Tacoma 5, Las Vegas (25-14) 4
Darin Gorski gave up runs in only one inning but the 5 spot Tacoma put in the 3rd inning was all they needed as the 51’s collected just 6 hits with only 1 after the 5th inning. Brooks Conrad singled with one out in the top of the 9th giving the 51’s two at bats with the winning run at the plate for Brandon Allen And Travis Taijeron who both popped out to 2nd base to end the game. Before getting promoted Darrell Ceciliani went 1-4 with his 3rd triple of the season and came around to score on a T.J. Rivera single in the 3rd inning. Allen and Taijeron both went 1-4 with a double and scored a run the 51’s three-run 5th inning. Matt Reynolds and Alex Castellanos both went 0-4 lowering their batting averages to .291 and .301 respectively. Here is video of Ceciliani’s triple.
Gorski kept his team in the game by throwing 4 scoreless inning besides his rough 3rd that saw him give up a three-run HR and a two-run HR. In his 5 innings he gave up five runs on five hits, two walks, striking out four giving him his 3rd loss and raising his ERA to 6.08. John Church threw two perfect innings striking out two and has known given up just one run in his last 13.2 innings lowering his ERA to 3.09 and WHIP to 1.11. Zack Thornton pitched a perfect 8th inning, he has now allowed only two runs over his last 10 innings. Box Score. Duane Below (2-2, 3.47) will make the start for Vegas today at 2:35 ET against Tacoma
Binghamton had the day off but are back at it today at 6:30 with Rainy Lara (3-1, 2.51) pitching against Harrisburg
St. Lucie (17-21) 4, Tampa 1
Robert Gsellman continued what has been a fantastic for him with 7 innings of one-run ball that moved his record to 5-0. Gsellman had thrown 6 scoreless innings until Carson Kelly hit a solo HR to start the bottom of the 7th off a hanging breaking ball. His final line was 7 innings, 6 hits, 1 R, 2 walks, 5 K’s while inducing three ground ball double plays. He hovered around 90-92 with his heavy sinking fastball, broke off several good curveballs, and even got some bad swings on his changeup. Recently promoted former 1st round pick of the Nationals Josh Smoker pitched a perfect 8th inning needing only 7 pitches to get a ground out and two strikeouts. Akeel Morris came in for the save getting the first outs quickly before walking two straight bringing the tying run to the plate. Morris struck out Kelly to end the game and pick up his 5th save of the year.
Dominic Smith was 2-4 with a run scored, his 5th double, and knocked in his 13th run of the season. Smith is now 11-34 over his last 9 games and has 10 RBI’s over his last 7 games that has seen his average go from .143 to .206. Michael Conforto was 1-3 with a run scored and was hit by a pitch twice including one that hit him in the back of the helmet. Conforto seemed unfazed by getting hit in the head as he went down to 1st base by himself staying in to play the rest of the game. Jhoan Urena and Matt Oberste both went 2-4 with a run scored while Amed Rosario had his 6-game hit streak snapped with an 0-4 day. Box Score. Miller Diaz (1-2, 3.00) pitches for the Mets as they take on Palm Beach at 6:35.
Savannah 4, Augusta 3
The Sand Gnats were down 3-0 heading to the bottom of the 5th when they scored 4 runs to take lead with John Mora walking with the bases loaded to force home the eventual winning run. Wuilmer Becerra singled to start the rally that included 5 walks and a two-run single by Johnathan Johnson that tied the game at 3-3. Eudor Garcia was 1-2 with two walks, scored a run and picked up his first stolen base of the year. Johnson had two of the Sand Gnats four hits on the day while Vicente Lupo went 0-3 with 3 strikeouts lowering his average to .161 on the year.
Scarlyn Reyes picked up his 3rd win going 7 strong innings giving up three runs (two earned) on six hits and two walks while striking out four. Ricky Knapp pitched a clean 8th inning bridging the gap to lefty David Roseboom who pitched a scoreless 9th inning to pick up his 2nd save. Roseboom has a 1.86 ERA, 0.83 WHIP, and .159 average against him while striking out 22 batters over his 19.1 innings. Box Score. Savannah plays tonight at 7:05 with Corey Oswalt (3-0, 4.98) on the hill against Augusta.
In injury news Brandon Nimmo was in New York yesterday finding out he has an ACL sprain in his left knee.
The Mets have also announced they have signed 27-year old Cuban catcher Lednier Ricardo who hit .256 with 26 HR’s and 136 RBI in 1,190 at bats in the Cuban National Series from 2007-2012. Ricardo has been scouted by MLB teams since July 2014 when he held a private workout in the Dominican Republic.
