*All results from games played on Thursday, April 24th, 2014
Triple-A - Las Vegas 51's (16-5)_______________________________________
TACOMA 4, LAS VEGAS 11 (Box)
Zach Lutz homered twice to lead the way for Vegas, who moved to 16-5 on the year with their win last night. Rafael Montero pitched well for the 51s, that is until he allowed a three run homer in the sixth. It probably makes the line look a little worse than reality, but it did happen. I would like to see more missed bats from Montero.
- LF Cesar Puello: 0-4, R, K
- 1B Eric Campbell: 2-3, 2 RBI, 2 BB, K
- SS Wilmer Flores: 1-5, 3 K; woof
- RF Andrew Brown: 1-4, R, 2B, K
- DH Allan Dykstra: 2-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI, K; Shockingly no walks (.417/.548/.792)
- 3B Zach Lutz: 3-3, 4 R, 2 HR, 3 RBI, BB
- OF/IF Anthony Seratelli: DNP
- CF Matt den Dekker: 1-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI, K
- 2B Danny Muno: 1-4, R, 2 RBI, K
- C Juan Centeno: 0-2, R, RBI, BB, K
- RHP Rafael Montero: 6 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, HR
Double-A - Binghamton Mets (10-7)_____________________________________
PORTLAND 4, BINGHAMTON 5 (Box) 10 innings
A Matt Clark home run tied the game in the eighth and a Kyle Johnson sacrifice fly won it in the 10th. Greg Peavey pitched well, striking out five and walking none over seven innings. This is a tough team to write about now, especially when Kevin Plawecki sits. Cory Vaughn had three hits to raise his average to .157. Dustin Lawley had a hit in three trips to raise his average to .196. On the bright side, Wilfredo Tovar had a couple of hits to raise his average to .306. I could see an argument for DFAing Qunitanilla and bringing up Tovar. If nothing else it would improve the backup infield defense.
- CF Darrell Ceciliani: 2-5, R, RBI, K
- 3B Brian Burgamy: 0-5, RBI, K
- C Kevin Plawecki: DNP
- 1B Matt Clark: 2-5, R, HR, RBI
- IF Jayce Boyd: DNP
- RF Cory Vaughn: 3-4, R, 2B, BB
- SS Matt Reynolds: 1-4, RBI, BB, K
- DH Travis Taijeron: 0-3, BB, 2K
- 2B Wilfredo Tovar: 2-4, R, SB
- RHP Greg Peavey: 7 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, HBP
Advanced-A - St. Lucie Mets (12-8)________________________________________
ST. LUCIE 15, PALM BEACH 5 (Box)
St. Lucie unleashed their offense last night, racking up 16 hits and eight walks on their way to a 15-5 victory over Palm Beach. Steven Matz was dominant again, striking out six and walking one over five and two thirds scoreless innings. I would go on summarizing but Baseball Prospectus's Jeff Moore was at the game, so I'll hand it off to him:
Steven Matz having no problem through two innings. Hit 94 twice. Sitting 89-92. Change up flashing potential. #Mets
— Jeff Moore (@jeffmooreBP) April 24, 2014
Matz velo better in 3rd inning. Sat 93-94. Long 2nd inning offensively may have affected him. A number of good changeups this inning. #Mets
— Jeff Moore (@jeffmooreBP) April 24, 2014
Aderlin Rodriguez just hit a ball off the 2nd story of the building in LF at Roger Dean. Huge power. Why anyone throws him a FB is beyond me
— Jeff Moore (@jeffmooreBP) April 25, 2014
To summarize: Matz is good, Aderlin Rodriguez is strong. That's two straight scoreless outings for Matz, who has seemed to be very much in control in those starts. Unmentioned by Moore was Brandon Nimmo, who walked four times in six plates appearances. In his two non-walk at-bats, he doubled and didn't strike out. I approve. I also approve of what Phil Evans has been doing lately. The stocky middle-infielder had three hits to raise his season average to .294, and he boasts a 7:6 strikeout to walk ratio, which I appreciate.
- 2B Dilson Herrera: 0-5, R, BB, 3 K; woof. Missed out on the festivities.
- DH Brandon Nimmo: 1-2, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI, 4 BB; OBP is up .490. .490!
- IF T.J. Rivera: DNP
- 3B Aderlin Rodriguez: 2-5, 2 R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, 2 K
- C Cam Maron: 1-5, R, K
- SS Phil Evans: 3-6, 2 R, 2B
- LHP Steven Matz: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 6 K
- RHP Seth Lugo: 3.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, BB, 6 K, HR; I like this stat line. Lots of numbers!
Low-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (11-6)__________________________________
SAVANNAH 10, LAKEWOOD 3 (Box)
The Sand Gnats kicked off their series against the Lakewood Blueclaws of New Jersey in fine fashion, knocking 17 hits en route to a 10-3 win. From what I understand, Lakewood is a fine ballpark and an excellent venue to take in a ballgame. If my schedule allowed it, I would most certainly try to swing by and observe some baseball. For those of you who are able to attend, please don't be shy to post your observations in the comments. We welcome any and all information.
- SS Gavin Cecchini: 1-5
- 3B Jeff McNeil: 2-5, 2 R, 3B; I'm developing a serious prospect crush on Mr. McNeil.
- 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 1-5, R, RBI, K
- OF Jared King: DNP; Second straight game sitting out. Hopefully nothing serious.
- DH Stefan Sabol: 2-5, R, 2B, 3 RBI, K; Nice to see him having some success after a fairly uninspiring full season debut last year.
- RF Victor Cruzado: 3-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, BB
- 1B Dominic Smith: 1-4, 2 K; Since we follow this daily, I'm sure waiting for Smith to stabilize at this level and then hopefully succeed is going to feel like a long, arduous process.
- CF Patrick Biondi: 2-4, R, RBI, BB; I thought he was doing better than he actually is. Just three extra base hits so far.
- RHP Rob Whalen: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 7 K; Just his third start but more strikeouts than innings pitched in each of his last two starts.
Star of the Night
Really hard to choose on a night like tonight, which is a good thing. I'll go with Victor Cruzado, who had a single, double, home run, and a walk in five plate appearances. Honorable mention to Zach Lutz. Park factors kept him from taking this down tonight.
Goat of the Night
No horns on system sweep nights, buuuut if I had to I would have gone with Dilson Herrera, who struck out three times and didn't get a hit in St. Lucie's route, or Wilmer Flores, who has kind of stunk thus far.