Mets Farm Report: June 30th, 2011 - Brooklyn Puts Up Sweet 16

Buffalo Bisons 4 – Leigh Valley IronPigs 2

Great performance by Dylan Owen and probably the most efficient he has been all year. He was getting a lot of swings and misses and faced just two over the minimum through the first four innings. In the 5th the IronPigs got two men on, but both were with two outs and Owen easily got out of the Jam. All the damage on him came on two swings of the bat, a homerun in the 3rd and homerun in the 6th off the bat of John Mayberry Jr., which is understandable. With Ryota Igarashi unavailable Dale Thayer came on with one out in the 8th inning and allowed a single to the first man he faced, but was perfect from there on out for his sixth save.

After Owen gave up the lead in the 3rd inning he helped himself out in the bottom half of the inning to get the Bisons the lead. Bubba Bell and Mike Nickeas leadoff with singles and Owen executed a perfect bunt to move both runners up. Luis Figueroa singled in Bell and Nickeas would then come in on a groundout. In the next inning they scored two more runs on four consecutive singles by Jesus Feliciano, Luis Hernandez, Bell, and Nickeas. Nick Evans‘s hit streak came to an end with an 0-for-4 night that included three strikeouts and a groundout into a double play.

Top prospect performances (Boxscore):

Michael Fisher: (1-for-4, RBI)
Nick Evans: (0-for-4, 3 K)

Stars of the Game: 1. Bubba Bell (9pts) 2. Dylan Owen (8pts) 3. Mike Nickeas (7pts)

Binghamton Mets 6 – Bowie Baysox 14

Believe it or not things were not out of hand when Tobi Stoner left the game. He wasn’t pitching terribly up until the 6th inning when he became his own worst enemy. He gave up the leadoff walk, always a bad sign, and a single before throwing the ball away on a sac bunt attempt that allowed a run to score and the baserunners to move up to 2nd and 3rd. A single and walk later Stoner was out of the game, but again at this point the score was only 4-1 Baysox. Roy Merritt allowed an inherited runner to score on a groundout and then luckily got out of the inning when the Baysox batter ripped a line drive, but it went right to the first baseman who stepped on first for unassisted the double play. Over the next 2+ innings Merritt just got ripped for eight runs on nine hits. Brandon Sage did allow to runs for Meritt to score when he came in as relief of Merritt in the 8th and allowed a three run homerun.

It was a sigh of relief to see Jordany Valdespin‘s name back in the lineup. The B-Mets 2nd inning could have been bigger had Salomon Maniruqez not grounded into a double play. After Manriquez grounded out the B-Mets worked back-to-back walks and then had Travis Ozga single one in, but that would wind up being all. The B-Mets came close to scoring in the 4th and then again in the 5th when Valdespin got on with two outs and stole 2nd and 3rd, but after Josh Satin got hit by a pitch Allan Dysktra rolled over one to first base. They didn’t have another chance until the game was already out of hand. They loaded the bases with no outs in the 8th and brought home three runs and then loaded the bases again in the 9th, this time with one out, and plated two with a single and walk.

Top prospect performances (Boxscore):

Matt Den Dekker: (0-for-4, BB, K) – Has struggled mighty since the promotion. .175/.250/.250 with 3:15 K:BB in 10 games.
Jordany Valdespin: (2-for-5, R, 2 SB)
Josh Satin: (1-for-4, 2 R, HBP)
Allan Dykstra: (2-for-3, R, 2 BB)

Stars of the Game: 1. Brahiam Maldonado (31pts) 2. Allan Dykstra (39pts) 3. Jordany Valdespin (44pts)

St. Lucie Mets 2 – Fort Myers Miracle 1

This start was a bit of an oddity for Greg Peavey, but things turned out well. He didn’t record a strikeout, but gave up just one run over five innings. He helped himself out defensively in the 3rd inning when the Miracle tried to execute a sac bunt with two on and no out. Peavey caught the bunt and fired to first for the double play. The only run that came in to score against him was in the 5th when he allowed a two out single with a man on first, the runner went first to third, then Peavey threw a wild pitch, and the runner came in to score. Josh Edgin actually got into trouble trying to notch the save in the 9th when he loaded the bases with two outs, but then promptly struckout the batter swinging to end it.

The offense recorded three of their four hits in the 3rd inning and scored their only two runs. Cory Vaughn leadoff with a double and then Francisco Pena hit a two-run homerun. Pedro Zapata added in a single and stole second and third with one out, but Robbie Shields hit a shallow flyball to right field so the runner couldn’t score and Juan Lagares grounded out. The only other hit was a Vaughn single in the 5th.

Top prospect performances (Boxscore):

Robbie Shields: (0-for-2, BB)
Juan Lagares: (0-for-3)
Jefry Marte: (0-for-3, K)
Wilmer Flores: (0-for-3)
Cory Vaughn: (2-for-3, 2B, R, K)
Cesar Puello: (0-for-3)
Francisco Pena: (1-for-2, HR, R, RBI)
Greg Peavey: (W, 5 IP, 5H, 1 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, WP, 6:7 GO:AO)
Josh Edgin: (S, 3 H, BB, 3 SO, 2:0 GO:AO)

Stars of the Game: 1. Francisco Pena (9pts) 2. Cory Vaughn (8pts) 3. Pedro Zapata (18pts)

St. Lucie Mets 2 – Fort Myers Miracle 3

What a strange/embarrassing way to lose. The Mets outhit the Miracle nine to two, but gave up three runs and managed to lose. Part of the reason for it is a poor 2-for-11 with RISP for the Mets and part is the five walks and inability to keep the ball in the park by the Mets pitching.

Armando Rodriguez walked the first batter he faced and then gave up a two-run homerun to put the team in the early hole. He didn’t allow another hit or baserunner until the 4th when he gave up another homerun. In the 5th he walked two so there was a call to the bullpen, but Estarlin Morel came in and walked his first batter before escaping the bases loaded jam.

The offense did a good job fighting back late. They put one on the board in the 6th when Stefan Welch didn’t try to do too much with two outs and took one back up the middle to score Robbie Shields. Then with their last licks Rylan Sandoval hit a one-out double, Pedro Zapata hit a single to make it runners at the corners, and Shields beat out a double play to draw the game within one. Juan Lagares picked up a two-out single to move the tying runner over to third, but Jefry Marte didn’t swing the bat and struckout looking. Oh, and Cory Vaughn got hit by another pitch, his 16th HBP of the season.

Top prospect performances (Boxscore):

Robbie Shields: (1-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, K)
Juan Lagares: (1-for-4)
Jefry Marte: (0-for-4, 2 K)
Wilmer Flores: (2-for-3)
Cory Vaughn: (0-for-2, HBP)
Armando Rodriguez: (L, 4.2 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR, 1:5 GO:AO)

Stars of the Game: 1. Robbie Shields (8pts) 2. Stefan Welch (27pts) 3. Wilmer Flores (39pts)

Savannah Sand Gnats 4 – Rome Braves 2

Yet another game Ryan Fraser struggled with his command. The only true 1-2-3 inning he had was in the 3rd inning, although he di get some help from Blake Forsythe in the 4th to catch a runner stealing to record another 1-2-3 inning. In the 2nd inning Joe Bonfe made an error that helped load the bases (he would make up for this throughout the game) and Fraser missed with two outs to walk in a run. He gave up another run on the 6th on a sac fly following a passed ball.

Sam Honeck walked and Joe Bonfe got hit by a pitch to leadoff the 5th. Luis Nieves hit a potential double play ball to the first baseman, but the first baseman threw the ball away trying to get Bonfe at second and Honeck would come in to score while Bonfe went to third and Nieves to second. Wilfredo Tovar brough home Bonfe for his first of three runs with a sac fly. Bonfe leadoff the 7th with a double and came in to score on a fielder’s choice off the bat of Tovar and then walked in the 9th and scored on an error by the first baseman off the bat of Tovar again.

Top prospect performances (Boxscore):

Darrell Ceciliani: (0-for-4, BB, K)
Wilfredo Tovar: (0-for-2, 2 RBI)
Aderlin Rodriguez: (0-for-4)
Ryan Fraser: (W, 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 4 BB, 4 SO, 6:7 GO:AO)

Stars of the Game: 1. Joe Bonfe (9pts) 2. Blake Forsythe (24pts) 3. Wilfredo Tovar (22pts)

Brooklyn Cyclones 16 – Hudson Valley Renegades 5

Chris Hilliard has a disastrous 1st inning. He gave up two consecutive singles and then back-to-back homeruns to put the Cyclones down by four. He settled down and didn’t allow a runner past second after that. The offense took over from that point on. Hilliard has a career record of 13-2 in the NYPL.

The offense had two two-run innings, a three-run , four-run inning, and five-run inning. They had four home runs. Three of the home runs were of the two-run variety (Travis Taijeron, Richard Lucas, and Dylan Brown) and one grand slam from Javier Rodriguez. Nelfi Zapata and Chase Greene were the only two batters not to get hits, which is a bit disappointed because they are two of the more intriguing players on the Cyclones.

Top prospect performances (Boxscore):

Ismael Tijerina (3-for-5, 2B, 3 R)
Javier Rodriguez: (3-for-5, 2 2B, HR, 3 R, 6 RBI, 2 K)
Richard Lucas: (2-for-5, HR, R, 3 RBI, 2 K, CS)
Brian Harrison: (2-for-5, 2B, 2 R, RBI)
Travis Taijeron: (3-for-5, 2B, HR, 3 R, 3 RBI, Outfield assist)

Stars of the Game: 1. Javier Rodriguez (15pts) 2. Travis Taijeron (8pts) 3. Richard Lucas (7pts)

Kingsport Mets 0 – Elizabeth Twins 2

Brian Valenzuela had much better control this time out then he did last time, but the command still wasn’t that sharp. The offense did almost nothing so he could have been throwing a perfect game and it wouldn’t have made a difference.

Top prospect performances (Boxscore):