When a baseball team is struggling, you look to do the small things right and hope for a bounce, here or there, to go your way. The 2015 Muckdogs are 32 games into their season and are still looking for that bounce.
Coming into Wednesday night’s game against the Detroit Tiger affiliate, Connecticut Tigers (14-16), the Muckdogs (9-21) had lost five of their last six games and find themselves 11.5 games out of first place.
Gabriel Castellanos, the pitcher who started the perfect game back on June 24, started on the mound for Batavia in an attempt to end their most recent losing streak.
Unfortunately, Castellanos was unable to find the magic he had back on June 24.
He walked lead-off hitter Victor Padron to begin the game, followed by a single by AJ Simcox. With the runners in motion, Corey Baptist was able to smack a groundball where the third baseman should have been, scoring Padron and moving Simcox to third.
Tanner Donnels scored the Tigers second run with a sacrifice fly. Baptist moved to second on a balk by Castellanos. After a walk by Pat Mackenzie, Steven Fuentes singled making it 3-0 before the Muckdogs could catch their breath.
Connecticut added one run in both the second and third innings, ending Castellanos night after just three innings.
“Like I always tell you, they are young kids,” Manager Angel Espada said. “If they were ready to go to the next level, they would be in a higher level.”
The Muckdogs were able to get one back in the third when Galvi Moscat doubled and was moved to third on a Giovanny Alfonzo swinging bunt. Taylor Munden plated Moscat after he grounded out to shortstop.
“They have plenty of fight,” Espada said, and fight is exactly what Batavia did in the fourth inning.
Down 5-1, the Muckdogs scrapped together and plated five runs in the inning and to take the lead.
Stone Garrett started the inning with a single and was quickly scored by a Brad Haynal double that landed just inside the right field foul line. Roy Morales then doubled just inside the third base line, scoring Haynal and making it 5-3.
Morales moved to third on an Eric Fisher groundout. After Blake Anderson was hit by a pitch, Moscat hit a line drive that kicked off the right-fielder’s legs and allowed both Morales and Anderson to score, tying the game at 5-5.
Batavia took their only lead of the night when Moscat scored via an Alfonzo sacrifice fly.
Cam Gibson, the Tigers' designated hitter, tied the game up in sixth inning with his third home run of the season. Connecticut would take the lead for good in the eighth after Muckdog reliever Steve Farnworth walked Gibson. He stole second and then scored on a throwing error by Munden at shortstop.
The Muckdogs loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth with only one out, but were again unable to find that one bounce they have been looking for and could not push across any runs.
“That’s the way things are going for us,” Espada said. “When things are not going your way, both those things are going to happen.”
Jake Shull came in for the save in the ninth and retired the Muckdogs in order.
“The most important thing is we gotta stay positive and take one day at a time,” Espada said.
Moscat finished the game 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored. Haynal was also 2-for-4 with a double.
Drew Smith improves to 2-0 for the Tigers while Shull picked up his third save.
The Muckdogs return to Dwyer Stadium tomorrow night at 7:05 in hopes of avoiding the sweep.
