Las Vegas (27-14) 11, Okla. City 6
Steven Matz did not have one of his typical dominant outings giving up six runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk while striking out seven batters in 6.1 innings. He threw 92 pitches, 66 of them for strikes and produced 9 groundball outs compared to two fly ball outs. His line would have looked a little better had Zack Thornton been able to strand the runner he inherited from Matz in the 7th inning. On the flip side this was pretty easily the best lineup he has faced all year with 4 out of the Dodgers top 5 hitting prospects in the lineup including #1 Corey Seager. Matz gave up back-to-back homeruns in the first inning, one of them by Chris Heisey who would be on about 29 MLB rosters. Matz settled down after the first not allowing another earned run until the 7th, the two runs in the 5th were unearned because of a Matt Reynolds error at SS. Matz also picked up his 5th hit of the year and scored two runs. Matz now has 61 strikeouts on the year which leads all of MiLB. Scott Rice pitched a clean 8th inning striking out two batters and lowering his ERA to 0.77 while only giving up three hits in 11.2 innings albeit with nine walks. Cody Satterwhite pitched a perfect 9th picking up two strikeouts and has lowered his ERA from 11.05 to 6.75 over his last 10 appearances.
Danny Muno was the offensive star for the 51’s hitting his 1st HR (two-run in 2nd), his 1st triple, walked, and scored three times out of the leadoff spot. Here is video of the Muno HR. Brooks Conrad had only one hit but it was a big one as his 1st inning three-run homer tied the game. Matt Reynolds was 1-4 with a walk and two runs scored but saw his average dip to .289 on the year. Alex Castellanos had a two-run single in the 7th to extend the 51’s lead to 10-6 and give him the team lead with 28 (7th in PCL). Box Score. Tyler Pill (1-0, 5.75) looks for his 3rd straight solid start tonight at 10:05 against Oklahoma City.
Harrisburg 9, Binghamton (22-18) 2
Luis Cessa had his worst outing of the year going only 4.1 innings allowing five runs (four earned) on 10 hits, two walks, and a wild pitch. Cessa collected just two strikeouts and was not helped by his defense which made three errors behind him including Gavin Cecchini with his 10th. Adam Kolarek had his 15 inning scoreless streak snapped in the 6th when Troy Renda hit a three-run HR off him.
The night after Binghamton hit into 4 double plays they hit into 3 more giving them 10 for the series, the most in a 3 or 4 game set since 2007. Cecchini was 1-3 with a walk but has hit just .268 in May and has struggled in the field lately picking up his 10th error (7th throwing I believe). Xorge Carrillo did tie the game in 5th at 2-2 with his only hit a two-run single that scored Dustin Lawley and David Cooper. Here is video of the single. Carrillo has been a RBI machine lately with 12 over his last 10 games while hitting .333/.408/.524 in the month of May. Jayce Boyd went 1-4 extending his hit streak to 7 games and is now hitting ,328/.403/.469 in May. Lawley was the lone B’Mets with two hits including his 13th double of the season. Box Score. Binghamton plays tonight at 7:05 against Akron with Michael Fulmer (1-0, 3.94) making that start.
Dunedin 3, St. Lucie (18-23) 2
Dillon Gee was fantastic for the Mets going 6.1 scoreless giving up just three singles (one to rehabbing Maicer Izturis) striking out five hitters and not allowing a Blue Jay touch 2nd base. Gee was repeatedly hitting 90-91 MPH on the gun and had a very good curveball working. He is clearly ready for the next step, big question is what that step will be and alot probably depends on how Noah Syndergaard does tonight. Vic Black came in to relieve Gee but his outing did not go as well giving up a run on two hits in only 0.2 of an inning. Black faced four batters and they all smoked the ball off him resulting in: deep fly out to RF, double down the left field line, RBI double of the top of the fence in CF, and a lineout to CF to end the inning. Black said he felt great with his fastball sitting around 92 and hit 95 MPH once they I heard. Mike Hepple came in to get the save with Akeel Morris needing a day off rest and immediately found trouble when Derrick Loveless hit a solo HR to start the bottom of the 9th. Two singles and a intentional walk later Hepple was faced with a bases loaded one-out situation. He was 3-0 on the hitter, got strike one called, then looked like he got strike two but homeplate ump Derek Gonzales called it a ball to end the game. Gonzales had an erratic strike zone all night that saw Met Phillip Evans get tossed in the top of the 9th arguing a call.
Everyone in the St. Lucie lineup reached base at least once and 8 of them had a single hit but they went 1-14 with runners in scoring position leaving 9 runners on. Dominic Smith hit his 8th double and 7th in his last 10 games. Michael Conforto was 1-4 stretching his hitting streak to a modest 5 games. Phillip Evans knocked in Amed Rosario with his 1st triple of the season in the 4th inning to give the Mets a 2-0 lead at the time. Box Score. Rob Whalen (1-2, 2.50) takes the hill for St. Lucie as they play Dunedin again at 6:30
Savannah (17-22) 2, Rome 0
The Sand Gnats pitching was absolutely dominant as Casey Meisner, Ben Griset, and David RoseBOOM combined on a two-hit/15 strikeout shutout of the Braves. Happy 20th Birthday to Meisner who went 7 innings allowing just one hit and three walks while he struck out a season high 10 hitters. Meisner picked up his 3rd win of the year lowering his ERA to 1.93, WHIP to 1.07, and the league is now hitting .214 off him. Lefty Ben Griset pitched the 8th inning giving up a walk and a hit but ended up striking out the side for his 2nd hold. RoseBOOM pitched a perfect 9th with two strikeouts picking up his 3rd save and lowering his WHIP to 0.73 on the year.
Savannah scored the only two runs of the game in the 5th inning thanks to a wild pitch that plated Jonathan Johnson who tripled to start the inning and a RBI groundout from Luis Guillorme that scored Jon Leroux. The Sand Gnats had only 4 hits on the night with Eudor Garcia and Jean Rodriguez picking up one each while Johnson had two. Box Score. Josh Prevost (1-4, 4.74) is coming off a career high 8-inning outing and pitches the 1st game of a double header as the Sand Gnats take on Rome for two. Ricky Knapp (0-0, 3.18) will get the start in the 2nd game vs. Rome.
Yesterday Savannah officially announced this will be the last year at Grayson Stadium as the affiliate will be moving to Columbia, South Carolina next year. This move is renewing an old affiliate the Mets had in Columbia when the Capitol City Bombers played their from 1993-2004.
