Mets Minors Daily: Attack Of The Clones Dooms Aberdeen, St. Lucie Cruises To Another Win

McHugh Gets Roughed Up By Durham Bulls

By Connor O’Brien

The Bisons fell to .500 once again as they were defeated by the Durham Bulls last night by a score of 11-5.

Collin McHugh took the mound for his second Triple-A start for the Bisons. He had struggled in his debut in Norfolk, giving up four runs over five innings and earning a loss. Last night wasn’t much better. Durham jumped on McHugh early, as their leadoff hitter jacked a solo home run to start the first. Later in the inning, McHugh gave up another homer, this one a two-run shot to put Durham up 3-0. It would get worse for McHugh in the third, as he gave up a three-run home run to Brandon Allen, who would hit another home run in the sixth. McHugh was pulled after five innings of work in which he gave up six runs (five earned) on four hits and a walk. He also struck out six.

Despite his struggles on Friday night, Wally Backman once again went with Jenrry Mejia in hope to stop the bleeding. Jenrry was awful once again. Just like Friday night, Mejia only recorded one out before being pulled. He gave up four runs (three earned) on three hits. Mejia was relieved by recently-demoted Elvin Ramirez, who gave up two hits and allowed Durham to stretch their lead to 11-0. That’s all they would get, but the damage was done.

The Bisons put together a few rallies in the late innings, with Ruben Tejada, Brad Emaus, Matt den Dekker, and Raul Reyes all getting run-scoring hits, but it wasn’t enough. The Bisons scored one in the seventh, two in the eighth, and two in the ninth to lose 11-5.

Herd Rumblings: The one positive to take away from McHugh’s start last night was the lack of walks. He had walked four in his Buffalo debut, but only walked one last night. On offense, the Bisons had a decent night, pounding out ten hits. Josh Satin had another big game, going 2-for-3 with two RBI and two walks. Raul Reyes, Brad Emaus, and Fred Lewis were the other Bisons who had multi-hit games. Matt den Dekker was 1-for-5. Matt Harvey (6-3, 3.70 ERA) takes the mound tomorrow against the Bulls. First pitch is at 5:05.

Sea Wolves Snap Binghamton’s Win Streak In 5-3 Loss 

By Joe D.

All good things must come to an end as the Binghamton Mets saw their three-game winning streak come to halt after a 5-3 loss to the Erie SeaWolves on Saturday night.

Greg Peavey (3-4) started and was hit hard again letting up five runs on ten hits over 6.1 innings to extend his own winless streak to five games now. He better get it together soon because there are plenty of other pitching prospects ready and able to replace him in the rotation if things don’t improve. To Peavey’s credit, he did start the game strong and even retired ten batters in a row through the fourth, but things quickly deteriorated after that.

The B-Mets scored first in the game thanks to a one-man show by Pedro Zapata who singled, stole second, moved to third when the catcher sailed a pick-off attempt into center field, and scored on a wild pitch. Wow, lol.

Binghamton scored again in the sixth after Jefry Marte reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to third when Eric Campbell executed a hit-and-run with a single to right. Wilmer Flores drove him in with a sac fly to right.

The B-Mets scored their third and final run when Reese Havens hit a leadoff single in the eighth and scored on an RBI-single by Campbell.

B-Mets Buzz: Juan Lagares, Reese Havens, Pedro Zapata and Eric Campbell each had two hits in the game. Campbell has at least one RBI in his last four games and is batting a very robust .331. Wilfredo Tovar went 0-for-3 and is batting .091 since his promotion. The B-Mets (34-38) continue their four-game set against the SeaWolves Sunday afternoon at 1:35 PM. I’m pretty sure Darin Gorski is starting, but don’t chop my head off if I’m wrong. The Mets take forever in posting their probables, in fact I’d say they are the worst compared to the other 29 Double-A minor league sites. Tim Heiman get your act together, dude! 😉

Mets Cruise To Blowout Win Against The Miracle

By Satish Ram

The St.Lucie Mets wrapped up a series win with a 10-3 rout against the Fort Myers Miracle on Saturday night.

Rafael Montero started for the Mets and pitched into the seventh, (6.1 IP), allowing only three hits and three earned runs. He struck out seven and walked two in a pretty good performance, which culminated in his first recorded victory of the year. The three earned runs were charged to him – but were actually allowed by the young man who took over after him, Adam Kolarek. Kolarek allowed all three inherited runners to score, which put a taint on an otherwise good line by Montero. Kolarek continued on to pick up 1.2 IP and Hamilton Bennett finished up the game for the A-Mets.

A nice offensive explosion today was highlighted by Travis Tajieron, who drove in four runs. The biggest blow in there was a three-run shot in the seventh, which puts the Mets ahead 10-3 for an safe little cushion. He also drove in a run in the big inning, a six-run third inning, to make it 5-0 at that point in time. Alonzo Harris, TJ Rivera, Darrell Ceciliani, Allan Dykstra, and Juan Torres each had an RBI in that big inning. The Mets rocked a .400 AVG with RISP tonight, 4-10.

Lucie Logistics: Nice to see the success of Rafael Montero, who was recently promoted. Travis Tajieron and TJ Rivera were both recently promoted and had nice showings as well, so it was a good game all around. The Daytona Cubs swing into town to face the Mets tomorrow at 4:00 – it is the beginning of a four game series. Angel Cuan will start for the good guys.

Augusta Shuts Out The Sand Gnats 

By Fonzie13

Saturday night in Savannah, at Historic Grayson Stadium the Sand Gnats (42-28) were blanked 1-0 by the Augusta Green Jackets (SFG).

Augusta (34-38) scored the only run of the contest in the top of the first after Gnats RHP Michael Fulmer (4-4, 3.16) surrendered a two out walk in front of a long double by Augusta first baseman Ben Thomas. Fulmer would get in a rythym and yield only one more hit, pitching 6 innings overall letting up one run on two hits, three walks and eight strikeouts. Carlos Vazquez came on in relief of Fulmer to start the seventh and tossed two perfect innings, striking out three. Jeremy Gould pitched a scoreless frame, letting up a leadoff triple in the ninth but escaped without surrendering a run

Savannah could not get their offense going all night, only mustering three hits. Red hot DH Camden Maron (2 for 4) was responsible for two of the three Sand Gnat hits. The Gnats only managed to get one runner into scoring position and only once did they get two men aboard, never getting a runner past second.

Augusta starter Kyle Crick and three relievers combined to shut out the Gnats to take a two games to one lead in this four game series.

Gnats Gnotes: Savannah catcher Cam Maron continues his torrid hitting with a .439/.477/.561 slash line over his last 10 games, going 18 for 41 with three doubles, a triple and six RBI. 2011 first round draft choice (44th) is enjoying a fine first full year of pro ball. Fulmer is 4-4, 3.16 over 12 starts, pitching 57 innings and allowing 45 hits, 20 earned runs, 22 walks, 52 K’s. The league is batting just .211 against him in that span. Savannah will try to salvage a split Sunday afternoon sending Jimmy Fuller to the mound for his season debut against LHP Adalberto Mejia (4-4, 5.73). Savannah and Augusta have split four game series twice this season already.

Cyclones Homer Twice In 7-1 Win

By Dave [Retie 31]

The Cyclones paired some great pitching with a solid offensive showing to beat the Aberdeen Iron Birds 7-1 on Saturday night.

Brooklyn took an early lead by doing their best Mets impression with a two-out rally to score four in the second inning – the big blow was a two-run single from Brandon Nimmo. Richie Rodriguez and Dimas Ponce each added two-out RBIs in the frame.

In the top of the fifth, the ‘Clones scored two more insurance runs thanks to a two-run bomb from Kevin Plawecki, his first professional homerun. That advanced Brooklyn to a 6-0 lead. Shortstop Phillip Evans smacked a solo homer in the eight to cap the Cyclones scoring.

Cyclones starter, Rainy Lara was lights out, tossing five scoreless innings on two hits, two walks and striking out four. He earned his first win of the new season. Juan Urbina came in to relieve and tossed three solid innings and only allowed one run on three hits, while walking one and striking out four batters. David Wynn closed it out with a perfect one-two-three to end the game.

Brooklyn Brew: The Cyclones drew nine walks to match their nine hits, with Plawecki and Alex Sanchez each having two hit nights. Alexander Sanchez leads the team with eight hits and is batting .308. The Cyclones continue their series with the Aberdeen Iron Birds at 5:35 PM on Sunday night. Lets Go ‘Clones!

Kingsport Lose Two In One Day By The Same Score 

By Pete Shapiro

In the conclusion of a suspended game from Friday, the K-Mets lost to the Greenville Astros by a score of 9-5 on Saturday, for their fourth straight loss to open the season. Right-hander John Gant started for Kingsport on Friday night and went 5.0 innings, giving up five earned runs on eight hits, with six strikeouts. Righty reliever Ramon Estevez (0-1) took the loss when the game was resumed in the sixth inning on Saturday. He went 2.0 innings and giving up three earned runs on three hits, one walk and one strikeout.

Jordan Jankowski (2-0) got the win for Greenville with 2.0 scoreless innings and Michael Dimock pitched the eighth and ninth innings to pick up his first save. The Astros only needed their first four hitters for this win. The top four hitters in their line-up combined to go: 11-for-18 with eight runs scored, three doubles, a triple, and six RBI.

Though the offensive output fell short, three K-Met hitters had notable games. The 2012 first-round draft pick, shortstop Gavin Cecchini had his best game as a pro so far, going 3-for-5, with a double and an RBI. The 2012 eighth-round draft pick, catcher Tomas Nido opened some eyes when he went 2-for-5 with a home run to center field leading off the bottom of the fourth. Right fielder Eris Peguero continued his torrid hitting going 2-for-5, with two runs and an RBI.

In the night-cap 2011 eleventh round draft pick, right-hander Christian Montgomery made his first professional appearance and carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning. But nine walks and five wild pitches by the Kingsport staff doomed them to an eventual 9-5 loss, their second loss by that score to Greenville on Saturday, and their fifth loss in a row to start the season.

Nerves were probably a factor when Montgomery walked his second batter of the game. Two wild pitches later he let the run score despite not allowing a hit, for a 1-0 Greenville advantage. The score would remain like that until the fifth, when the wheels came off for Montgomery. After surrendering two walks, an infield error, a single and a double, for three runs and a 4-0 Greenville lead, Montgomery was chased for right-hander Andres E. Perez. The line for Montgomery: 4.2 innings, four runs, three earned, two hits, three walks, four strikeouts, one HBP, and two WP’s.

Right-hander Frederick Tiburcio came into the game to start the fourth inning for the Astros, and got through the inning unscathed, but that would change quickly in the fifth. He started by walking the first four batters of the inning, making the score 4-1. After an RBI single by Eris Peguero sandwiched around two sac-fly’s by Anthony Chavez and Maikis De La Cruz, the K-Mets had tied the score at 4-4.

That didn’t last long when Kingsport summoned Panamanian left-hander Alberto Baldonado to pitch the sixth. He walked the first two batters, three during the inning, and threw not one, but two wild pitches with runners on third-base allowing two runs to score and making it 6-4. Think he was nervous? Kingsport got one back in the bottom half of the inning when they loaded the bases with two out on walk, a HBP, and a single. Kingsport shortstop Anthony Chavez then lofted a sac-fly to center to pull the K-Mets to within one at 6-5.

In the seventh Baldonado ran into more trouble. After cleverly sandwiching two walks around a wild pitch, he gave up a sac-fly to make the score 7-5. Left-hander Shane Bay replaced Baldonado to pitch the eighth and ninth, giving up two runs, one earned. The line for Baldonado (0-1) was not pretty: 2.0 innings, three earned runs, no hits, one strikeout, five walks, three wild pitches, and the loss. Greenville right-hander Zachary Dando (1-0) picked up the win with 3.0 innings of one-run ball in relief.

Kingsport Knews: The K-Mets are now 0-5 to start the season. This is probably the result of not having a Gulf Coast League (or the equivalent) entry to place the youngest prospects anymore. Our youngest kids are now forced to play junior college and college players instead of kids their own age. The most alarming stats from the first five games involve lack of command by the pitching staff. In the last four games the K-Met pitchers have thrown a staggering 14 wild pitches, and hit six batters with pitches over the same span. And with 29 walks issued in just five games, they are averaging nearly six walks issued per game, good for a last-place tie in the league. The pitching staff is also tied for last place in the league in hits given up, and they rank dead last in: runs, earned runs, strikeouts, WHIP, and ERA. After the first game concluded on Saturday, not only was Eris Peguero working on a modest four-game hitting streak to open his season, he had two hits in each one of the first four games. Well that went by the wayside in the second game when he went 3-for-5, with an RBI. Now it’s a five-game, multi-hit streak, cool. The 22-year-old from the Dominican Republic may be too far advanced for the Appalachian League, and will probably land in Brooklyn sooner rather than later. In his first five games in the rookie league he is 11-for-23 with five runs scored, three RBI, a walk and a stolen base. His slash line reads .478/.500/.478. Speaking of slash lines, want to see a weird one? The 2012 fourth-round draft pick, second-baseman Branden Kaupe is 1-for-7 to start the year, but with six walks already, his slash looks like this .143/.538/.143. The .538 OBP is good for fifth in the league, while Peguero is third in the league in hitting with his .478. Sunday the K-Mets will try once again to win their first game this season with a 5:00 pm start in the third game of this three-game set with Greenville.