*All results from games played on Tuesday, May 27th, 2014
Triple-A - Las Vegas 51's (32-19)_______________________________________
LAS VEGAS 8, El PASO 5 (Box)
Down a player on the bench (because of Matt den Dekker's promotion) and in the bullpen (because of Vic Black's promotion), the 51s snapped their six-game losing streak, beating the Chihuahuas 8-5 in a nail biter. The 51s got on the board first, plating a 1st inning run against San Diego Cuban pitching prospect Odrisamer Despaigne, who was making his AAA debut. After Josh Satin singled and moved up to second on a groundout, Allan Dykstra hit a groundball through the originator that wound up in centerfield, giving Satin enough time to leg it home. The Chihuahuas got that run right back, and then some, scoring consecutive runs against Dana Eveland in the bottom of the 2nd and 3rd. Down by one, Las Vegas put together a good inning in the 4th, chaining together a few hits and a walk for three runs. Eveland actually got the scoring started himself, when he dropped down what should have been a routine sacrifice bunt. Third baseman Jonathan Galvez threw the ball away, allowing Eveland to reach, Taylor Teagarden to score, and Cesar Puello to reach third. Omar Quintanilla and Andrew Brown both drove in a man with a sac fly each, making the score 4-2 when the final out of the inning was recorded. The 51s scored two more in the 7th, on a clutch Cesar Puello line drive and a Xorge Carrillo sac fly. Those two insurance runs came in handy, as the bullpen began sputtering in those later innings.
With Jeff Walters on the mound in the bottom of the 7th, Andrew Brown had some defensive difficulties, and as a result, Jake Goebbert was able to line a double into right, and Jeff Francoeur a triple. Walters reared back, and looking better than he has looked in weeks, was able to strike out the next two batters and induce a fly ball, stranding Francoeur at third and limiting the damage to just one run. Wally Backman asked Walters to go back out there for a second inning, owing to the depleted Las Vegas bullpen, but that gambit blew up in his face. He immediately gave up back-to-back doubles in the bottom of the 8th, necessitating Buddy Carlyle to be summoned to put out the fire. He gave up an RBI single to the first batter he faced, but was able to get out of the inning, striking out Goebbert and Francoeur to end the inning.
In the top of the 9th, the 51s plated a pair of critical insurance runs. The first came on an Omar Quintanilla single into right that Cesar Puello scored on- beating Jeff Francoeur's legendary arm. The second came on a line drive into right that Andrew Brown legged out for a triple, scoring Quintanilla. In the bottom of the inning, Carlyle induced a weak pop up to second, and then struck out his next two batters to end the game and earn his first save of the year.
- SS Omar Quintanilla: 1-5, R, K, 2 RBI
- 2B-1B Josh Satin: 2-5, R, 2B, BB
- RF Andrew Brown: 2-4, 2B, 3B, BB, K, 2 RBI
- 1B Allan Dykstra: 1-2, 2 BB, K, RBI
- PR-2B Danny Muno: 0-1, R, BB
- 3B Zach Lutz: 0-4, R, 2 K, HBP
- CF Kirk Nieuwenhuis: 1-5, 2B, K, SB (1)
- C Taylor Teagarden: 2-3, R, 2 BB
- LF Cesar Puello: 1-2, 2 R, 2 BB, RBI, HBP
- LHP Dana Eveland: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 5 BB, 4 K, 2 HB
- RHP Miguel Socolovich: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 K
- RHP Jeff Walters: 1 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
- RHP Buddy Carlyle: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K
Double-A - Binghamton Mets (27-21)_____________________________________
NEW BRITAIN 0, BINGHAMTON 6 (Box)
Despite rain delaying the start of the game, and the threat of rain all evening, the umpiring crew decided to start the game, that perhaps they would be able to get the game in between the rain drops. The game only went two innings before it had to be suspended on account of the rain. It will be resumed today, the first game in a doubleheader. The B-Mets took a commanding lead early on, thanks to Kevin Plawecki. He accrued five RBI on a 1st inning double that plated two runs, and a 2nd inning home run, a three-run blast. Travis d'Arnaud caught both innings, but his rehab assignment came to an end; Neifi Zapata will start in his place when the game resumes, as the Mets top prospect will head back to New York to be activated on the big league roster.
Advanced-A - St. Lucie Mets (30-21)________________________________________
ST. LUCIE 1, BREVARD COUNTY 2 (Box)
St. Lucie lost a close one to the Manatees, but the loss of their freshly dubbed Top 100 prospect Brandon Nimmo certainly stings a lot more. In the 3rd, as the Wyoming native hustled to the warning track in right center to cut off a Nathan Orf double, he rolled his left ankle and came up lame. He got the ball back into the infield, but was unable to put much weight on his leg and needed trainer assistance. He stretched, and did some light walking and jogging exercises, but was removed from the game. Given that he was able to leave on his own power, and the fact that he didn't seem to be in excruciating pain testing the leg out, the injury does not appear to be anything serious, but stay tuned for additional updates as they become available.
Back to the game, Michael Fulmer was not particularly sharp, but he limited the damage the Manatees could inflict. Jose Sermo tagged him for a solo home run in the 2nd, and a second run came home when Dilson Herrera committed a fielding error on a force attempt with bases loaded, but that was all Brevard County was able to do, despite Fulmer giving up five hits, issuing four free passes and plunking two batters. If you want to call the Manatees line up weak, the St. Lucie line up was downright offensive. Jorge Lopez, ranked near the bottom of most Milwaukee Brewers top 20 prospect lists, blanked them for eight innings, giving up only four hits. -Rusty- Kevin Shackelford pitched the 9th inning and notched his first save with the Manatees.
- 2B Dilson Herrera: 1-4, R, E (9)
- CF Brandon Nimmo: 0-2, K
- CF Gilbert Gomez: 2-2
- 3B T.J. Rivera: 0-4, RBI
- DH Jairo Perez: 1-4, K
- C Cam Maron: 0-3, BB, 2 K
- RF Eudy Pina: 0-3, K
- 1B Cole Frenzel: 0-2, BB
- SS Phil Evans: 0-3
- DH Maikis De La Cruz: 0-3, K
- RHP Michael Fulmer: 5 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 5 K, HR, 2 HB
- RHP Hunter Carnevale: 2 IP, 0 H, 1 BB, 3 K, HB
- RHP Paul Sewald: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 BB, 2 K
Low-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (34-15)__________________________________
POSTPONED (Wet Grounds)
Star of the Night
I'm going to have to give Buddy Carlyle the Star of the Night. It might not necessarily translate into his stat line, but the right-hander was definitely the MVP of that Las Vegas game. It was a gutsy relief performance- if you can call two innings of relief gutsy- and the last man standing in the bullpen (as no other relievers were available, and could only be used in an emergency) acted as the fireman the 51s needed.
Goat of the Night
Mother Nature. She cancelled not only one, but two games. Very uncalled for.