El Paso 3, Las Vegas (21-10) 2
Steven Matz pitched 7 scoreless innings giving up only fours hits and two walks while striking out seven, throwing 97 pitches with 66 of them for strikes. Here is video of Matz final K. Matz had three strike outs with his curveball including two looking and did a great job of pitching down in the zone resulting in 10 ground outs compared to only 3 fly outs. Matz lowered his ERA to 1.70 and has yet to allow a homerun in 42.1 innings. Unfortunately Chasen Bradford had his first blown save of the year giving up three runs in the bottom of the 9th for his 2nd straight rough outing. After starting the year with 14 scoreless innings Bradford pitched 1.1 this weekend and combined to give up five runs over that span. Former Major League outfielder Jason Lane pitched 6 good innings for the Chihuahuas while Former Mets farmhand Cory Mazzoni picked up the win with two scoreless innings for El Paso. The 51’s lone runs came from a two-run homer from catcher Dan Rohlfing who hit his first of the season. Wilfredo Tovar led the team with three hits and stole his 8th base, hitting .389 over his last ten games. Kyle Johnson chipped in with two hits with of them being his 5th double while Eric Campbell was 1-5 lowering his average to .389. Box Score. The 51’s play El Paso again tonight at 8:35 ET with Tyler Pill (0-0, 8.14) on the mound.
Akron 9, Binghamton (18-12) 4
John Gant received his 3rd loss of the season lasting only 5 innings giving up four runs on 11 base runners while striking out four. Beck Wheeler wasn’t sharp either giving up four runs in his two innings and has now given up sixteen over the his first 16 innings pitched this year. Chase Huchingson gave up a run in his only inning of work and has now allowed 26 guys to reach base over 15.2 IP. Brandon Nimmo reached base four times via single, triple (2nd), BB, and getting hit by a pitch. Nimmo’s slash line now looks like .293/.366/.440 including hitting .342/.419/.500 when he is up with two outs. Gavin Cecchini was 1-4 with his 2nd steal and now has a hit in 18 out of 21 games this year. Gilbert Gomez broke out of his 0-23 slump with a single, he also walked twice and scored half of the B’Mets runs. Jayce Boyd went 1-4 with a walk and his 9th double that places him 2nd on the team. Jared King, T.J. Rivera, and Aderlin Rodriguez each had a hit and a RBI. Box Score. Binghamton plays tonight at 6:35 with Seth Lugo (2-0, 1.37) pitching against the Richmond Squirrels.
St. Lucie (13-17) had the day off and return to action tonight at 6:30 with
Hickory 3, Savannah (11-18) 2 F/10
The Sand Gnats scored a run in the 8th and 9th inning each time tying the score but were unable to score in the 10th and Alberto Baldonado issued a game-ending balk with the bases loaded and to outs in the bottom of the 10th. It was Savannah’s 2nd consecutive extra inning loss after losing 5-4 on Saturday when infielder Jon Leroux came into pitch and gave up a walk-off homerun.Martires Arias (2-1, 3.23) got the start and pitch 7.1 strong innings allowing just two runs on nine hits, one walk, while striking out six. Baldonado suffered his 3rd loss of the season going 2.1 innings giving up the winning run on two hits, WP, three walks (2 IBB), and striking out two. After getting a day off Luis Guillorme came back fresh and collected three hits including and RBI single that tied the game in the 8th. Eudor Garcia had a rough game on Saturday going 0-7 with 5 strike outs but he bounced back yesterday getting two hits including his 4th double in just 24 at bats since being called up. John Mora was 0-2 but did walk three times and is now 6th in the South Atlantic League with his .396 OBP. Box Score. Scarlyn Reyes (1-3, 4.15) pitches for the Sand Gnats tonight as they take on Hickory at 6:00 ET.
Over the weekend Michael Fulmer made his 2nd AA start of the year and picked up his first win with Binghamton winning 5-4 on Friday going 5 innings giving up one run while striking out four. Fulmer was hitting 93-95 MPH on the gun but needed 95 pitches to get through his 5 innings. Also on Friday, Casey Meisner got the first 19 batters out before allowing back-to-back singles giving up his only run. Meisner’s final line: 7 IP, 2H, R, 9 SO, 90 pitches (64 strikes), picking up his 2nd win as Savannah won 5-1. Wuilmer Becerra had a big night as well for the Sand Gnats going 3-4 with his 3rd triple. 4th HR, and knocked in two runs (15).
