ONEONTA _ Clemente Mendoza made life easier for Oneonta's offense Sunday.
Mendoza pitched six strong innings _ the first 5 1/3 of perfect ball _ as the Oneonta Tigers earned a 6-4 New York-Penn League victory over the Aberdeen IronBirds in front of an announced attendance of 717 fans at Damaschke Field.
A 6-foot, 200-pound righty, Mendoza (2-1) struck out four and walked none. He allowed one run on one hit during his 73-pitch performance, which lowered his ERA from 3.18 to 2.31. Of his pitches, 49 went for strikes.
"That was unreal," Oneonta left fielder Michael Rockett said. "He came right out and went at batters. It makes it easy to hit when your guy is dealing like that."
Aberdeen's Levi Carolus snapped Mendoza's bid at perfection with a one-out double down the third-base line in the top of the sixth. Carolus stole third and scored when Jason Stifler reached on an error by Oneonta first baseman Rawley Bishop.
Mendoza got Mike Mooney to fly out to right and Blake Davis to ground out to second to end the inning. Oneonta led, 5-1, at that point.
"He's always focused," said Oneonta catcher John Murrian, who added Mendoza's fastball was his best pitch Sunday. "He showed what he has. ... He didn't try and overdo things. All his pitches were working and he was spotting up and putting (the ball) where he wanted it."
The O-Tigers (9-5) remained in first place in the Stedler Division and opened a two-game lead over Vermont and Lowell. Tri-City is four games back. All three of Oneonta's division foes lost Sunday.
The Tigers, who have won two straight and are 4-1 against the IronBirds, finish their three-game set with Aberdeen (5-11) at 7:05 p.m. today on Sam Nader bobblehead night. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive a free Nader bobblehead.
Jeff Gerbe (1-0, 1.04 ERA) is scheduled to pitch for Oneonta tonight. The O-Tigers then host Vermont for three games, beginning at 7:05 Tuesday.
The O-Tigers snapped a scoreless tie Sunday in the bottom of the third.
Luis Palacios led off with a double and moved to third when Chris Sedon grounded out to short. After Jim Gulliver popped out to third, Jamie Johnson doubled down the left-field line to score Palacios for a 1-0 lead.
Rockett worked a 3-2 count before lining a double to right-center, scoring Johnson for a 2-0 lead.
"I was trying to hit it hard," said Rockett, who finished 3-for-5 and is hitting .404 this season. "He got ahead early, but I was able to battle back. I was just trying to hit it hard and get (Johnson in)."
Palacios made it 3-0 with an RBI single in the fourth. Oneonta kept the pressure on in the fifth.
Rockett and Wade Gaynor each struck out to open the inning, but Bishop singled to left and went to second on a wild pitch by losing pitcher Colin Allen. After Alexis Espinoza walked, each moved up on a another wild pitch from Allen.
Murrian, a right-handed hitter, then hit a 3-2 fastball low and away to right-center for a two-run single to make it 5-0.
"I got in the hole quick and tried to work my way back," Murrian said. "I just tried to put it in play."
The Tigers made it 6-1 in the sixth on an RBI single from Rockett.
Aberdeen rallied in the ninth against Oneonta's bullpen. Jose Ortega pitched 2/3 of an inning and was charged with three runs on one hit and two walks. He left with a runner on second _ Richard D'Oleo _ who scored when Kenny Faulk gave up a single to Lance West to make it 6-4.
Faulk earned his second save when he got Carolus to pop out to second for the final out.
___
P.J. Harmer can be reached at pharmer@thedailystar.com or 607-432-1000, ext. 229.
O-Tigers 6, Ironbirds 4
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