Sacramento 6, Las Vegas (24-11) 5
The 51’s were down 6-0 heading to the bottom of the 8th until they would a 5 spot up but Dan Rohlfing struck out swinging as the go-ahead run to end the threat. The loss snapped The 51’s 10-game home winning streak. Kyle Johnson got the night off after having the best game of the year but had a big two-run pinch hit HR in the 8th for his 1st of the year. Matt Reynolds slid into the leadoff spot and went 1-5 scoring a run with his average dipping under .300 (.296) for the first time since April 23rd. Darrell Ceciliani was 1-4 with a runs scored and has now reached base in every game he has started except for two.. Eric Campbell was 1-4 with his 5th double while knocking in his 13th run. MMO fan favorite Travis Taijeron went 0-4 dropping his average to .345 on the season.
Duane Below got just his 2nd start of the year lasting 6 innings giving up six runs on 11 hits (2 HR’s, one from Hunter Pence), one walk, striking out three that resulted in his 2nd loss. Cody Satterwhite pitched two scoreless and Chase Bradford pitched a scoreless 9th inning. Box Score. Steven Matz (4-1, 1.70) takes the hill tonight for the 51’s at 10:05 against Sacramento.
New Hampshire 4, Binghamton (19-15) 3
Jayce Boyd was the offensive star of the night for Binghamton going 2-5 with his 12th double and scoring a run but he grounded into a double play to end the game with the tying run on 2nd. Xorge Carrillo had a nice night too with a single, RBI, R, BB, and is hitting .313 over his last 10 to raise his season average to .295. Gavin Cecchini was 1-4 with his 15th RBI dropping his average .300 after hitting .243 over his last 10. Newly signed 28-year old Minor League vet David Cooper played 1st base going 0-3 with a walk. Cooper actually played 45 games for the Blue Jays in 2012 and hit .300/.324/.464 in 140 at bats. Jared King, Brandon Nimmo, and T.J. Rivera all went 1-5 on the night.
Luis Cessa started but didn’t have his normal control walking 4 hitters in his 6.1 innings of work. He allowed four runs (three earned) on only four hits while he struck out four including three of them coming via the breaking ball. Cessa hit 96 MPH on the gun twice in the 7th and produced 11 ground ball outs. Adam Kolarek pitched 1.2 perfect innings stretching his scoreless streak to 11 innings allowing only two hits and two walks during that span. Box Score. Michael Fulmer (1-0, 3.60) is coming off his first AA win and is pitching against New Hampshire tonight at 7:05.
Tampa 4, St. Lucie (14-20) 2
Bobby Parnell got the start for the Mets giving up a run on two hits with one strikeout. Parnell got the first batter to ground out on the very first pitch which was a 87 MPH fastball. The 2nd batter struck out swinging on three pitches the final being a sharp breaking ball. Parnell’s first two pitches to Miguel Andujar were 91 MPH fastballs before he gave up a single on what the announcer called a hanging breaking ball. The first pitch the next hitter Mike Ford saw was a 91 MPH fastball down the middle that he lined for an RBI double. Parnell got the next hitter to fly out to LF and hit 92 with his fastball in the at bat. Logan Taylor followed, going 5.2 innings giving up three runs on six hits, three walks, while striking out five. Kelly Secrest threw the final 2.1 innings giving up nothing and striking out two
Catcher Colton Plaia paced the Mets offense with three hits and two RBI’s on the night. He now has a .308/.352/.449 slash line for the year with a .375 average with runners in scoring position. Jeff McNeil collected three more hits for his 15th multi-hit game of the year raising his average to .345 good for 2nd in the FSL. Michael Conforto was 1-4 but his a double for the 3rd straight game. Dominic Smith‘s hot stretch subsided with an 0-4 night. Box Score. St. Lucie Mets take on Charlotte tonight with Robert Whalen (0-2, 2.10) still looking for his first win despite pitching well at 6:30.
Lexington 5, Savannah (12-20) 2
Sand Gnats starter Brad Wieck set career highs in innings pitched at 6.1 and strikeouts at 11 but was not good enough to pick up his 1st win. Wieck allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits and three walks while throwing an even 100 pitches (65 strikes).
Luis Guillorme was again in the lead-off spot and again he delivered with two hits, walk, run scored, and his 3rd steal of the year. John Mora batting 2nd had two hits including his 4th double while knocking in his 15th run of the year. Wuilmer Becerra was 0-3 but did manage to collect his 16th RBI with a sac fly in the 4th inning. Box Score. The Sand Gnats play Lexington at 7:05 tonight with Casey Meisner (2-1, 1.70) on the mound.
In very bad injury news Top 10 pitching prospect Marcos Molina was put on the DL with what they are calling an elbow strain. Not going to speculate but hearing elbow is never good and he certainly didn’t pitch like his normal self on Wednesday. Pitcher Jake Kuebler was also put on the DL in St. Lucie with catcher Jeff Glenn being added to the roster in his place. Binghamton’s Dustin Lawley has missed the last three games with a rolled ankle but expects to play as earlier as today after the x-ray came back clean.
In rehab news Parnell and Vic Black are now scheduled to throw on Sunday in Las Vegas.
