NILES - The good news for the Mahoning Valley Scrappers on Saturday night was that the bullpen didn't blow a late-inning lead for the fourth time in six days.
The bad news is that the Scrappers never had a lead to surrender.
The Scrappers experienced a rare rough outing by a starter, resulting in a 5-2 Jamestown win in front of 3,622 fans at Eastwood Field.
Scrappers starter Jake Sisco suffered his worst outing of the season. The right-hander, who entered the game with a 2.03 ERA, gave up runs in the first three innings before settling down to retire 10 of the final 11 batters he faced.
Sisco worked six innings, giving up four runs on seven hits while striking out five. He gave up three doubles, a triple and a home run.
"I felt good early on. I thought I was throwing well, they were just making contact and making good swings," Sisco said. "I talked to the pitching coach in the dugout, and we agreed that I should probably mix things up a bit more early in the game."
The Jammers got to Sisco right out of the gate. After the first two batters of the game were retired, Jammers left fielder Jesus Solorzano singled, then scored on a Matt Juengel double.
The Jammers added a run in the second on Kentrell Dewitt's second homer of the season.
They plated a pair in the third on back-to-back doubles by Juancito Martinez and Michael Main, followed by a Juengel single.
Meanwhile, the Scrappers offense was stymied by Jamestown starter Ramon Del Orbe. The righty allowed just one hit through six innings. He gave up a leadoff single to Charlie Valerio in the second inning. Valerio was promptly thrown out trying to steal second.
Del Orbe (1-3) picked up his first win of the season.
The Scrappers finally broke through in the seventh, scoring a pair of runs thanks to sloppy play by the Jammers defense. Erik Gonzalez, who reached on a walk, came around to score on an Andrew Campbell infield single. The throw trying to beat Campbell ended up in right field, plating Gonzalez.
Campbell then advanced to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a groundout.
The Jammers scored the game's final run in the eighth on a Juengel home run.
Campbell's single was one of just two base hits collected by the Scrappers.
"(Del Orbe) was keeping us guessing all night long," Campbell said. "He had a nice change-up, and he had a lot of different pitches. He had good control. He was hitting the corners. Definitely good command."
Campbell, who hails from Ipswich, Australia, was added to the Scrappers roster earlier this week. He was signed as a free agent by the Indians in 2008 as a 16-year-old, and came to Mahoning Valley from the Arizona League.
In Australia, the sports calendar revolves mainly around rugby and cricket. Oddly enough, Campbell followed in his dad's footsteps when it came to baseball.
"My dad was a big cricket player. One day, he and his friends decided to play baseball just for something new. He stuck with it the rest of his life, and that's the sport I grew up around," Campbell said.
Campbell noted that top-level professional baseball in Australia is comparable to Class A minor league ball in the United States.
"But it's growing. The interest is definitely picking up quickly," Campbell said.
While a move from Arizona to Ohio may be viewed as a weather demotion by many, Campbell said he welcomed the change of scenery.
"I like Ohio a lot. It's good to get out of the desert. It's good to see some green and some rain."
Luis Encarnacion provided the Scrappers with a much-needed solid relief performance. Encarnacion surrendered just the one hit (Juengel's home run) and struck out four in three innings of work.
The Scrappers this week lost a pair of games when opponents scored in their last at-bats. Another game was lost when the bullpen gave up three runs in the eighth.
The Scrappers and Jammers conclude their brief two-game series this afternoon at 5:05.
TOP DOG: Jammers third baseman Matt Juengel was 3-for-4 with a home run and three RBIs.
IN THE DOGHOUSE: The Scrappers offense mustered just two hits. The top four batters in the lineup were 0-for-12 with three strikeouts.
BARK OF THE NIGHT: "I like Ohio a lot. It's good to get out of the desert. It's good to see some green and some rain." Scrappers outfielder Andrew Campbell. The Australian native began the year in the Arizona League.
KIBBLES N BITS: Evan Frazar hit the Scrappers' first grand slam of the year earlier this week. Frazar's blast occurred on Thursday in a game which was suspended because of rain, then completed the following day. ... Juan Romero leads the Scrappers with six home runs four of which were hit at Russell Dietrich Park in Jamestown.
STADIUM SCRAPS: The Scrappers have done their share of traveling over the past six days. They began the week at Hudson Valley, came home for a pair of games against State College, traveled to Jamestown, returned home to host the Jammers, and now will hit the road following today's game to play two games at Williamsport. The Scrappers return home Wednesday to begin a six-game homestand.
