(Trenton, NJ) – After more than a week away on the road, the Thunder returned home to start a quick three-game series against the Mahoning Valley Scrappers in their only visit to Trenton Thunder Ballpark. With the game shortened to seven innings under league rules, the Thunder capitalized early and struck three times in the first on route to a 4-2 win. On the mound, Tyler Jeans (4-0) won his Thunder debut to take ownership of the league lead, and Justin Stewart _w_orked two hitless innings for his team-leading second save.
In just his second start at home, righthander Micah Bucknam was impressive once again in a quick two-inning appearance. He surrendered a game-opening single to Buck Anderson, but then got help from a great throw by catcher John Cristino, who nabbed the league leader in steals for the first time all season. Bucknam ended the first with back-to-back strikeouts before working around a walk in his final inning in the second.
The Thunder were error free for just the second time this season and took advantage of a Scrappers miscue in the home first. Jonny Weaver led off with a grounder to third and took second on a high throw from Reed Chumley that sailed out of play. Following a walk to Jorge Bojorquez, Caleb McNeely poked a single for his third run batted in and a 1-0 lead. After consecutive strikeouts, Critsino cracked a two-RBI double off Luke Hansel to make it 3-0.
Hansel (0-1) finished with five strikeouts over three innings, getting Cristino looking to end his night and strand two runners in the home half. Jeans followed Bucknam by retiring six of the next seven, getting a pair of swinging strikeouts after a leadoff single from *_Alex Ulloa *_in the top of the fourth.
Mahoning Valley later made things interesting against lefthander *_Devin Milberg *_in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with just one out. Anderson got the Scrappers on the board with a groundout and Ulloa singled home the second run to cut the Thunder lead to 3-2. Milberg came through in the biggest spot of the night and got *_Bobby Sparling *_to fly out to center to strand the tying and go-ahead runs in scoring position.
Trenton tacked on an insurance run in the home sixth, with Ryan McCarthy keying a two-out rally with a walk. Two pitches later, number nine hitter Jovani Wiggs broke his bat with a single up the middle, but McCarthy was able to score with the outfield back. The mad dash around the bases made it 4-2, and allowed Stewart to finish his two-inning save with a strikeout after walking the tying runs on base in the Scrappers seventh.
The series continues on Wednesday, June 29 at 7:00 PM! Have a gas and catch some rays for Beatles/60's Night. We're also welcoming all grandparents to the ballpark and the first 1,500 fans age 13 & older will receive a Batdog Dash Bobblehead, presented by NutriSource! To purchase tickets, call (609)-394-3300, Opt 4 or visit trentonthunder.com.
New Jersey's Baseball Team | Founding Member of the MLB Draft League
The Trenton Thunder have drawn over 10 million fans over 28 years and have won the three major awards that Minor League Baseball teams can win; the Johnson Trophy for the “Nation's Best Franchise”, the Larry MacPhail Trophy for Outstanding Club Promotion, and the Bob Frietas Award for Long-Term Success, given by Baseball America. The team has given back over $7.5 million worth of goods, services, and monetary donations through Trenton Thunder Charities, under the Grand Slam We Care Foundation umbrella. The Thunder can be found online at trentonthunder.com, facebook.com/trentonthunder, twitter.com/trentonthunder, and on youtube.com/AATrentonThunder.
