AUBURN - Maybe the Doubledays should stick to playing under the lights.

In its first day game this season, Auburn came out looking flat against Mahoning Valley. After defeating the Scrappers on Sunday night, the Doubledays could not carry over the momentum. Auburn lefty Dan O'Brien committed one error and allowed two walks, three hits and four earned runs in the third inning as the Scrappers easily defeated the Doubledays 6-1 at Falcon Park Monday.

In all fairness, O'Brien's overthrow to first base in the inning didn't cost Auburn much at all. Evandy DeLeon reached first base due to the error, but catcher Brian Jeroloman threw him out at second soon after on an attempted steal. But with two outs, O'Brien walked the next two batters, while consecutive Jared Goedert and Matthew McBride singles drove in two runs. When Kelly Edmundson crushed a long two-run double to right center field, Ben Harrison took over as pitcher.

O'Brien got his third loss of the season in his shortest stint on the mound, also giving up the Scrappers' first run in the first six pitches of the game. Lead-off hitter Adam Davis smacked a triple to center field and Andrew Lytle drove in the run with a sacrifice out to third base.

“I don't think O'Brien was his normal self today,” Auburn manager Dennis Holmberg said. “He was throwing just under the radar and I think every pitcher on their second or third time out will hit that mini-wall. They're tired and exhausted after running hard and it's just that 10th or 15th day that just nothing comes out. We were expecting to get five good innings out of him today and we just didn't get it.”

Holmberg didn't get a whole lot of great plays from the offense, either. With more runners left stranded on base (nine) than hits (eight), Auburn left too many opportunities on the field. They were held without a hit in the first two innings, thanks to three consecutive strikeouts thrown by Scrappers' starter Joshua Tomlin in the first and solid play by their outfielders in the second.

Auburn scored their lone run in the bottom of the third when Jonathan Diaz roped a double to left field and three batters later, Adam Calderone hit an RBI groundout to first base.

With three strikeouts, no walks and four hits allowed in three innings, Luis Valdez picked up his second win of the season for Mahoning Valley. Auburn's bullpen of Ben Harrison (2 1-3 innings, three strikeouts, no walks, one hit), Scott Byrnes and John Tritz did a nice job of nearly shutting out the Scrappers in the last six innings. In his three innings on the mound, Byrnes fanned three batters and allowed as many hits along with one earned run. Edmundson hit his team-leading third RBI of the game on a line drive down the left field line in the eighth.

“Just one bad inning,” Holmberg said. “One bad inning took us right out of the ball game. O'Brien couldn't find the strike zone and we had a throwing error on a ground ball. There were four runs that shouldn't have scored and if you subtract those runs, we were so close. We just didn't get that big hit in a couple innings.”

The Doubledays (7-6) wrap up their three-game homestand against the Scrappers (7-7) tonight. Auburn's only other day game this season will take place on September 3.