It’s better to be lucky than good, the saying goes. The Staten Island Yankees were lucky and good last night during their 9-4 victory over the Aberdeen Ironbirds at Richmond County Bank Ballpark on Staten Island.
The luck came in the form of three errors by the Ironbirds that opened the door to Yankee rallies in the fourth and seventh. The good was the Baby Bombers’ ability to capitalize on those miscues. They left only one runner on base of the 11 that reached.
“That goes along with respecting the game,” said second baseman David Adams,a third-round pick in last month’s draft who was 1-for-3 with an RBI double off the center-field wall. “If you hustle and play the game hard, things will go your way. The baseball gods will repay you. We’ve been playing the game the right way, and fortunately for us, we got a few bounces today.”
Those bounces came in the fourth inning, when the Yankees (8-7) scored five runs on three hits and two errors, and in the seventh, when they scored four runs on three hits and an error to complete a three-game sweep of the Ironbirds (6-9) and take over sole possession of second place in the McNamara Division of the New York-Penn League behind the Hudson Valley Renegades (9-6).
The Yankees fell behind 3-0 after three innings, but their luck changed in the bottom of the fourth. Shortstop Walter Ibarra (2-for-4, RBI, two runs) led off the inning with a single and Adams followed with a walk. A fielding error by Ironbirds shortstop Tom Edwards allowed Ibarra to score and catcher Brian Baisley to reach base. Third baseman Michael Lyon drove in Adams with an RBI single and the second Ironbirds miscue of the inning – a throwing error by second baseman Eric Perlozzo on a potential double-play grounder by Yankees left fielder Jack Rye – loaded the bases.
Center fielder Melky Mesa grounded into a fielder’s choice for the first out of the inning, but right fielder Dan Brewer (2-for-4, two RBI, run) followed with a single through the hole at shortstop to drive in two runs and put the Yankees ahead 4-3. A force out at second allowed Mesa to score the fifth run of the inning.
Mesa preserved Staten Island’s 5-3 lead in the sixth when he ended an Ironbirds threat by throwing out a runner at the plate. Mesa also made a sensational diving catch in the second inning to steal an extra-base hit from Aberdeen’s Paul Chmiel.
“Melky is just a baseball player,” manager Pat McMahon said. “He plays with a lot of life, and he’s blessed with a wonderful arm.”
Mesa’s defensive gems were in support of starter Cory Arbiso, who left after three and one-third of an inning because he twisted his ankle covering first base, and Andrew Shive, who inherited the 3-0 deficit. Shive allowed three hits over two and two-thirds of an inning to pick up his first victory. The 6-foot-6 righty lowered his ERA to 3.09 despite being rushed into the game.
“I’ve never come into a situation like that,” Shive said. “I just tried to get loose and get some outs.”
The Yankees added four runs in the seventh off Ironbirds reliever Rick Zagone. Brewer singled to start the rally and first baseman Jahdiel Santamaria walked with one out to put two runners on. Zagone made a poor throw to second on a pick-off attempt for the Ironbirds’ third error, which allowed Brewer to advance to third. A wild pitch allowed Brewer to score. Ibarra picked up an RBI with a single and Adams’ double nearly left the yard. Baisley recorded an RBI on a ground out to second base.
“We’ve been working real hard with the hitting instructor [Ty Hawkins],” Brewer said of the Yankees, who are tied for 10th out of 14 teams with a .236 team batting average. “We hit well today, [and] really succeeded on the bases. We’ve been hitting balls hard, just right at guys.”
Aberdeen scored its fourth run in the ninth on an RBI double by Edwards.
“I think you’ve got to give a lot of props to the pitching staff,” Adams said. “We have to tip our hats to them. Shive, [Tim] Dennehy [two perfect innings], they kept us in the game. We got down 3-0, but we kept battling.”
dtomasino@nypost.com
