batter, Carlson, hit a sac fly to deep right center to extend the Scrapper lead to 7-5, where the scoring would end.

Austin Adams picked up the win for the Scrappers, hoisting his record to 3-1.  Adams relieved Scrapper starter Vidal Nuno who lasted 5 1/3 innings.  Guido Fonseca picked up the save, his 5th,  pitching a perfect 9th inning.

For the Scrappers, it was their fifth game in three days.  Jordan Henry (pictured) talked about the rough three days.  “It’s tough.  I’m not used to doing that. It’s a grind and we have played alot of games all season and we are prepared for that.  We know we just have to go out there and play.”

The Scrappers finish up their regular season with a two-game series against State College with games on Saturday and Sunday.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers offense showed its potency against Batavia.  The Scrappers scored a season-high eight runs in the third inning and never looked back in defeating the Muckdogs.

Batavia struck first on a three-run blast from Kyle Conley.  They added another run in the second inning to push the lead to 4-0.  At this point in the game things may have seemed dismal with Jason Smit, Kyle Smith, and Kyle Bellows holding clipboards and nursing injuries.

The Scrappers batted around in the third inning.  Jordan Henry (pictured above) singled and stole second base.  Casey Frawley then walked and Jason Kipnis reached on an error to load the bases.  Greg Folgia was hit by a pitch scoring Henry.  Jesus Brito then walked to score Frawley.  Chun Chen struck out but the ball got to the backstop and Kipnis alertly scored from third.  Juan Aponte doubled to score Folgia and Brito and give the Scrappers a 5-4 lead.  Tim Palincsar doubled home two more and scored when Henry had his second hit of the inning, an RBI-double pushing the Scrapper lead to 8-4. 

In the fourth, Rafael Vera got in on the action as he doubled home Folgia and Brito, who both reached base via the free pass, extending the lead to 10-4.

The Muckdogs tried to fight back putting a couple of runs up in the fifth inning and cutting the Scrapper lead to 10-6.

Henry collected his fourth hit of the night, an RBI-single plating Vera who doubled, to pretty much seal the victory for Mahoning Valley.

Henry has been superb, as a leadoff man and as a center fielder, all season long for the Scrappers.  Henry said it felt good to put the eight runs up in the third inning, “It was great, just about everyone scored that inning.  It was good to be that consistent through the lineup.  It’s all part of the game, sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t”.

Manager Travis Fryman was pleased with the situational hitting his team provided, especially in the third inning.  “Our situational hitting has been better.  It’s still not on the level where I think it needs to be, but it has been better.  We did this the other day in Auburn where we had five hits with two outs, it is getting better”.

With the win, Mahoning Valley trimmed their magic number to clinch the division to six.  The magic number decreases by one with each Scrapper victory or second-place Williamsport Crosscutter loss.

The Scrappers finish the series with Batavia on Thursday, Buck Night.  On Friday, Mahoning Valley embarks on their final roadtrip of the season with stops in Jamestown and Williamsport.  It should be noted that Thursday, Friday, and Saturday games will not be broadcast on AM-1390, but can still be picked up on the internet transmission.  Marc Means, as always, will still be calling the games online.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers played an uncharacteristic game against the Lowell Spinners on Friday night.  The Scrappers gave up four unearned runs and an error contributed to another run later in the game.  Lowell took a 6-3 lead to the ninth and barely held off the obviously frustrated Scrapper team to win the game 6-5 in front of 4, 244 fans on fireworks night.

In the first, Jordan Henry singled and moved to second base when Kyle Smith walked.  After Henry stole his franchise record-tying 15th base of the season, Kyle Bellows drilled a single through the right side which was misplayed by the Spinners RF Alex Hassan, allowing Smith to also score putting the Scrappers up 2-0.

Chris McGuiness cut the lead in half when he homered to RF in the second.  In the third, McGuiness struck again with a two-run double.  During the nightmarish third inning, the Spinners scored four unearned runs to take a 5-2 lead.

Greg Folgia smacked a solo homer in the sixth to cut the lead to 5-3.

In the ninth inning, trailing 6-3,  Jesus Brito and Rafael Vera doubled to cut the lead to 6-5 with one out and runners on second and third.  Unfortunately, the home team was unable to take advantage of a good situation, a problem Manager Travis Fryman has continually addressed as an achiles heel of this years team. 

Preston Guilmet (pictured above, photo courtesy of Nick Mays) dropped to 5-3 on the season.  Guilmet lasted just three innings giving up five runs on four hits.  Only one of the runs, however was earned.  New acquisition Matt Packer pitched three perfect innings of relief and Tyler Sturdevant closed out the game for the Scrappers.  Fryman talked about Guilmet and the start, “He [Guilmet] has been pitching really well for us, he obviously wasn’t that sharp tonight, but you are allowed a bad outing every now and then.”

Fryman also said he was pleased that the team was able to rally in the ninth and put themselves in a position to win despite falling a bit short.

* Kyle Smith left the game in the third inning when he injured himself fielding a ground ball, his status for Saturday is unknown.

* Jason Smit told me after the game that an MRI shows a torn labrum which will end his season.  Smit has still been working on drills that he can participate in, but his live AB’s for the Scrappers are likely finished this season.

* I was happy to see Rafael Vera come through in the ninth inning.  Vera has played so many positions all season and is settling in as the Scrappers go-to utility guy.  “I prepare myself everyday before the game at each position.  If I know I am playing one, I will practice there all day.  If not, I’ll take some time working in the outfield.  I’m getting pretty comfortable playing just about anywhere.  I’m more comfortable in the infield, the outfield is still kind of new to me”, said Vera after the game.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers will be well represented at this year’s NYPL All-Star Game.  The game is going to be played on Tuesday, August 18 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park, home of the State College Spikes. 

Travis Fryman and the staff of The Mahoning Valley Scrappers will serve as the coaching staff of the AL All-Star team.  By having the best record in their division, the Scrapper Coaching Staff is automatically named to coach the contest.

Five Scrapper players were named to the team. 

Pitchers Marty Popham, Clayton Cook, and Cory Burns, were all named to the piching staff.  Popham(4-1, 2.33 ERA) and Cook(4-2, 2.06 ERA) have turned in great start after great start all season.  Burns has been stellar in relief with 7 saves and an ERA of 2.00.

CF Jordan Henry is among the league leaders in stolen bases (15), runs (35), and hits (47).  Fryman has referred to Henry as “one of the best contact hitters with two strikes on him”, and maybe the best baserunner he has ever coached.

SS Kyle Smith is as tough of a defensive shortstop you will see at this level.  He is also among the league leaders in hits (47), and has provided spark in the clutch all season.

Tickets to the NYPL All-Star Game can be purchased by calling the State College Spikes Box Office toll-free at (877) 99-SPIKES.  Visit MILB.com for complete rosters for the contest.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers improved to 34-19 on the season as they strengthened their hold on first place with a 12-1 clubbing of the Brooklyn Cyclones.  After dropping last nights contest, Mahoning Valley evened the series at one win apiece setting the stage for a Thursday finale.

The Scrappers got busy early as their first three hitters,  Jordan Henry, Kyle Smith, and Jason Kipnis, all singled.  Henry would score on Kipnis’ single putting the Scrappers up 1-0.

With two outs in the third, Kyle Bellows (pictured)  tripled on the thirteenth pitch of a great at-bat.  Bellows ended up tripling again in the fourth and ended the game with a season-high 5 RBI night.  “I hit it [the first triple] in the right spot at the right time and helped our team win and thats all that matters.  Everybody contributed today.  The pitching was great, the defense was great, and the hitting was great”, commented Bellows on the dominating team performance.

Clayton Cook, named earlier in the day to the New York- Penn League All-Star team, looked like exactly that – an All-Star.  Cook hurled five scoreless, yielding just four hits and lowering his ERA to 2.06 in picking up his fourth win for Mahoning Valley.  Austin Adams and Jose Urena threw two innings each in relief of Cook.

Manager Travis Fryman was pleased with the hitting party in the victory, “It was good.  Bellows, obviously had a big night.  Kipnis in our lineup is coming around which gives us a different look, which is encouraging. [Greg] Folgia had a good night too which was encouraging.  It was a good night for our guys, they bounced back after a pretty tough loss last night.”

The Scrappers and Cyclones hook up one more time on Thursday, Buck Night.  Eastwood Field will see a huge crowd as two top teams will battle to untie a defining series.  Marc Means will call the action on AM-1390 for those who get shut out or are unable to attend beginning at 7:05.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers had a perfect homestand adding four wins to their season total.  The Scrappers again defeated Auburn on Monday night, 4-1.  Preston Guilmet had yet another good start for Mahoning Valley.  Jason Kipnis, the #2 draft pick of the Cleveland Indians made his professional debut with the Scrappers.

Ryan Schimpf led off the game with a homer to right to put Auburn on top 1-0.  The next twenty-seven outs would yield nothing on the scoreboard for the Doubledays.  Preston Guilmet picked up his third win (3-0) against Auburn this season.  Guido Fonseca pitched two scoreless and Cory Burns pitched the last two to remain perfect in save opportunities this season converting all six of his chances.

Trailing 1-0, the Scrappers did not wait too long to rally as Jason Kipnis, in his first professional at-bat, singled home Jordan Henry.  Henry singled and stole second (photo above, courtesy of Nick Mays) before scoring on Kipnis’ first hit.  Kipnis then scored after he stole second on a Greg Folgia RBI double to put the Scrappers up 2-1.

Kipnis went back to work as he tripled in the third and scored on another Folgia hit to push the lead to 3-1.  Kipnis was pulled after he scored that run.  “It felt good to get into a game and contribute, I like it here, the players are all good people and I really like this coaching staff”, remarked Kipnis after the game.  If Kipnis keeps hitting that way, he may not return with the rest of the team for their next home game in a week.

The Scrappers start a six-game roadtrip in Troy, NY.  Tuesday’s game starts at 7:05 and can be heard on AM 1390 with Marc Means calling the action.

The Mahoning Valley Scrappers returned to Niles to open a four-game homestand.  The Scrappers got a great start from Vidal Nuno and held off Batavia to take a 2-1 verdict and remain in first place in the New York Penn League for the 28th day in a row.

Ben Carlson (pictured) hit a bomb over everything and into the right field parking lot to give the Scrappers a 1-0 lead.  Jason Smit then walked and stole second.  Smit scored the Scrappers second run when Jordan Henry hit into an apparent double play, but, Batavia shortstop Ryan Jackson floated his throw over the head of the first baseman allowing Smit to score from second.

Cory Burns had a shaky ninth giving up a run on a bases loaded double play.  Burns was able to escape without further harm to preserve the victory for Nuno and garner a save.

“We weren’t expecting to get that many inning out of him [Nuno] tonight.  We put him in the rotation, he has a spot there now.  We have to work on building his pitch count”, said Scrappers Manager Travis Fryman.

Ben Carlson talked about his long home run after the game, “I had two strikes on me and was actually looking to go the other way.  He [Batavia starter Chris Corrogan] came inside for the first time all night and I just kind of reacted and hit it good enough to go out.”

The Scrappers continue the weekend homestand tonight at Eastwood Field.

Smit-O-Meter:  1-2, BB, SB (7), R, Currently Batting .286

There was no shortage of power, walks, errors, or hits.  The fireworks were supposed to start after the game, but there were plenty of explosions before the game ended.  The Mahoning Valley Scrappers and Oneonta Tigers played a long contest which started fifteen minutes late due to rain.  In the end, the Scrappers came away with a 10-8 victory.

Tigers starting pitcher Jeff Gerbe only lasted two-thirds of an inning as the Scrappers loaded the bases on a walk and two hit batters.  A Kyle Bellows groundout to short drove home Jordan Henry.  A Greg Folgia groundout plated Kyle Smith.  Ben Carlson then drilled one toward the pitcher that deflected into left field driving in Bellows and giving the Scrappers the early 3-0 lead.

Oneonta scored three runs in the top of the fifth inning to tie the game at 3 apiece.  In the bottom of the fifth,  Juan Aponte homered to reclaim the Scrapper lead at 4-3.  Henry later singled, stole second, and scored on a Smith double pushing the lead to 5-3 in favor of Mahoning Valley.  Bellows then homered to left to push the lead to 7-3.  Rafael Vera got in on the action and drove home Folgia making it 8-3.

The Tigers tacked on a couple of runs in the sixth cutting the Scrapper lead to 8-5.  Guido Fonseca came in to pitch with the bases loaded with just one out and got out of trouble with an inning-ending double play minimizing the Tigers potential threat.

Oneonta clawed back into the game tying the score at 8 runs each on a two-run double from John Murrian.

The Scrappers took a 9-8 lead in the bottom of the eighth when Henry scored again on an error from the Tigers shortstop, Jim Gulliver.  Jason Smit stole second and scored on another Gulliver error to close the scoring at 10-8.

Bellows spoke about the Scrappers being a team that got two home runs in the game, but only have eight for the entire season.  ” It’s great to hit home runs, but we’re pretty much a small ball team.  It just feels good to win.”

Travis Fryman was mostly pleased with his team.  “We need to continue working on consistency.  It was nice to put the losing streak behind us against a hot team.  Oneonta and Staten Island are probably the two hottest teams in the league, so it felt good to get the win tonight.  I like winning the first game of the series.”

Smit-O-Meter:  0-4, Run Scored, SB (5), HBP, Currently Hitting .299