Following a wretched three-game stretch which saw them defeated by a combined score of 35-5, the IronBirds got back on track in their two most recent match-ups, beating the Batavia Muckdogs on consecutive nights with the help of some dandy pitching performances and high-octane offense.
In Monday night's home contest, three Aberdeen hurlers combined to toss a three-hit shutout, helping the IronBirds to take a 4-0 win over Batavia.
The whitewash was Aberdeen's second of the 2011 campaign. The last was back on July 9, when the IronBirds two-hit Tri-City in a 2-0 victory.
The win pushed Aberdeen to 12-26 on the season, and through Monday the IronBirds were still at the bottom of the New York-Penn League's McNamara Division, 7.5 games behind third-place Hudson Valley.
"The key for this game was that we had good pitching," Aberdeen manager Leo Gomez said. "We only scored four times, but that was enough for [our] pitchers to go on. Today everyone had good command, and when you have that, and you're throwing strikes, good things are going to happen."
The contest clocked in at two hours and 17 minutes, which is the second quickest game Aberdeen has seen so far this season, and its brevity was not lost on the IronBirds, who have been playing for the last week in temperatures well above 90 degrees.
"It's really nice to get a two-hour game," winning pitcher Trent Howard said. "When you've been playing in weather so hot and sticky, getting one wrapped up quickly is always good."
Howard (2-1) took on the lion's share of the mound duties, coming on in the third frame after starter Ryan Berry was pulled, and tossing six innings of two-hit ball to earn his second win of the season.
"The main thing that was working for me tonight was that I had command of all four of my pitches," Howard said in a post-game interview. "Last time I went out, I couldn't get my curve over for strikes, and I was able to do that tonight. I had both of my fastballs working too, was able to locate both of them for strikes, and was able to work ahead in the count. Later on in the game I was a little hesitant to use my fastball, because it seemed like they were sitting dead red on it, and that is kind of the opposite of how I've always pitched, which is to go right after [hitters], but regardless, I really had everything working for me."
Over six innings, Howard struck out nine and issued three bases on balls.
"I did have those three walks, but with all those, I barely missed on quite a few of those pitches," Howard said.
Berry lasted two innings in the start, striking out one and allowing one hit. Zach Petersime came out of the bullpen in the ninth to close out the game.
Aberdeen got things rolling offensively in the opening frame, with Sammie Starr reaching base on a one-out single to right, which was followed by center fielder Mychal Givens' base hit to the same spot. After Starr stole third and Joe Velleggia went down swinging for the second out, Wynston Sawyer ripped a 1-2 breaking ball into right for an RBI single. With Connor Narron at the plate and Givens sitting at third, Sawyer was caught in a rundown after attempting to steal second base, but that gave Givens enough time to score Aberdeen's second run before Sawyer was tagged out.
After going silent for the next three frames, the IronBirds padded their lead by a run in the fifth. Narron opened the frame by earning a walk, but he was gunned down by the Muckdogs' right fielder attempting to take third on second baseman Dudley Leonora's one-out single. Leonora, who advanced to second on the throw, scored when Kyle Hoppy popped an RBI single into short center field.
The visiting half of the fifth saw Howard helped by some flashy defense. With a man on third and one out, Howard surrendered a hard, sinking line drive to center that looked like it might drop in, but Givens got a good jump on the ball and was able to make a sprinting basket catch. The Muckdog runner on third attempted to tag when Givens tossed the ball to the infield, but he became the second out of an inning-ending, 8-4-2 double-play after second baseman Leonora fired a strike to Sawyer, who blocked the runner with his left shin guard and applied a sweeping tag.
"The defense was just phenomenal tonight," Howard said. "They helped me out of a couple jams. That play in the fifth, with Givens and Leonora, was a great combination. And, in the fourth, Hoppy ran down a ball in right that I didn't think anyone had a chance of getting to. That was an unbelievable play."
In the sixth, Starr led off by working the Batavia hurler for a walk, swiped second base and advanced another 90 feet on Velleggia's line drive single to left. Sawyer came up fourth and put the IronBirds up 4-0 with an RBI groundout to short that allowed Starr to sprint home.
Hoppy was the lone IronBird with two hits, going 2-for-3 with one RBI.
'Birds win 10-8 slugfest
The IronBirds broke out of their offensive slump at home on Sunday afternoon, beating the Muckdogs 10-8 with the help of 14 hits.
In their previous three contests, Aberdeen had been outscored 35-5.
"It was nice to have the offense back," Gomez said. "It's good that we scored a lot of runs, because the pitching was not going too good. They did a good job tonight, a couple of guys got key hits. They were more consistent, more disciplined at the plate, and we scored some runs."
Aberdeen got the hit it needed in the home half of the seventh, with the score knotted 3-3. Velleggia, Sawyer and Narron earned three consecutive one-out walks to load the bases, and Austin Knight knocked them all home, blasting a three-RBI triple to the center field wall. Leonora came up next and made the score 7-3 with a single to right that pushed Knight across the plate.
"I was looking for a pitch to drive," Knight said after the game. "[The Batavia pitcher] broke off a curveball, [which is] what I was sitting on, and I was able to hit it hard. Baseball is a game of ups and downs, and today we were getting our pitches, so it worked out."
With Aberdeen trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the second, Knight started a game-tying rally by earning a one-out walk, moved over to second on a passed ball, and made it to third when Leonora poked a ground ball single past the Batavia shortstop. After Glynn Davis walked to put men at every bag, Starr brought Knight home on a single to left.
Down by a run again in the fourth frame after Batavia posted a run in the previous inning, the IronBirds took their first lead with a two-run outburst. Knight began things with a base hit to center, Leonora followed with another base hit, and Hoppy ran out what was supposed to be a sacrifice bunt, loading the bases. Knight was forced out at home when Davis hit into a fielder's choice, but Starr came through with a clutch, two-run single to right that knocked Hoppy and Leonora across for the tying and go-ahead runs.
Batavia scored once in the seventh to tie things up 3-3, and added one more in the top of the eighth, making the score 7-4.
In Aberdeen's half of the eighth, Velleggia, who was playing in his first game since July 18 after having his nose and left orbital bone broken in a batting practice accident, nearly capped off his return with a homer, blasting a pitch to center that hit a few feet below the top of the wall for a triple.
"It was so close," said Velleggia, who is leading the IronBirds in all three offensive triple crown categories. "It's a relief [to be back]. I was on a bit of a hot streak before I got hurt, and I was kind of hoping it wouldn't go away. Tonight, I had a little glimpse of coming back with that triple, so hopefully I can continue playing well."
"It was nice to have Joe back," Gomez said. "He was doing a really good job, on defense and offense, so it's good to have him back in the lineup; it's good for the team."
Velleggia scored Aberdeen's eighth run on Sawyer's single to left, which followed by Narron's double to right. Leonora came up after Knight went down swinging, and belted a base-clearing single into left to put Aberdeen up 10-4.
The Muckdogs still had some gas in the tank, hanging four runs on reliever Jose Mota in their final at-bat to get within two tallies of the hosts. With two men down and the tying run at the plate, Mota ended the game with a strikeout.
Enrico Jimenez (2-1) tossed 1-1/3 innings of relief, allowing two runs on one hit, striking out one and walking three to earn the victory. Jake Cowan started for Aberdeen and lasted six innings, striking out three, walking three and surrendering one earned run on two hits.
Aberdeen dropped 11-4
The IronBirds dropped their third straight game on Saturday night, as they were pummeled 11-4 by visiting Batavia.
Aberdeen was already trailing 10-0 in the fourth, when the hosts managed to rally for a pair of runs. Narron began the outburst with a one-out double to left, and Austin Goolsby followed with another two-bagger than drove Narron all the way home. Goolsby moved over to third on Knight's groundout to second, and Leonora drove his teammate home with a ground ball single into left field, making the score 10-2.
In the seventh frame, Aberdeen added two more runs to its tally. Hoppy started things for the IronBirds by singling to center, and Davis then rapped out a single, which moved Hoppy over to third. Starr came up third and slammed a double to the wall in right field that cleared the bases. Aberdeen would remain silent for the rest of the game, while Batavia added its final run in the top of the eighth.
Brandon Erbe started for Aberdeen and lasted one inning, giving up four earned runs on five hits to take the loss.
Starr finished the game 2-for-4 with two RBIs and one walk, while Hoppy was 2-for-4 with one run. Leonora went 2-for-5 with one RBI, and Goolsby was 1-for-5 with an RBI and a run.
Batavia scored four times in the opening frame, and added one tally in each of the next two innings. In the third, the Muckdogs put up three runs, scored once in the fifth, and closed out with a one-run rally in the eighth.
11-1 defeat
The IronBirds managed just one run on Friday night in an 11-1 road loss to the Brooklyn Cyclones.
Already down 9-1 heading into the seventh, Aberdeen got its lone tally when Givens, who had blasted a leadoff triple, sprinted home following a passed ball.
The game stayed tied 0-0 for the first three frames, but the Cyclones rallied for four runs in the fourth, then added another five in the following inning. Brooklyn posted one tally in both the seventh and eighth frames to close out scoring for the evening.
Mike Wright (1-1) made the start for Aberdeen, going four innings in which he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits, struck out four and allowed no walks.
The IronBird offense posted just five hits, with Givens' triple being the only one longer than a single. Davis, Starr, Narron and Leonora each had a base hit in the loss.
Shut down by Brooklyn
Playing on the road Thursday night, Aberdeen suffered a 13-0 drubbing at the hands of host-team Brooklyn.
The IronBirds were within striking distance for the first half of the contest, as Brooklyn scored just twice in the first four frames, but the Cyclones added three runs in the fifth, then broke loose with a six-run outburst in the following frame. Brooklyn's final two runs came in the seventh and eighth innings.
Matt Hobgood (0-1), Baltimore's No. 1 pick in the 2009 MLB amateur draft, made his second start with the IronBirds and lasted four innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits in the loss.
Givens was 1-for-4 with a double, which was Aberdeen's only extra-base hit. Starr, Goolsby, Sawyer and Serrata each had a single.