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Wins keep coming

Scrappers’ streak at 5 with victory

Special to Tribune Chronicle / Dianna Oatridge Mahoning Valley Scrappers pitcher Juan Mota fires a pitch during their game against Brooklyn at Eastwood Field on Wednesday. Mota pitched well in the Scrappers’ 2-1 victory.

NILES — With a 2-1 win over the Brooklyn Cyclones, the Mahoning Valley Scrappers extended their New York-Penn League best five-game win streak.

For the most part, the Scrappers (24-12) have been a late-inning rally type of team all year. This game, however, they were the opposite.

Tyler Freeman got the group going with a single followed by a single from Mitch Reeves. Freeman got to third on the hit. Hosea Nelson then continued his hot July with an RBI single to give Mahoning Valley a 1-0 lead.

“We struggled a little bit before the win streak. Bouncing back from that is huge. It gives us energy and momentum to bounce back,” said Freeman on their win streak. “We are trying to finish the season strong. Hopefully, we can clinch the division and hopefully take it all the way in the playoffs.”

Juan Mota had a strong day on the mound for the Scrappers. He earned his second win of the year in five innings of work with one earned run and five strikeouts.

Special to Tribune Chronicle / Dianna Oatridge Scrappers second baseman Jose Fermin prepares to make a throw to first base Wednesday.

After losing four of five in the second week of July, the Scrappers are again playing well.

“We’ve had a lot of success against the teams in our division, but obviously not against teams out of our division. If we’re going to go deep in the playoffs, we have to beat teams like this,” Scrappers manager Jim Pankovits said.

“We told them we would have tough, low-scoring ball games. That’s what we’ve had the last two nights. I’ll take the win.”

The Scrappers grabbed another run in the second inning. After Ronny Dominguez walked to start the inning, a wild pitch and a passed ball moved him to third base. Michael Tinsley drove him home with a sacrifice fly for a 2-0 lead.

Brooklyn (20-18) responded in the top of the third inning.

With two outs, Jose Medina doubled to center field. Medina reached third on a balk and then scored on Brian Sharp’s single to cut the deficit to 2-1. That’s as close as the Cyclones would get.

Mahoning Valley’s bullpen was strong again. Adoni Kery, Jordan Scheftz, Luis Araujo and Manuel Alvarez combined for four innings, two hits and two strikeouts. Alvarez recorded his second save of the year.

“The pitching has been one of the main things that has gotten us this far in our winning streak for sure,” Freeman said. “Not every night will the hitting be hot and not every night will the pitching be hot. That’s where we pick each other up.”

With the Auburn Doubledays’ game cancelled, the Scrappers now have a 5.5-game lead in the Pinckney Division.

Mahoning Valley and Brooklyn conclude their series at 7:05 p.m. today.

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