Albuquerque 8, Las Vegas 5

It was a tough night for Chris Schwinden, who was knocked around for four runs in the first inning, and this left the 51s in a defecit that they would never look back from. Schwinden would be on the hook for five earned runs in his five innings of action. Greg Peavey had no more luck than he did in his two innings of work, as he allowed two earned runs as well.

Vegas dropped a two-spot in the first inning – thanks to Eric Campbell, who drove in a run with an RBI Triple and then scored on a fielding error. Collin Cowgill drove home Brian Bixler in the bottom of the fifth to make it 5-3 at that point.

The 51s made a last ditch effort in the bottom of the ninth, with Wilmer Flores ripping an RBI double and scoring on a Zach Lutz RBI single, but Eric Campbell struck out to end the threat.

D.J. Mitchell is scheduled to start tomorrow for Las Vegas.

Key Stats

Wilmer Flores: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 R

Zach Lutz: 3-for-4, 1 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R

Eric Campbell: 2-for-5, 1 3B, 1 RBI, 1 R

Brian Bixler: 1-for-4, 1 2B, 1 R

Chris Schwinden: 5.0 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 5 ER, 4 K

Greg Peavey: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 1 HR, 2 ER, 1 K

Armando Rodriguez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 ER

Sean Henn: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER

Las Vegas 6, Round Rock 5

Zach Lutz and Wilmer Flores hit solo home runs Thursday for the Las Vegas 51s, helping them take down visiting Round Rock, 6-5.

Lutz, who also homered Wednesday, started the scoring in the second inning with a home run to right-center field. The 51s scored two more runs in the frame, on an RBI single from Juan Centeno and another when Eric Campbell scored on a wild pitch. Flores homered in the third inning to give the 51s a 4-0 advantage. After being relatively silent at the plate through the initial six innings, Round Rock batted around in the seventh to score five runs and take the lead, 5-4. But Las Vegas scored two runs in the eighth to win the game, taking the lead on a run-scoring double from Collin Cowgill and an RBI single from Josh Satin.

Chris Schwinden started this game and pitched relatively well, allowing just three earned runs while pitching into the seventh. Greg Peavey vultured the win out of the ‘pen. Greg Burke picked up his second save of the season in the ninth, getting Round Rock’s Engel Beltre to ground into a double play to end the game.

Key Stats

Collin Cowgill: 2-for-3, 2 2B, 1 RBI, 2 BB, 1 R

Josh Satin: 2-for-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB

Wilmer Flores: 1-for-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R

Zach Lutz: 2-for-3, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 1 R, 1 BB

Juan Centeno: 2-for-2, 1 2B, 1 RBI

Chris Schwinden: 6.1 IP, 7 H, 1 BB, 3 ER

Gonzalez Germen: 0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 2 ER

Greg Peavey: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K

Greg Burke: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 BB

(Team Report)

Sacramento 3, Las Vegas 0

Sometimes…you just have those games where nothing goes right for you on offense – even in the PCL. This was one of those games for Las Vegas, who mustered only three hits as a team, and they were all singles. Jamie Hoffmann, Juan Centeno, and Zach Lutz were the men who provided the singles, yet Sacramento induced double plays after two of those singles to erase most of the 51s’ chances. Las Vegas had only one at-bat with a runner in scoring position all night.

In terms of pitching, somebody give a gold star to Juan Centeno, who somehow pulled a decent start out of Chris Schwinden. Schwinden has been in the middle of a really tough year in AAA, giving a handful of runs in almost all of his starts, but he went the first five innings today and allowed just two earned runs. He was lifted in the sixth after giving up a solo home run to Michael Choice and a single right after. Justin Hampson handled the next four outs with ease, but Sacramento would tack on another run at the expense of Gonzalez Germen. Germen allowed three hits, and was removed with two runners on base in favor of Sean Henn, who allowed one to cross the plate.

Although I sing the praises of Juan Centeno’s defense a lot, he did get saddled with his first error of the year last night – along with his second passed ball. On the other side of the spectrum, Captain Kirk made a ridiculous catch that I will try to get up in the MiLB report as a video.

Key Stats

Jamie Hoffmann: 1-for-3

Zach Lutz: 1-for-3

Juan Centeno: 1-for-3

Chris Schwinden: 5.0 IP, 8 H, 1 HR, 1 BB, 2 ER, 5 K

Justin Hampson: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB

Gonzalez Germen: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 1 ER

Sean Henn: 1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1-for-1 inherited runners scored

Tacoma 5, Las Vegas 3

As has been the case all season for the major league level of the Mets franchise, the Las Vegas 51s bullpen was unable to maintain a slim lead as they went on to fall to the Tacoma Rainiers 5-3.

The well traveled Chris Schwinden got the nod for the 51s who were attempting to avoid a four-game sweep from the Rainiers. Schwinden had gotten off to a horrible beginning to the year, however managed to settle down in his previous outing last Saturday against Colorado. Building off of last week’s success, Schwinden lasted five innings allowing two runs on three hits while walking five and punching out four. In just the second at-bat of the game, Nick Franklin put a drive into one to right field that cleared the fence, handing Tacoma an early one-run lead. Then in the third, Eric Thames came up to bat and plated Franklin in on a two-out RBI double, making it 2-0 Rainiers. Schwinden would be lifted after the fifth for Gonzalez Germen, and would end the day with a no-decision, however managed to lower his ERA to 6.08 on the year.

In the bottom of the fifth, the Las Vegas lineup started to come to life as the backstop Kai Gronauer slapped a one-out double to Thames, followed up quickly by a grounder that found it’s way to Tacoma’s right fielder once again. With runners on second and third, Josh Satin kept the theme of making Eric Thames run going as he drove a hot shot to the 26-year old, scoring two to tie up the game at two a piece.

Come the bottom of the sixth, Andrew Brown got on base to start off the inning after getting plunked by pitcher Tyler Burgoon. Burgoon then surrendered a knock to Wilmer Flores to set the table for Jamie Hoffmann. Hoffmann rolled over one to and grounded to short, forcing Flores out at second but more importantly scoring Brown to hand Vegas a 3-2 advantage.

The lead however, was short lived. After hurling a scoreless sixth, Gonzalez came out for his second inning of work, with disastrous results. It began with a miscue from Kirk Nieuwenhuis on a Alex Liddi fly ball, putting him in scoring position with no outs. Gonzalez then threw one to the backstop, allowing Liddi to move just 90 feet away from tying the game on the wild pitch. Stefen Romero would serve up a blooper to center to score Liddi and even things up at three. Later in the inning, Carlos Triunfel doubled down the left field line to score Romero, handing the Rainiers the lead for good.

Tacoma would plate an insurance run on a sac fly in the top of the ninth and go on to complete the four game sweep, besting the 51s by a score of 5-3. Las Vegas has now fallen to 10-12 on the year and last place in the PCL Pacific Southern Division.

Key Stats

Josh Satin: 1-for-4, 2 RBI

Andrew Brown: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB

Jamie Hoffmann: 1-for-4, 1 RBI, 2 SB

Kai Gronauer: 1-for-2, 1 2B, 1 R, 1 BB

Chris Schwinden: 5.0 IP, 3 H, 1 HR, 5 BB, 2 ER, 4 K

Gonzalez Germen: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 3 BB, 2 R, 1 ER, 3 K

Greg Burke: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

Las Vegas 10, Colorado Springs 6

Chris Schwinden held Colorado Springs over the first three innings and the Las Vegas dropped a 10-spot overall on the scoreboard to claim first blood in a four-game series against Colorado Springs.

Zach Lutz got the scoring started early with an RBI single that drove home Reese Havens, and Jamie Hoffman followed that with a ringing double to drive home Lutz and Andrew Brown. The 51s would strike again in the sixth, with Juan Centeno and Juan Lagares providing the fuel with a pair of two RBI hits. Lutz came through once more in the top of the ninth and put the nail in the coffin with a two-run single.

The aforementioned Chris Schwinden was able to pitch into the sixth, which was a stark improvement from his last start, and he was only on the hook for three runs – two of them earned. One of them scored as an inherited runner via Gonzalez Germen, who picked up three outs before being lifted for Sean Henn, the ex-Yankee. Oddly enough, the bright spot for the pitching staff was the newly demoted Greg Burke, who pitched two scoreless innings to close out the game and pick up a save.

Key Stats

Juan Lagares: 1-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI

Zach Lutz: 2-for-5, 3 RBI, 1 R

Jamie Hoffmann: 3-for-5, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 2 R

Juan Centeno: 1-for-3, 2 RBI, 1 R

Chris Schwinden: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 BB, 3 R, 2 ER, 5 K

Gonzalez Germen: 1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 ER, 2 K

Sean Henn: 0.2 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 1 ER, 1 K

Greg Burke: 2.0 IP, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 1 K

I can get used to playing in Savannah, and those BBQ Pork Kabobs aren’t half bad.

Breaking News:

As I predicted only two days ago, Jacob deGrom was indeed promoted to Binghamton before Noah Syndergaard.

DeGrom replaces Luis Mateo, who was placed on the DL with a right elbow strain.

Good call by the Mets, and a hearty get well soon to Luis Mateo.

Joe D.

Last Night’s Quick Scores

• Savannah (6-5) topped the Greensboro Grasshoppers, 8-5
• St. Lucie (8-3) defeated the Charlotte Stone Crabs, 6-3
• Binghamton (6-5) dropped a game to the Portland Sea Dogs, 7-4
• Las Vegas (6-6) got toppled by Colorado Springs, 19-5

Prospect Pipeline

• Brandon Nimmo‘s new nickname is the Human Torch — he is on absolute fire. He had another three hits, one of which was his first home run of the season, and added five RBI in last night’s game. He is now the organization leader in batting, with a .429 average. He is also the only hitter in the organization with a batting average over .400. Nimmo on his home run: ”I was looking for a good pitch to hit, and I got a fastball inside and drove it well,” he said. “It felt really good. Even in my fourth at-bat, I hit the ball pretty well. I was staying on the ball, seeing it well tonight. You just enjoy these nights.”
• Travis d’Arnaud hit his first home run of the year on Monday night. So far on the season, d’Arnaud is hitting an even .300, and has six extra base hits and eight RBI. Even more impressive is the fact that he has walked twelve times against seven strikeouts. His on base percentage is an outstanding .488. This kid is ready for big league pitchers.
• I’ve been saying since last Summer that Rafael Montero could be a viable option for the Mets 2014 rotation. Some scoffed, but I stood my ground. Now I say he’s a lock and we’ll see him by September of this season at the latest. I’m higher on Montero than I am about Noah Syndergaard and I don’t really care what others think about that. Three starts into his Double-A season and Montero already looks like he needs more of a challenge at Triple-A, and no, it’s not too early to say that as I said he was polished enough to start at Vegas even before the season started. Also, what is the big deal about who signed Montero? It’s as if some will root less for him based on who signed him. I swear, I’m seeing more and more fans with this crackpot mentality everyday. Give it a break. (Joe D.)
• As I wrote in an article yesterday, right-hander Zack Wheeler pitched 5.1 innings, issued no walks and struck out 8 on Sunday afternoon. Improvement? Without a doubt. But for crying out loud stop with all the cries of calling him up. He hasn’t thrown one quality start yet and is completely gassed by the fifth inning. All these scouts that follow him around like puppy dogs never say anything about that. I get it, he has four plus pitches, no need to repeat it every five days. His pitch counts are way too high and while he walked none in this last start, I lost count of how many times he went to three ball counts on batters. One-hundred pitches through five innings is not going to cut it in the major leagues. Stop trying to get the front office to rush him. He has the talent and bulldog mentality that Matt Harvey does, but not nearly the refinement and efficiency. (Joe D.)
• Collin McHugh gets the ball tonight for Las Vegas. Many people have been calling for McHugh to be called up to Flushing, and rightly so. So far this season, McHugh is 2-0, has an ERA under 1.00, and twelve strikeouts to only one walk. (Hey Mitch, I second that motion. – JD)
• J.J. Cooper, of Baseball America, answered some fans’ questions about prospects, and why some players got the snub on his Prospect Hot Sheet last week. Here is what he had to say about Nimmo and Travis d’Arnaud: “Nimmo was in consideration more than d’Arnaud…  The catcher’s week was nice, but not really Hot Sheet worthy in a week where 150+ players posted 1.000 OPS or better. And many of them were playing in less hitter-happy environments.” And in regards to Kevin Plawecki: “Thought about it for a little while. Working against him was the fact that he’s a tick old for the Sally League, but the Mets like to take it slow with their draft picks. He still looks to be most likely a backup catcher at the big league level, but he is an intriguing guy to watch.” Here is what he said about the Mets pitcher who impressed him most so far this season, not named Rafael Montero: “Mateo. He was in serious consideration to at least make the team photo. Very nice first outing after a healthy jump up in level of competition.” What about Montero’s chances of pitching at Citi Field in 2013? “Let’s slow down a minute. I know the Marlins just rocketed Jose Fernandez to the big leagues, but that’s a rare case. Montero has two starts in Double-A and only 10 pro starts above low Class A right now. A full season in Double-A is probably best for his development.”
• Lately, I seem to find myself watching twice as much Mets minor league baseball than regular Mets baseball. I don’t miss any of the Mets games, but in addition to them I’m catching at least two other minor league games a day as well. Sometimes simultaneously. I just find the minor league games to be so much more compelling and it reminds me of the old baseball broadcasts where you could actually hear the sounds of the game instead of three guys in a booth that yap non-stop and then those insane interviews that cut in while players are scoring runs in the background. SNY broadcasts have become way too noisy and distracting to me. Call to the Booth, Tweet the Booth, Text Polls, Cholula Hot Sauce Meters, etc. It’s a wonder they could fit the game in. (Joe D.)

Stat Line of the Night

Brandon Nimmo: 3-for-5, R, HR, 5 RBI

Tweet of the Day

Zack Wheeler took Darin Gorski on his first trip to In-N-Out Burger:

First trip to in and out was a success…def one of the best burgers I’ve ever had and the fries animal style #legit

— Darin Gorski (@darin_gorski20) April 15, 2013

Picture Courtesy Of Zack Wheeler’s Twitter Feed

Transactions

Retroactive to April 11, Cory Mazzoni was placed on the disabled list due to ”Tennis Elbow.” Luis Mateo was called up from St. Lucie to fill in for Mazzoni while he is out. He started last night’s game, and was removed in the fourth inning with an apparent injury. Before leaving the game, Mateo gave up four runs on six hits. He also walked three batters.

In other transactions, Pedro Feliciano joined the St. Lucie roster, Adam Kolarek was moved up from Binghamton to Las Vegas, and Shawn Teufel was added to Binghamton’s roster from extended spring training. Teufel arrived in Binghamton, and then found himself pitching a couple of hours later, coming in to relieve Mateo when he was removed from the game. He pitched two innings, giving up two hits and striking out two.

So Sandy is yelling at Terry five times a day?

Colorado Springs 19, Las Vegas 5

Ouch. The Colorado Spring Sky Sox destroyed the Las Vegas 51s in Monday’s night affair, 19-5.

Chris Schwinden got the start and struggled mightily – although it was not completely his fault. His final line says it all – 3.2 innings pitched with seven hits (two home runs) and four walks allowed. This all added up to eight runs allowed – although only four of them were earned. Schwinden got off to a rocky start and the defense behind him did him no favors, as he walked the lead-off batter and then had errors made on two consecutive plays. A three-run homer in the inning provided the major damage, and unfortunately for Las Vegas, their opposition would never look back.

Considering that there were six errors committed by Vegas in this game and it quickly became an ugly and lop-sided affair, I wanted to take a second to focus on the positives to take away from the game. Travis d’Arnaud had an awesome game at the plate, where he was 1-for-2 with a two-run home run and three walks. It was his first long ball of the year. He is batting .300 on the campaign now with a .488 OBP. I would be remiss, however, not to mention the error charged to him on an errant pickoff.

Juan Lagares, who many had written off before this year, is having a strong showing so far this year in AAA and he added another solid game on Monday. He was 2-for-5 with a triple and two RBI, and is batting .346 to this point in the season. A tip of my invisible hat also goes to Armando Rodriguez, who was the only Vegas pitcher not to allow a run in Monday’s game – although Justin Hampson had zero earned runs charged to him as well.

Las Vegas will dust themselves off and send Collin McHugh to the mound tomorrow evening for their shot at redemption.

Key Stats

Travis d’Arnaud: 1-for-2, 1 HR, 2 RBI, 1 R, 3 BB, E

Juan Lagares: 2-for-5, 1 3B, 2 RBI

Wilmer Flores: 3-for-5, E

Andrew Brown: 2-for-5, 1 2B, E

Chris Schwinden: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 2 HR, 4 BB, 8 R, 4 ER, 4 K, L

Four of the Mets minor league affiliates opened up their seasons last Thursday, and with almost a week of game play in the books, it is a great time to bust out the first Who’s Hot and Who’s Not for the 2013 minor league season.

Who’s Hot

• Josh Satin 1B, Las Vegas – Josh Satin has been scalding hot to begin the AAA season, with a .483 average (14-for-29) and a 1.378 OPS so far. He has driven in seven runs and hit another home run last night, giving him three so far. Satin has always played hard and flashed some potential, but he seems to be playing with a chip on his shoulder so far this season.
• Kevin Plawecki C, Savannah  – I was really interested to see how Kevin Plawecki would handle the jump up to Savannah this season because I thought he had a great overall set of skills. The talented backstop backed me up yet again, with a .444/.704/1.204 slash to begin the season with a home run and four doubles, while driving in seven runs and scoring five.
• Rafael Montero P, Binghamton – He has made two starts so far to the tune of a sparkling 1.52 ERA over 11.2 innings pitched. He has allowed just eight hits and walked zero, while striking out fifteen and expressing overall dominance. Keep it up!

Who’s Not 

• Cory Vaughn OF, Binghamton – A lot of people are looking at this year as a huge one for Cory Vaughn, as the clock continues to tick. It looks like he is still going to need some time to adjust to AA, as he has just two hits in his first nineteen at-bats for a .105 average. One of those hits was a triple – and he does have one stolen base so far.
• Gilbert Gomez OF, St. Lucie – I fought for Gilbert Gomez to gain a little respect overall and even called him a potential breakout player on an occasion or two. But he has not done much to justify my high expectations to begin the season, with just two hits in his first 17 at-bats for a .118 average.
• Chris Schwinden P, Las Vegas – After a tough start last night, Chris Schwinden has a 7.45 ERA through his first two starts of the season and has allowed a total of eight earned runs in 9.2 innings pitched. Over that span, he has given up 13 hits and three of them have left the yard (all in his start on Wednesday evening.) Let’s hope he can turn it around.

What do I need to do to get on your Hot List next week?

Last night, the Bisons beat the Rochester Red Wings in Buffalo by a score of 5-3 behind a solid pitching performance by Chris Schwinden.

Schwinden took the mound looking for his eighth Triple-A win this season and looked to improve off his last start, when he allowed four runs in five innings. Last night was definitely an improvement for him. He allowed one run in the second on an RBI-single, giving the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. The next inning, he allowed two more RBI-singles, making it 3-0. That’s all that Schwinden would give up on the night, however. He held Rochester scoreless until he exited the game with two outs in the seventh inning.

Luckily for Schwinden, the Bisons had no trouble coming back in the game. Buffalo scored four runs in the bottom of the third. Fred Lewis and Zach Lutz both had run-scoring doubles. Then, Valentino Pascucci had an RBI-groundout. Matt Tuiasosopo capped off the four-run inning with a run-scoring hit of his own. That gave the Bisons a 4-3 lead.Then it was up to the bullpen to hold off Rochester.

After Andrew Carpenter finished off the seventh inning for Chris Schwinden, Valentino Pascucci gave the Bisons a little more breathing room, hitting a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh, etending the lead to 5-3. Then, Garrett Olson took the mound in the eighth, looking to hold the Red Wings scoreless and keep the lead. He tossed a perfect eighth inning, giving the ball to Fernando Cabrera, who once again closed out the game, and earned another save.

Herd Rumblings: Schwinden was solid. He threw 69 of his 102 pitches for strikes and only walked one batter. He was pretty shaky on the big league level for the Mets, but has been fantastic for Buffalo this year. Lucas Duda didn’t play last night. He is going to join the team later today. Zach Lutz had two hits on the night, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and a run scored. Matt den Dekker was also 2-for-4. He also scored a run. Mike Nickeas had two hits as well, going 2-for-2 with a sacrifice. The Bisons play two today against Rochester, starting at 1:05. Zack Wheeler should start one of the games. He had a rough time in his last start and will look to bounce back later today.

While the offense struggled, Schwinden was solid again last night, throwing six shutout innings.

In last night’s pitching duel in Buffalo between the Bisons and Syracuse Chiefs, the Bisons prevailed 1-0.

Chris Schwinden got the start for Buffalo, looking to build off his dominant performance on Wednesday night, when he tossed seven innings and allowed only one run on three hits. Schwinden didn’t dominate last night, but he scattered hits very well. He got into trouble on quite a few occasions, including a bases-loaded jam with one out in the sixth, which he got out of unharmed. Schwinden exited the game after throwing six shutout innings, allowing eight hits and striking out six.

On the other side, the Bisons were also getting shut down. However, they scratched out a run in the sixth inning that ended up being the difference in the game. With one out and Josh Rodriguez on second, Lucas Duda doubled to right field, driving the run in and giving the Bisons a narrow advantage.

It was a battle of the bullpens as the game continued on. Robert Carson came up big with a dominant two-inning performance. Carson allowed only two hits and held the Chiefs scoreless through the eighth. Finally, it was Fernando Cabrera who closed out the ninth with a save for the Bisons, tossing a perfect ninth inning.

Herd Rumblings: The Bisons were actually out-hit last night ten to six, but thanks to timely hitting by Duda, came out of it with a win. Schwinden earned his sixth win of the season, and has been pitching very well lately. Over his last 17.2 innings, he has allowed only two runs. since being called up from Binghamton just over a week ago, Carson has allowed only one earned run over 7.1 innings. Offensive notables last night included Matt den Dekker, who went 0-for-3 with two strikeouts, and Josh Satin, who was 1-for-2 with a walk. Zack Wheeler makes his Triple-A debut tomorrow night for the Bisons. First pitch is at 1:05.

Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight…

Through the use of the scorecard, let’s take a look at how Andres Torres did this week:

I honestly don’t think I’d ever expect to say Andres Torres would win the Player Of The Week award, but he did well this week and produced for the Mets. While I still don’t feel he should replace Kirk Nieuwenhuis, he did quite well this week. I will also note he had a stolen base.

Honorable Mentions

These players, although not winning the Player of the Week award, had a very strong showing this week and deserve to be recognized. We will also show how strong a showing they had through the use of the scorecard.

Daniel Murphy

David Wright

Ruben Tejada

Frank Francisco

Bobby Parnell

Ramon Ramirez

Not So Hot

The Not So Hot area mentions a few players who did not have a good week this week.

Jon Niese

Chris Schwinden (now demoted)

Manny Acosta

Jon Rauch

Josh Thole

Ike Davis

Player Of The Week Scoreboard

This area shows the scoreboard of the Players of the Week, and who has won already this season and how many times.

David Wright – 1

Kirk Nieuwenhuis – 1

Johan Santana – 1

Andres Torres – 1

Trivia

To finish off the Player of the Week announcement each week, I’ll be asking you a trivia question. The answer will be announced during the next Player of the Week announcement, as well as the first person who answered correctly. Another question will then be asked. Last Week’s Answer is: Harry Chiti. Alex68 was the first person to correctly answer the question. So here is this week’s question:

When the Mets won Game 6 of the 1986 World Series, what Met pitcher was warming up in the bullpen to pitch the next inning if Mookie Wilson had made out?

Chris Schwinden made his major league debut and was hit hard in the Mets 6-5 loss, and in the second game of the double header, Dillon Gee overcame early trouble to hand the ball to a bullpen that would cough up two more runs in the Mets second loss, a 5-1 defeat.

Game One

Chris Schwinden made his MLB debut, and it will probably not be a memorable one for many. Schwinden went five innings, allowing five runs on eight hits, including a home run while walking one and striking out five. Schwinden was throwing strikes, but those strikes were being hit hard. While these next few starts will just be gauging if he is the real deal or a Quad-A pitcher, we shall see.

Daniel Herrera came out for two innings of work, and struck out two and gave up a hit. The fact he pitched two innings is a positive, considering he was a lefty. Possible crossover candidate next year? Ryota Igarashi came out and made a mess, loading the bases so Tim Byrdak could hit lefty Michael Bourn and drive in what would turn out to be the winning run. Bobby Parnell finished up, allowing a hit and striking out one in two-thirds

Yet again, why is Ryota Igarashi being used at all in the season is a bit curious to me. Do the Mets not want to call up a reliever who they have to place on the 40-man roster? If so, DFA Igarashi.

The offense today was primarily of two hits. Jason Bay, who has had a dissapointing season yet again, hit his second grand slam of the season, for his twelfth home run. The other run came on a Nick Evans sac-fly in the ninth, scoring David Wright

Jose Reyes – 1 for 1 in a pinch hitting appearance. As bleak as the Mets season is, Jose does have a fair shot at the batting title.

Jason Bay – 2 for 4 with four RBI. I guess any production is better than no production.

Ruben Tejada – 0 for 5 with a strikeout. Is this fatigue, or has Ruben been figured out again?

Turning Point

Igarashi being an ineffective reliever, putting Tim Byrdak in a difficult spot and giving up the winning run.

Goat Of The Game

Igarashi. No other reason than being completely ineffective.

Game 2

Dillon Gee faired much better than Chris Schwinden, getting charged for three runs (two earned) on four hits, walking two and striking out six in his six innings of work. Gee struggled in the first inning, but settled in for the middle innings. Gee shouldn’t be expected to be that mid-3 ERA guy, but if he could hold an ERA around 4, limit the walks and provide six innings, that would be a major plus for the 2012 Mets

Daniel Herrera went out for the second time today, and pretty much did the same thing he did the game before. Herrera pitched one clean inning. Pedro Beato was hit hard yet again in his two innings of work, allowing two runs on three hits including a home run, walk and one strikeout. Whether this is fatigue, or Beato coming back down to expected performance is to be decided

The offense managed seven total hits, none for extra bases. The only RBI was on a Jason Bay sac-fly in the first. Nick Evans managed to strand five of the 11 Mets baserunners. Not much else to say.

Jose Reyes – 1 for 4 with a run. Leading the league in average.

Duda & Evans – 0 for 8. Tough day at the dish

Turning Point

When the Mets couldn’t manage to get an extra base hit and played uninspired for the second game of the doubleheader.

Goat Of The Game

Nick Evans, 0 for 4 and stranding nearly 50% of the total baserunners in the game.

On Deck

The Mets travel back to Citi Field to take on the Cubs, sending Mike Pelfrey to the mound to face-off against Casey Coleman, who the Mets hit hard the last time they faced him. Game time is 7:10 P.M.