Derin Doucet and John Spoto each hit their first home run of the season on Sunday, and Johanno Perdomo pitched five scoreless innings in his first start as the Chillicothe Mudcats beat the Carroll Merchants 5-3.
It was the first multi-homer game for Chillicothe, who hit both of their blasts in the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead. Doucet’s was a solo shot in the second inning, which was followed by Spoto’s two-run longball off the scoreboard in right field an inning later.
After seven appearances out of the bullpen, Perdomo dazzled in his longest outing of the season: a five inning start. The Merchants got runners to second and third base with no outs in the third, but Perdomo escaped unblemished. He did it by retiring the next three batters, the first two via strikeout.
His fifth and final strikeout came with two men on base in the fifth inning, and retired the side to preserve his shutout performance.
Brady Graskewicz was called in from the bullpen in the sixth, to preserve the 3-0 lead. A leadoff walk scored to make it a two-run game, then an around-the-horn double play helped him to a scoreless seventh inning.
The Mudcats lead grew to 5-1 in the top of the seventh, when Spoto poked a ball into center for a two-out, two-run single. His four runs batted is a new personal season-best.
In what was already Graskewicz’s longest pitching appearance of the season, he stayed in to begin the eighth. After a flyout, the Merchants strung together four consecutive hits to make it 5-3 and chase Grakewicz from the game.
As has been the case all season in high-leverage situations, Ryotara Hirayama was brought in to maintain the slim lead. He got out of the eighth inning with no further damage done, and pitched a perfect ninth to nail down the victory.
The Mudcats win, combined with a Clarinda loss on Sunday night, moves Chillicothe into second place for the first time this summer. Playing their first home game in nearly a week, the Mudcats square off with Nevada at Shaffer Park on Monday.
Winning Pitcher: Johanno Perdomo (3-0)
Losing Pitcher: Ben Laird (0-1)
Save: Ryotara Hirayama (1)
Time of Game: 2:34
