*All results from games played on Tuesday, April 15th 2014
Triple-A - Las Vegas 51's (8-3)_______________________________________
LAS VEGAS 6, RENO 3 (Box)
Determined not to be forgotten with all of the hubbub surrounding Rafael Montero and Noah Syndergaard, Jake deGrom pitched seven innings of three hit, shutout baseball last night. He struck four batters, walked Some Guy, and boasted an impressive 11-1 groundball-flyball rate. The 51s got on the scoreboard in the 3rd, after leaving the bases loaded in the 2nd. Eric Campbell drove in a run with an RBI single, Wilmer Flores plated a run with a sac fly, and Allan Dykstra deposited a ball into left field for an RBI double. The 51s scored a few insurance runs in the next couple of innings- a Flores solo home run in the 5th, a Juan Centeno RBI double in the 7th, and a Flores RBI double in the 8th. As it turns out, Las Vegas needed those insurance runs. Ryan Reid, left in to pitch the 9th, his second inning of work, had a complete meltdown, allowing three consecutive singles. After a Zach Lutz error allowed the first run to score, Wally Backman brought Josh Edgin to finish the Aces off. Edgin got the necessary three outs, but not before allowing two more runs to score and bringing the tying run to the plate.
- REHAB ALERT LF Chris Young: 1-4, R, 2B, K
- 2B Eric Campbell: 2-5, 2 R, RBI
- RF Bobby Abreu: 1-5, R, K
- SS Wilmer Flores: 2-4, R, 2B, HR (1), 3 RBI
- 1B Allan Dykstra: 2-3, R, 2B, 2 BB, K, RBI
- 3B Zach Lutz: 1-4, BB, 2 K, E (1)
- CF Matt den Dekker: 2-5, 2B, K
- C Juan Centeno: 2-3, 2B, 2 BB, RBI
- RHP Jake deGrom: 7 IP, 3 H, 1 BB, 4 K
- LHP Josh Edgin: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, WP, SV (1)
Double-A - Binghamton Mets (7-4)_____________________________________
POSTPONED (RAIN)
Advanced-A - St. Lucie Mets (7-5)________________________________________
JUPITER 6, ST. LUCIE 11 (Box)
With a combined 17 runs on 26 hits, this game was a complete sloberknocker that St. Lucie just happened to win. The Mets and the Hammerheads traded runs and the lead often in the first handful of innings. When Jupiter scored two runs in the top of the 6th to tie the game 5-5, there were four lead changes. St. Lucie made it a fifth in the bottom of the inning, but the lead they hammered out would be one that Jupiter would not be able to catch up to. Every Met in the lineup had a hit, and six players- Dilson Herrera, Brandon Nimmo, T.J. Rivera, Aderlin Rodriguez, Eudy Pina, and Phil Evans all had multiple hits. After hammering 30 hits in two games against the Hammerheads, St. Lucie looks to take the rubber game of the series tonight, on All You Can Eat and a Seat Night- all you can eat hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, pulled pork sandwiches, macaroni salad, chips, along with $1 soda/water and $2 beer.
- 2B Dilson Herrera: 2-3, 2 R, 2 BB, HR (1), RBI
- CF Brandon Nimmo: 2-4, R, BB, K, RBI
- 1B T.J. Rivera: 3-5, 2 R, 2B, K, HR (1), 2 RBI
- 3B Aderlin Rodriguez: 2-5, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI
- RF Gilbert Gomez: 1-4, 2 R, 2B, BB, K, SB (2)
- DH Eudy Pina: 3-4, R, 3B, BB, 2 RBI
- SS Phil Evans: 2-4, R, 2B, BB, K, 3 RBI, E (3)
- RHP Matthew Koch: 5.2 IP, 7 H, 5 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, HR
- RHP Beck Wheeler: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K
- RHP Randy Fontanez: 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
Low-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (8-4)__________________________________
GAME ONE
SAVANNAH 3, AUGUSTA 1 (Box)
This game was postponed Monday night, on account of poor field conditions due to rain. Savannah starter Kevin McGowan and GreenJackets starter Christian Jones traded zeroes for most of the early going. The game was halted after McGowan allowed a double in the bottom of the 5th.
When the game resumed last night, Dario Alvarez took the mound. He allowed the runner to score, but the Sand Gnats got on the board in the top of the 6th on a Gavin Cecchini home run, his second of the year, and an L.J. Mazzilli RBI double. They scored another run in the top of the 7th on a throwing error by Augusta second baseman Christian Arroyo that allowed Victor Cruzado to score all the way from first. Alvarez was on cruise control for the rest of the afternoon, allowing only one more hit and giving up one walk, while striking out an additional four.
- SS Gavin Cecchini: 1-4, R, K, HR (2)
- 3B Jeff McNeil: 0-3, R, CS (1)
- 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 1-4, 2B, 2 K, RBI
- DH Jared King: 0-3, BB
- LF Stefan Sabol: 0-4, 2 K
- 1B Dominic Smith: 0-4
- CF Patrick Biondi: 0-4, 3 K, SB (3)
- RHP Kevin McGowan: 4.1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
- LHP Dario Alvarez: 4.2 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K
GAME TWO
SAVANNAH 1, AUGUSTA 2 / 8 (Box)
For seven plus innings, Ricky Knapp had the GreenJackets' number. He scattered a handful of hits and walked two, while striking out eight batters. In the bottom of the 8th, he allowed a leadoff double, and after John Mincone allowed a single, he was suddenly the hard luck loser. If the Sand Gnat offense was able to crack Augusta starter Chase Johnson for more than just a single run, his luck might have been different. After scoring their only run for the game in the 4th, Savannah seemed primed to score a few more runs, with runners on the corners with only one out. Unfortunately, Matt Oberste was unable to even get wood on the ball for a sacrifice, and Dominic Smith after him lined out. In the 6th, Savannah once again got runners on the corners with less than two outs, but the team once again was unable to cash in. All in all, the Sand Gnats were 2-9 with men in scoring position and left six men on base. Gavin Cecchini was ejected from the game in the 8th after arguing balls and strikes, but nothing else noteworthy happened in this game two loss.
- CF Patrick Biondi: 0-4, 2 K
- SS Gavin Cecchini: 1-4, R, 2 K
- 3B Jeff McNeil: 2-4, 2B, K, RBI
- LF Jared King: 2-4
- 1B Dominic Smith: 1-3
- RHP Ricky Knapp: 7.1 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, BLK
- RHP John Mincone: 0.0, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K
Star of the Night
Quite a few offensive performances to choose from tonight, but since I have a bias towards pitching, I'll ignore all of them and give Mr. deGrom the Star of the Night. Extremely small sample size, sure, but with his seven scoreless innings last night, deGrom leapfrogged Tsuyoshi Wada, Mike Fiers, and Jason Lane for the lowest ERA in the Pacific Coast League among starters (0.60).
Goat of the Night
There weren't any particularly egregious performances at the plate or on the mound last night, and that's a good thing. John Mincone blew Rickey Knapp's game, but all he did was allow a single, so I feel bad awarding the goat horns to him. Instead, Ryan Reid will wear them for setting up an almost bullpen meltdown.