4/23 Farm Report: Andres Torres Has Big Day, Ignites 10-6 St. Lucie Win!

Buffalo 5 – Lehigh Valley 1

By Joe DeCaro

Dylan Owen got the start and kept the Iron Pigs in check allowing just one run on three hits in 4.1 innings of work. Owen retired the first nine batters he faced, issued no walks and struck out two. He helped his own cause with a solo home run at the plate to tie the game at 1-1. He was relieved by none other than Josh Edgin who had just been promoted from Binghamton two hours before the game.

Edgin was very sharp and fanned three of the five batters he faced with four of them swinging. For his Triple-A debut, The Edge tossed 1.1 innings and allowed just one hit, throwing 15 of his 19 pitches for strikes to earn the win. Jeff Steven, Justin Hampson and Brad Holt combined to pitch three scoreless innings of solid relief with Holt earning his first save of the season.

The Bisons exploded for 15 hits in the game with Bobby Scales, Zach Lutz, Val Pascucci, Josh Satin  and Vinny Rottino all contributing a pair of hits. Pascucci’s RBI double put the Herd ahead for good in the top of the fifth.

Herd Rumblings: Dylan Owen’s home run came off former Mets reliever/starter Pat Misch. Owen became the first Buffalo pitcher in more than 17 years to homer in a game. Bobby Scales was on base three times and is batting .386. Zach Lutz, who turns 26 in June, continues to make a strong case to be called up and is batting .333/.425/.556 in 63 at-bats. Jeremy Hefner pitched three scoreless innings for the Mets after he was called up to pitch in the first game of Monday’s doubleheader. Heff was optioned back after the game to make room for Jordany Valdespin who was recalled and went 0-1 in the second game.

Special Note: I’m covering for Pete the next couple of days as he will be at Lehigh Valley today and tomorrow. Petey will have plenty of great stuff in the way of picture, quotes, insights and interviews with many of our players. Also, managers Wally Backman and Ryne Sandberg are on the docket for some Metsmerized Air-Time as well.

St. Lucie 10 – Fort Myers 6

By Clayton Collier

The St. Lucie Mets continued their perfect record at home and improved to 15-2 on the season with a 10-6 victory over the Fort Myers Miracle. Mending Mets D.J. Carrasco and Andres Torres contributed to the the win in the form of a spotless first inning and a 3 for-4 day at the plate respectively. Torres also added two stolen bases. Gonzalez German came on for Carrasco and did not enjoy the same measure of success by any means, surrendering six runs on five hits over 3 1/3 innings.

It wasn’t until the sixth and seventh innings until the St. Lucie bats came to life, scoring three runs in each frame to take the lead for good. In the bottom of the eighth, Cory Vaughn capped off the night with an inside-the-park homerun for good measure, to hand St. Lucie yet another victory. Catcher Blake Forsythe went 2-4 with three RBI and a runs scored.

Lucie Logistics: Caesar Puello seems to have broken out of whatever funk he was in to start the year as he had three hits including a pair of doubles yesterday. Adam Kolerak picked up his third save of the year hurling two innings while getting 5 of his 6 outs via the strikeout, all the while maintaining a perfect 0.00 ERA. The Mets will host the Fort Myers Miracle in the series finale on Tuesday at Digital Domain Park at 6:30 PM. The red-hot Chase Huchingson will be on the mound for the Mets.