After a fine all-around performance in their season-opener, when the Aberdeen IronBirds gave new manager Leo Gomez a victory in his debut, the Baltimore Orioles' Class A New York-Penn League team hasn't been back in the win column, losing its next three games by a combined four runs.
"It's really nice to win that first game," Gomez said after his team's 7-2 win over Hudson Valley Friday.
"We did pretty good tonight, pitched the ball well, hit the ball pretty good, and I'm happy with what I saw," Gomez, a former Major Leaguer who spent six seasons with the Orioles, said.
Over their next three contests, however, the IronBirds were beaten, 3-1, then suffered back-to-back one-run defeats.
In their most recent game, the IronBirds mounted a late comeback, but came up short in a 5-4 loss to the Cyclones in Brooklyn.
Down, 5-3, heading into its final at bat, Aberdeen quickly cut the lead to one when catcher Wynston Sawyer smacked a leadoff home run over the left field wall. Dudley Leonora followed by legging out an infield base hit, and then moved to second on Austin Knight's sacrifice bunt. With the tying run at the plate and one down, Aberdeen's Chris Clinton struck out looking and Mychal Givens grounded out to third to end the game.
After Brooklyn scored twice in the fourth and fifth innings to run up a 4-0 advantage, Aberdeen answered in the sixth. Givens led off by taking a pitch off of his body, and Joe Velleggia promptly gave the IronBirds two runs with a homer to left. Riley Hornback followed the round-tripper with a ground ball single, and one out later, Jeremy Nowak ripped an RBI double, making the score, 4-3.
Brooklyn scored what would be the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.
Matt Drummond (0-1) made the start for Aberdeen and went four innings, striking out six, walking one and allowing two earned runs on three hits in the loss.
Extra-inning loss
Playing at home in the third game of their season-opening series with Hudson Valley, the IronBirds were knocked off, 5-4, in extra innings Sunday evening.
With the game tied, 3-3, after nine, Hudson Valley got to reliever Brandon Holloway for a pair of runs on two hits and a sacrifice fly.
Now down by a pair of runs in the bottom of the 10th, Chris Clinton got the IronBirds started by being hit by a pitch. Hornback struck out for the first out. Then Velleggia came through with a clutch double to left that brought Clinton home, and put the tying run on second. After Connor Narron, representing the winning run, drew a walk, Givens hit a liner to third that was caught, and Austin Goolsby hit a long, game-ending fly-out to center.
Aberdeen got on the board in the fourth, with Givens smacking a double that scored Velleggia, who reached with a one-out single.
In the fifth, Goolsby and Cody Young started the inning with back to back singles. After moving to third on Leonora's sacrifice bunt, Goolsby scored on Clinton's base hit to left.
The IronBirds' third tally came in the seventh with Goolsby leading off with a walk, moving to third on a throwing error and scoring on Leonora's RBI groundout.
IronBirds starter David Baker had a strong outing, holding the Renegades to one run on three hits, striking out two and not allowing a walk over five innings. Holloway was charged with the loss.
Aberdeen drops game two
Where timely hitting helped the Aberdeen IronBirds pick up a 7-2 victory in their season opener Friday, Saturday's Ripken Stadium contest saw them rack up just three hits in a 3-1 loss to the visiting Hudson Valley Renegades.
"I guess they tried too hard today," Gomez said. "It's a little bit disappointing, but it's part of the game."
Hudson Valley struck first in the opening inning as Aberdeen starter Jacob Cowan kicked things off by issuing two walks. The inning's third hitter lofted a long fly to center that allowed both his teammates to tag up, and the lead runner came around to score when IronBirds second baseman Leonora uncorked a wild relay throw.
The Renegades were back at it in the next inning, hanging another run on Cowan with two singles, a walk and a passed ball.
Aberdeen's only scoring rally occurred in the home half of the second and started when Narron and Givens were plunked consecutively by Hudson Valley pitcher Jason McEachern.
After Narron was caught at third trying to advance on Nowak's fly out to center, Kyle Hoppy roped a single to short left that allowed Givens to score from second.
The game's final run came in the third with the Renegades working Cowan for a run on a single and a double.
Aberdeen would not get another hit until the eighth, when Nowak led off with a ground ball single up the middle.
Cowan (0-1) worked five innings in the loss, allowing two earned runs on five hits, striking out three and walking four.
Brandon Cooney tossed one inning of no-hit relief. He was followed by Zach Petersime, who surrendered a pair of hits in his one-inning relief stint, but held the Renegades scoreless. Angel Cespedes closed out the game for Aberdeen, holding Hudson Valley hitless and striking out one over two innings.
Birds win opener
The Aberdeen IronBirds began their 2011 campaign on the right foot, beating the visiting Hudson Valley Renegades, 7-2, in their season opener Friday night.
The hosts were helped by Parker Bridwell, a 19-year-old flame thrower, who made the start and worked through five full innings. During his opening-night stint, Bridwell (1-0) sent nine Renegades down on strikes without allowing any walks and held Hudson Valley to a paltry four hits in the win.
"I felt good on the mound, and I'm glad we got this first win under our belt," Bridwell said after the game. "I just did my job, pitched a good game, got the win and I'm happy about that. I feel like a weight [has] been lifted, [because] I was a little nervous coming into tonight."
Bridwell said he was feeding the Renegades a lot of sliders, since his changeup was not working particularly well Friday evening.
"I just went with my regular slider up there. It was a hard pitch for them to hit, so you just keep throwing the pitch that works," Bridwell said. "I wasn't really feeling my changeup that well. I threw a couple good ones, but every now and then I would choke one."
Playing in front of a packed house at Aberdeen's Ripken Stadium in their first game of the 2011 campaign, the IronBirds struck first in the second frame, when Velleggia belted a double to right that scored teammate Mychal Givens, who reached on a single. Later in the inning, Velleggia came home on Martin Serrata's two-bagger up the first base line.
Aberdeen added two more in the next inning, with Knight scoring from third when the Renegades pitcher balked, and Narron knocking home Leonora with an RBI groundout.
Nowak earned a one-out walk in the home half of the fourth, and came around to score when Serrata hit his second double of the game. Before Hudson Valley could escape the inning, Knight scorched a single up the middle that allowed Serrata to cross home plate.
After two scoreless innings, the IronBirds' offense stirred again in the seventh. Hornback reached on a throwing error, stole third and scored on Sawyer's grounder to third.
Taking over for Bridwell in the sixth, Eddie Gamboa pitched three innings in a relief effort, holding the Renegades to one and striking out five.
Hudson Valley scored its two runs in the top of the ninth, reaching IronBirds closer James Brandhorst for a pair of hits and a walk.