Mets Farm Report: Savannah Wins Thriller, Brooklyn Pounds Spikes, Harvey Homeward Bound

Toledo 4, Buffalo 2

By Sean Kenny

In what may amount to the last Triple-A start for Matt Harvey, he had a strong outing but Jenrry Mejia continued to struggle and the Bisons lost the first game against the Toledo Mudhens, 4-2.

Matt Harvey went out today and from the start of the game did not have his best control. Harvey’s final line was six and two-third innings, giving up two runs on three hits, walking four and striking out four. Harvey didn’t give up his first hit until the sixth, and could’ve gotten out of that inning unscathed if not for a Josh Satin misplay. Harvey didn’t look bad at many points, but throwing 58 of 100 pitches for strikes will always make it a tough day to get out of a game at the MLB level.

One of the runs charged to Harvey was actually allowed to score by Justin Hampson, who pitched one-third of an inning and gave up one hit. Jenrry Mejia came out to pitch two innings, and after a clean eighth he lost command in the ninth, taking the loss on the day and allowing two runs on four hits while walking one and striking out none. The Bisons bullpen has struggled as a whole, and if Harvey is called up, they will lose possibly their most durable starter and will be doing much heavier lifting in the near future.

On offense, the team relied on two big hits, but missed numerous chances to score with ducks on the pond. Adam Loewen obliterated a pitch for a mammoth home run in the fourth inning, his seventh of the season. The second run of the game scored on a Zach Lutz sac-fly with the bases loaded, but the aforementioned Loewen was thrown out trying to tag-up from first to second. The Bisons only had four hits, but six walks on the day. With runners on first and second in the eighth with one out, both Adam Loewen and Zach Lutz struck out to end the threat, and at that point the chance to take the lead.

GOAT: Jenrry Mejia. If the man can’t be placed in high-leverage positions at AAA, what chance does he have to be effective at the MLB level? Horrible day today continues a horrible month.

Herd Rumblings: Jason Bay went 0-for-2 with a strikeout and two walks. Bay also completely lost a ball in the lights, having it land about 25 feet past him. Matt den Dekker has returned to flirting with the Mendoza line, hitting an unhealthy .205 but making a few good defensive plays on the day. The Bisons will look to continue the series tonight sending right-hander Jeremy Hefner (4-2, 2.96) to the hill, game time is 7:05 PM.

Trenton 6, Binghamton 5

By Tim Burns

Game one of the Double A Mets versus the Double A Yanks went the way of the visitors on Monday night at NYSEG Stadium, as the Trenton Thunder defeated the B-Mets 6-5.

Darin Gorski got the start for the B-Mets, and was in trouble from the get-go. Trenton’s first batter of the game Jose Pirela tripled and then scored when Francisco Pena’s pickoff attempt missed the mark. Gorski allowed three more earned runs in his six innings of work, all three by way of solo homeruns by Trenton batters. The Thunder had nine hits total off of Gorski in the game, who also tallied five strikeouts and no walks. Adrian Rosario was brought in to pitch the seventh inning. In one inning, Rosario walked two and struck out one earning his second hold of the season.

Ryan Fraser wasn’t as lucky when he was called upon to pitch the eighth inning. He gave up two runs on three hits, walked two and struck out one. At innings end, Fraser was charged with his first blown save of the season, and ultimately took the loss for the B-Mets. Fraser’s record now stands at two wins and two losses on the season. Brad Holt came in to pitch the ninth, surrendering only one hit and allowing no runs, while registering one strikeout.

Reese Havens was key in the B-Mets biggest inning of the game. Havens two run homerun, his eighth of the season, would cap off a three run third inning in which the B-Mets took their first lead of the game. The lead was short lived however as Gorski gave up back to back homeruns to the first two Trenton batters in the top of the fourth to tie the game.

Juan Lagares was 2-for-4 on the night, with his 21st double of the season, an RBI, and two runs scored. Wilmer Flores was 2-for-4 as well, with a double, his seventh since being called up from St. Luice, and an RBI. Eric Campbell was 1-for-4 in the game, with his lone hit being his 18th double of the year.

B-Mets Buzz: Game two of the series will be at 6:35 PM on Tuesday night in Binghamton. Greg Peavey (3-6, 6.23) will be on the hill for the home team against Trenton’s Dellin Betances (1-1, 2.41). Fans came out in droves to watch the B-Mets play on Monday night as 5,419 passed through the turnstiles, one of the largest crowds of the season for Binghamton. Tuesday night may prove to be as populated in the blue seats of NYSEG Stadium as Super Bowl Champ Chris Snee is scheduled to make an appearance at the game. Snee, who grew up in nearby Montrose, Pennsylvania, was originally to appear in the early part of the season, but weather concerns caused the B-Mets to reschedule the event.

St. Lucie – Brevard County

Postponed – Rain

On Monday evening, the game between the PSL-Mets and the Manatees was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a double-header beginning this evening. The Manatees (MIL) will send Drew Gagnon (0-0, 2.41) to the mound to face St Lucie’s Yohan Almonte (7-4, 6.08.) Noteworthy is Almonte’s 7.78 home ERA and 13.50 second half ERA, while Gagnon is coming off three consecutive quality starts. Lefty Chase Huchingson (5-6, 4.44) will get the ball for St. Lucie in game two.

Savannah 9, Lakewood 8

By Joe D.

In one of their biggest wins of the season, the Savannah Sand Gnats rallied for three runs in the sixth, four more in the seventh and the decisive winning run in the ninth to complete their 9-8 comeback victory over the Lakewood BlueClaws on Monday night.

After Lakewood tied the game in the eighth inning, the Gnats stung them in the ninth inning scoring the tiebreaker by taking advantage of a pair of fielding errors that sent Dustin Lawley scampering home with Savannah’s ninth run of the game. It may not have been pretty, but a win is a win, and this one was sweet.

Logan Verrett started the game for Savannah and was mostly forgettable as he was tagged for six earned runs on eight hits including two back-breaking home runs. The good news was that Verrett didn’t walk anyone in the game and struck nine. Hey, shake it off big guy.

Brian Harrison, who is now playing third base with Cole Frenzel entrenched at first base, had a nice game tonight and had a pair of hits including a double to go with a pair of runs scored and three RBIs. Dustin Lawley and Gregory Pron each drove in a pair of runs.

Gnats Gnotes: Gilbert Gomez, Cam Maron, Brian Harrison and Greg Pron all had two-hit days for the Gnats. Shortstop Matt Reynolds was on base three times. Gilbert Gomez laced his first triple of the year and went 2-for-4 with a walk. Maybe this will turn around what has been a poor offensive performance at the plate this season. Jake DeGrom (4-3, 2.57) takes the hill in the series finale this morning at 11:00 AM.

Brooklyn 7, State College 4

By Dave Landon

The Brooklyn Cyclones completed their sweep of the State College Spikes on Monday night during an offensive battle where Brooklyn wound up on top by a final of 7-4. Righty starter Hansel Robles allowed four runs to score, but only one was earned during a rough fourth inning.

The Cyclones scored first to make it 1-0 on an RBI single by Dimas Ponce in the top of the second which scored Stefan Sabol. State College tied it at 1-1 with an RBI single by Dave Valesente in the third. Brooklyn again edged out in front with a Eudy Pina RBI double in the fourth that scored Jayce Boyd and made it 2-1.

In the bottom of the fourth, after a fielding error on Cyclone second baseman Richie Rodriguez, a wild pitch by Robles, along with a pair a walks and a couple base hits, allowed three runs to score and gave State College a 4-2 lead.

Brooklyn would then score four more runs in the fifth to put them up 6-4, and give them the lead for good. The inning would start off with a base hit from Brandon Nimmo, followed by a single from Phillip Evans and then Kevin Plawecki walked to load the bases. Nimmo would score on a ground out, Evans scored on a passed ball, Ponce had another RBI single, followed lastly by another RBI hit for Eudy Pina. The Cyclones also scored an insurance run in the ninth on an error to finish out the scoring at 7-4.

Robles hit his pitch count and was taken out with two outs in the sixth. He pitched 5.2 innings giving up five hits, four runs, only one earned, and walked three batters. He earned the win to go 2-1 on the year, and lowered his ERA to 2.36.

Beck Wheeler finished the sixth, and then Paul Seward hurled two scoreless innings in relief with one hit, one walk and two strikeouts. Lefty John Mincone would come in, get a one-two-three inning with two strikeouts to end the game and get his third save.

Brooklyn Brew: Brooklyn had a total of thirteen hits on the night with five guys with multi-hit games. The Cyclones lead the league in walks (137) and are tied for third in the league in home runs (14). Up next: The Cyclones return to MCU Park on Tuesday to take on the Hudson Valley Renegades at 7:00 PM. Fans will receive Ike Davis t-shirts and a show put on by Medieval Times. Right-hander Julian Hilario (0-1, 2.61) toes the rubber for Brooklyn as he seeks his first win of the year.

Kingsport 1, Johnson City 0

Johnson City 4, Kingsport 1

By Pete Shapiro

As a result of Sunday’s rain-out, the Kingsport Mets and the Johnson City Cardinals played a twi-night double-header on Monday night in Appalachian League action. In game one, the K-Mets got one of their best pitched efforts of the season from right-hander John Gant who tossed 5.1 innings without allowing a run on four hits, with six strikeouts and two walks enroute to a 1-0 Kingsport victory.

Lefty reliever Shane Bay earned his second save of the season in relief of Gant (1-1, 5.85). Bay threw the final 1.2 innings with nothing across while striking out three. The win ended a seven-game losing streak by Kingsport, and was their first road win this year after 13 straight defeats.

The lone run of the game came in the second inning when with one out DH Julio Concepcion went deep to left-field for his first round-tripper of the season. Outfielder Maikis De La Cruz went 1-for-2 with a walk, raising his batting average for the season to .357, and extending his hitting streak to eight straight games.

In game two, right-hander Christian Chivilli (1-2, 7.71) made the start for the K-Mets but didn’t fair very well as he was reached for four runs, three earned on six hits, in three innings of work with five strikeouts and no walks. The K-Mets were unable to overcome that deficit as they fell to the Cardinals in the night-cap by a final score of 4-1.

Right-hander Andrew Massie came on in relief of Chivilli, and went 3.0 innings giving up no runs on two hits, a walk, a wild-pitch, and four strikeouts. Massie the 24th round pick in this year’s draft out of Dyer County High School in Dyersburg, Tennessee, has not been scored upon in five innings so far this year.

Johnson City scored first, in the top of the first on a home run by Ildemaro Vargas, his first of the year. They would add three more runs in the third on three consecutive singles, a double, and an error on shortstop Gavin Cecchini to push the lead to 4-0. Kingsport got an unearned run back in the top of the fourth on a run-scoring single by Jeyckol De Leon that scored Jeff Diehl from second, making it 4-1.

Cardinal right-hander Silfredo Garcia (1-0, 0.00) made his Appalachian League debut and was masterful, going six innings and giving up one unearned run on five hits with eight strikeouts. Mariano Llorens pitched the seventh to pick up his second save of the year. Kingsport managed only five hits in the game, De Leon was 2-for-3 with an RBI, Cecchini 2-for-3 with a double, and DH Jonathan Leroux was 1-for-3 with a double.

Kingsport Knews: An 0-for-3 in the nightcap dropped Maikis De La Cruz’ batting average to .342, and ended his hitting streak at eight games. Cecchini now has his average up to .280 after 68 professional at-bats. The double-header split gives the three-game series to the Cardinals two games-to-one, and drops the K-Mets season record to 5-18, worst in the league. Tuesday night the K-Mets return home to host the Bristol White Sox for three games. Bristol, at 6-19 are barely in front of the K-Mets in the standings, staying ahead of them and out of the cellar by mere percentage points. Right-hander Robert Gsellman (1-1, 6.59) will get the ball for Kingsport, game time is 7:00 PM.