Mets Farm Report: Bisons Blast Four Homers In 17-Run Outburst, Montero Loses 1-0 Again, Gnats Swarm Claws

Buffalo 17, Toledo 1

By Sean Kenny

The Bisons offense was in overdrive today, and provided more then enough cushion for Jeremy Hefner to work comfortably in the 17-1 win against the MudHens. Jeremy Hefner pitched a quality six innings, allowing one run on six hits in seven innings, walking one and striking out four. Hefner was economical today, only throwing 92 pitches in seven innings and shaking off the last start he had for a much better one. Garrett Olson pitched the final two innings, and gave up no hits while walking two. Honestly, the Bisons pitchers could’ve been atrocious today and still won by 10.

The offense was the real story today, with the Bisons putting up crooked numbers in the second, third, fifth, seventh and eighth. Every batter chipped into the effort somehow, with only Josh Rodriguez not managing a hit, but hitting two sacrifice flies to scored two RBI. Matt Den Dekker and Matt Tuiasosopo had seven of the 17 RBI on the day. Adam Loewen hit his eighth homer of the season and his second in as many days. Josh Satin went 2-for-3 with four runs and two walks, Zach Lutz went 3-for-4 with two walks and two runs and Fred Lewis went 2-for-4 with an HR and a walk. Days like this are few and far between, but any Bison who went to the plate transformed into Ted Williams today.

Player Of The Game: Matt Den Dekker who went 3-for-4 with three runs and four RBI, including three on a home run to dead center. With this outing, he boosted his average .014 points to .219.

Herd Rumblings: Everyone was great today and rumbling isn’t really required. Josh Satin has been on fire as of late, and getting him out seems to be a difficult task. The Bisons will look to win the series tomorrow, sending RHP Jeurys Familia (7-5, 4.62) to the mound off of his two best consecutive starts of the season in which he gave up one run on tens hits in 12.2 innings, striking out 11 and walking two over that span. 

Trenton 5, Binghamton 4

By Tim Burns

For the second night in a row the Binghamton Mets faltered in the late innings against the Trenton Thunder, dropping their second straight decision against the Double A Yankees by a 5-4 decision. Greg Peavey, searching for his first win since May 20th, got the start for the B-Mets. Peavey threw six and a third innings for Binghamton, allowing three runs on eight hits, striking out three and walking one. Trenton scored three runs on Peavey in his final one and a third inning’s worth of work, and when he was pulled from the game the B-Mets were down three to one.

Armando Rodriguez came on in relief of Peavey, and proceeded to get both batters he faced in the seventh to pop out. In the bottom of the eighth, Trenton increased their lead by one as Rodriguez gave up a solo homerun to Luke Murton, his twentieth of the season. In one and two thirds innings pitched, Rodriguez’s line read one run on one hit, one walk and no strikeouts.

Robert Carson came on in the ninth for the B-Mets, and when he stepped to the mound the scoreboard showed the two teams knotted at four. Unfortunately, Carson couldn’t hold the tie score for the B-Mets, and after giving up a double, fielder’s choice, and single, he actually balked in the eventual winning run for the Thunder. Taking the loss in the game, Carson’s record now stands at 0-and-2.

At the plate for the B-Mets, a Juan Centeno double, followed two batters later by a Reese Havens double, put Binghamton on the board first in the bottom of the third. All of Centeno’s offensive production in the game came in that one at bat as he went 1-for-3 in the game. Havens was 2-for-3, with a walk as well.

In the bottom of the seventh, the B-Mets were able to plate three more runs and take the lead once again at four to three. Allan Dykstra doubled, Michael Fisher walked, and Dustin Martin reached on a sacrifice bunt attempt and subsequent fielding error by the Thunder’s Lee Hyde, all setting up Wilfredo Tovar for his two run double. Juan Centeno followed Tovar and his sacrifice fly scored Martin from third. Tovar was 2-for-4 with the double and two RBI’s in the game. Dykstra went 2-for-4 as well with a double and run scored.

B-Mets Buzz: It’s an early day for the B-Mets and Thunder on Wednesday, as ‘Super Splash Wednesday’ will feature Binghamton’s Cory Mazzoni (3-2, 3.48) against Trenton’s Vidal Nuno (4-2, 1.57). After the rubber match, the B-Mets are off to Bowie, Maryland for a four game set against the Baltimore Orioles Double A affiliate. After their series against the BaySox, the B-Mets are off to New Britain for three games against the Rock Cats.

Brevard County 6, St. Lucie 5

Brevard County 1, St.Lucie 0

By Satish Ram

St.Lucie got swept by the Brevard County Manatees in a pair of 7-inning games for a double header on Tuesday. The first game was a bit of a heartbreaker for St.Lucie, as they allowed only three hits all game but the opposition turned it into six runs. Yohan Almonte started and held his own across five innings, allowing only two hits – a double and a HR in the fourth, which led to his two earned runs allowed. All things considered, it was a nice start for Almonte.

Jack Leathersich took over for the sixth and handled it well, but the seventh inning led to some drama. Between Leathersich (0-2, 4.34) and Jeffrey Walters, who blew the save (2nd), only one hit was allowed and they logged four strikeouts. However, they walked two and the one hit allowed was a two-run double, which was part of a four run inning. A wild pitch on strike three and RBI groundout rounded out the four runs for the inning.

St.Lucie had went into the seventh with a 3-2 lead, after Danny Muno had a two-run single in the second, followed by an RBI single from Alonzo Harris. Mike Baxter did the majority of damage on offense in the seventh with another double and two more RBI during a successful rehab stint in the minors so far. However, Aderlin Rodriguez grounded into a game ending double play.

The second game had a ton to write home about on the pitching side of the game, but nothing from the offense. The Mets were shut out in game two, mustering only three hits against Brevard County. They had a chance to put together something in the bottom of the sixth, after two walks and a base hit, but two infield pop outs effectively ended that threat.

The positive to take away from the game, however, was another outstanding pitching performance from a name you will definitely be hearing more of from now on : Rafael Montero. Mister Montero (2-2, 2.30) was the tough luck loser in this one, after going six innings and punching out double digits (10) while allowing his only run off a sacrifice fly. Taylor Whitenton wrapped up the pitching for the Mets on Tuesday, striking out the side in the seventh.

Lucie Logistics: Real tough luck for Mister Montero, who was brilliant in the second game of the series. Vaughn and Muno each stole a base, giving them 12 and 8 respectively.  Does the St.Lucie site ever write recaps, on a serious note? I find game stories from the opposition consistently, but rarely from St.Lucie. The Mets finish up their series with the Brevard County Manatees on Wednesday at 6:30, lefty Chase Huchingson (5-6, 4.44) toes the bump for Lucie.

Savannah 10, Lakewood 2

By Pete Shapiro

After dropping the first two games of the series, Savannah won the next two games against the Lakewood BlueClaws to earn a split of the four-game set. Behind some brilliant starting pitching last night, and an explosive 13-hit attack, the Sand Gnats defeated the BlueClaws by a score of 10-2.

Right-hander Jacob DeGrom (5-3, 2.55) made the start for the Gnats and pitched into the eighth inning going 7.2 IP with two earned runs given up on four hits, one walk, a wild-pitch and eight strikeouts. Marco Camarena came on in relief and got the final out in the eighth, and pitched a scoreless ninth to close out the win.

DeGrom spotted Lakewood an early run in the first on a two-out RBI double by Christopher Duffy to make it 1-0. The Gnats took the lead back in a noisy way in the third when Cole Frenzel and Gilbert Gomez hit back-to-back jacks, the first South Atlantic League homers for both players, to take a 2-1 Savannah lead.

Savannah would add two more in the fifth when with two outs Gilbert Gomez started it off with a single. Matt Reynolds then doubled to center to plate Gomez and make it 3-1, then Dustin Lawley followed with a run-scoring double of his own to make it 4-1. A double, a single, and a sac-fly netted Lakewood another run in the sixth to make it 4-2.

Then in the Sand Gnat eighth with one out, Greg Pron doubled and Charley Thurber walked before Yucarybert De La Cruz singled to drive in Pron and move Thurber to second. A walk to Xorge Carrillo would load the bases for Frenzel who hit a sac-fly to bring in Thurber and make it 6-2.

The Gnats weren’t finished though. In the ninth, two doubles to Pron and Brian Harrison and a walk to Thurber would load the bases for Yucarybert De La Cruz. De La Cruz launched a bases clearing double to left making it 9-2. He then went to third on a passed ball, and scored on an error on the pitcher to make the score the final of 10-2.

De La Cruz had his coming out party. Going into the game he was hitting just .200, but after going 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and four RBI last night, he hiked his average up to .229. Greg Pron went 3-for-5 as well, with two doubles and two runs scored. Gilbert Gomez and Dustin Lawley had two hits apiece.

Gnats Gnotes: The hottest hitter in the Sand Gnats line-up these days is left-fielder Greg Pron. The 6’6″ righty slugger got off to a miserable start this season, hitting .192 in April, but has brought up his average each month, to .229 in May, .255 in June, and now .340 in July. For the last ten games in 39 at-bats he has 15 hits, four doubles, two triples, four runs scored, and five RBI. His slash-line over that span is .385/.400/.590. The Gnats are off on Wednesday but return to Historic Grayson Stadium for a four-game set with the Rome Braves beginning Thursday night at 7:05 PM. Right-hander Michael Fulmer (5-5, 2.76) gets the nod for Savannah. Fulmer is fourth in the league in ERA, and third in WHIP with a 1.09.

Hudson Valley 4, Brooklyn 1

By Clayton Collier

After sweeping the State College Spikes, the Brooklyn Cyclones were unable to overcome an unfortunate outing by their starter to drop the opener to the Hudson Valley Renegades by a final score of 4-1.

Julian Hilario looked to build on his solid outing last week against the Connecticut Tigers in which he went six innings allowing just one run, taking a very tough loss. Instead, the righty imploded Tuesday night, failing to get out of the fourth inning. Leading off the second, Luke Maile took Hilario deep to hand the Renegades the first run of the evening.

The wheels really came flying off for Hilario in the fourth as he loaded the bases including two walks, then allowed a single and a double before being pulled for Ernesto Yanez, who ended the threat retiring two striahgt batters to stop the bleeding. The 21-year old Hilario ended the evening with a final line of 3.1 innings pitched, allowing four runs on five hits while walking two and punching out a pair, falling to 0-2 on the year while raising his ERA to 3.75.

On the other hand, the ‘Clones bullpen was as good as ever, using three pitchers to combine for 5.2 shutout frames and four punchouts. If only the Mets could have had this kind of bullpen effort last night huh? Yanez, Logan Taylor and Matt Koch held down the fort to give the offense a chance to get back in this game, but unfortunately like the starting pitching, it wasn’t there last evening.

The Renegades pitching had the Brooklyn lineup’s number as they were limited to just one run on four hits. The only run came in the sixth as Brandon Nimmo hit a two-out double to score Eudy Pina to bring the Cyclones within three but it wasn’t enough as they fell by a final score of 4-1.

Brookyln Brew: With his 1.2 scoreless innings today, Ernesto Yanez has now lowered his ERA to 2.19. Eudy Pina and Brandon Nimmo both had a double on the night, each coming in the sixth accounting for the ‘Clones lone run. In addition to those two hits, Phillip Evans and Stefan Sabol had 1-for-4 evenings. It looks as if Alex Sanchez’s three hit game last night did not bust his out of his slump, taking an 0-for-3. Sanchez is now batting .206 in his last ten games. Nimmo, on the other hand, is starting to find his stroke as he if batting .314/.415/.457 in his past ten games and doubling in each of his past three ballgames. The Cyclones continue their series with the Renegades at Hudson Valley with Rainy Lara (3-1 2.91) on the hill Wednesday at 7:05 pm.

Kingsport 4, Bristol 3

By Pete Shapiro

The Kingsport Mets got solid pitching for the second night in a row, and were able to put just enough runs on the board to scratch out a 4-3 win in the first of three games against the Bristol White Sox. Five K-Mets pitchers combined their efforts to get through the game, with 6’4″ righty reliever Peter Birdwell (1-0, 0.00) coming on for his first appearance of the season, and picking up his first win since 2010.

The big hit in the game was an RBI single by Jeyckol De Leon in the bottom of the eighth inning that snapped a 3-3 tie and gave the K-Mets the margin of victory. Birdwell, who had allowed Bristol to tie the game in the top of the eighth as a result of a single and a throwing error on second-baseman Branden Kaupe, his second of the game, and a sac-fly, would navigate the ninth to put this one away. The victory gives the K-Mets who are now 6-18 on the year, two victories in their last three games.

Kingsport took a 1-0 lead in the third with two singles and a walk loading the bases with no one out. Jorge Rivero then bounced into a double-play that allowed the first run of the game to score. Bristol came back in the fifth for two runs, one earned on an error by Kaupe, a single, a run-scoring force-out, and an RBI double by Courtney Hawkins, which gave Bristol a short-lived lead at 2-1.

Kingsport took the lead back in the bottom half of the inning when Jeffrey Diehl singled to lead off, followed by a throwing error on Bristol first-baseman Alex Williams that allowed Joe Tuschak to get on and put runners at first and second. A walk to Kaupe loaded the bases before Eris Peguero reached first on a throwing error this time by Williams, his second error of the inning, that allowed the tying run to score. Then Rivero came to the plate once again with the bases loaded and it was deja vu all over again. He hit into another run-scoring, bases-loaded double-play which gave the lead back to Kingsport 3-2, and set up the pivotal eighth inning.

Right-hander Robert Gsellman started for Kingsport but was removed in the fifth inning with one out. For the day Gsellman surrendered two runs, one earned, on six hits, a walk, a hit batter, and four strikeouts. He was relieved in the fifth by Edioglis Villasmil who got the last two outs of the inning with two strikeouts and limiting further damage despite giving up a walk, a wild-pitch and a hit batter.

Lefty Juan Urbina, and righty Martires Arias each pitched a scoreless inning to get the ball to Birdwell in the eighth. De Leon was the hitting leader in the game with a 2-for-4 day and the big game-winning RBI in the eighth. Rivero was the only other multiple hit game with a 2-for-4 with a double.

Kingsport Knews: The win pulled Kingsport out of the basement in their division as they moved a game ahead of Bristol, who is now 6-20 on the year and presently own a six-game losing streak. Game two of the three-game set will take place Wednesday night at Kingsport at 7:00, when the K-Mets send right-hander Akeel Morris (0-4, 7.50) to the mound as he searches for his first win of the year.