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*All results from games played on Thursday July 12th, 2012
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AAA - Buffalo Bisons (47-45)_______________________________________
BUFFALO 8, PAWTUCKET 5 (Box)
The Bisons managed to out-slug a veteran-heavy PawSox lineup in this one on the strength of a four-run ninth. Don't congratulate the boys too much though; Pawtucket pitching walked four straight batters in that ninth, the latter three with the bases loaded each time! All that carnage came packaged care of Tony Pena Jr, older brother of Mets catching prospect Francisco Pena. Remember when that guy was a major league infielder? Yeah me neither, but he certainly pitched like one last night.
Bison pitching wasn't appreciably better. Jeremy Hefner battled through 4.1 innings against a seasoned PawSox lineup which sported a combined 11,821 Major League pa's under it's collective belt (for the record, the Herd lineup had a combined 2,930). When Hefner was pulled with a couple men on, fireman Jenrry Mejia promptly allowed both inherited runners to score on singles before a third of his own scored following a passed ball. Yuch. Also of note was the return of Zach Lutz who played in his first game back in Buffalo since May 12...and batted cleanup.
- CF Matt den Dekker: 2-5, 2 R, 2 SB(6); SB success rate is still under 65% for the season (14 of 22)
- 3B Zach Lutz: 1-5, RBI, K; Let's see what the power looks like during the second half after the dreaded hamate break
- 2B Josh Satin: 2-2, RBI, 3 BB; Back to his old defensive home where he's only played seven games in 2012...not a bad day at the dish either
- LF Fred Lewis: 2-5, HR(5), 2 RBI, 2 R, BB
- RHP Jeremy Hefner: 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 8 H, 0 BB, 4 K
- RHP Jenrry Mejia: 0.2 IP, 0 ER (1 unearned), 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K
AA - Binghamton Mets (41-47)_____________________________________
ERIE 11, BINGHAMTON 7 (Box)
Rough night to be a B-Mets pitcher. All three allowed one or more earned and starter Greg Peavey was torched for seven run overall. Also didn't help that the defense made three errors behind them while SeaWolves runners stole four bases. At least the offense showed up in this mess of a game. Jefry Marte -- DHing in the daily Flores-induced infield merry-go-round -- hopefully snapped the slump that had him batting .125 in July with a big day that included his seventh homer. Kudos are also in order for Juan Lagares who seems to be finding his power stroke. Count me in the camp that thinks he somewhat willingly sacrificed power for plate discipline throughout the first half as he watched his BB% skyrocket from 2.2% in 2011 up to 7.7% in 2012. I do think that the pop is still in there and hopefully nights like this one mean that he's approaching the point where he can effectively utilize both.
- 3B Wilmer Flores: 0-5
- SS Wilfredo Tovar: 0-3, RBI, E(5)
- DH Jefry Marte: 3-5, HR(7), RBI, 2 R; Starting the second half hot like he did the first
- CF Juan Lagares: 3-5, 2B, HR(2); Despite power outage still leads the club in doubles, slugging .521 over his last ten games, .600 over his last five
- 2B Reese Havens: 2-6
- C Juan Centeno: 3-4, RBI, BB, CS(1), E(5); Allowed four of five stolen bases
- RHP Greg Peavey: 5 IP, 6 ER (1 unearned), 8 H, 2 BB, 1 K, 1 WP; Wave prospect status goodbye
- RHP Armando Rodriguez: 2 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K, 1 WP; After an inning in yesterday's ASG, Arm-Rod pitched back-to-back days for the first time in his entire pro career
GAME ONE: ST. LUCIE 2, TAMPA 4 (Box)
Noteworthy game with the debut of Aderlin Rodriguez and the return of Jason Bay (I wonder who has better power at this moment...). Unfortunately that's where the intrigue ended in a game where the little Mets lineup just couldn't string anything together all evening. Starter Chase Huchingson continued his downward spiral back into anonymity while Jack Leathersich continued to strike out anything that moves.
- 3B Aderlin Rodriguez: 1-3, 2B, E(1), It was almost mandatory that he make an error in this game am I right?
- DH Cesar Puello: 1-3, R, 3B
- RF Cory Vaughn: 1-3, K, HBP
- LHP Chase Huchingson: 0.2 IP, 3 ER, 2 H, 4 BB, 0 K, WP; Things are unraveling fast now (boy)
- LHP Jack Leathersich: 2 IP, 0 ER (1 unearned), 1 H, 0 BB, 4 K; A lot of chatter about LeatherRocket in the Midseason Top 50 comments and while a large chunk of his success may be thanks to his deception rather than his raw stuff, that can most certainly work for a LOOGY at the Major League level
GAME TWO: ST. LUCIE 0, TAMPA 1 (Box)
Things were bad offensively in the first set; they got worse in the second. The once proud and glorious St. Lucie Mets were no-hit in this game by two Tampa Yankees pitchers, pretty much reaching their nadir on the season after a first half full of such great heights. Not much else to say here. Although let's recognize Mets starter Rafael Montero who was the extremely hard luck loser on a night when he was exceptional, just not exceptional enough.
- RHP Rafael Montero: 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K; Montero didn't allow his first hit until the sixth...I'd say pitching won the night
Lo-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (7-13)__________________________________
SAVANNAH 2, DELMARVA 3 (Box)
Starter Michael Fulmer was good in this one, though the three free passes did come back to bite him. However, the real issue was the lineup which managed just four hits and five total bases; not gonna score much that way. The Gnats roster minus Rodriguez-Taijeron-Rivera has 25 combined home runs this season; meanwhile the impressive troika clubbed 36 in their time with the club. Yeah, runs might be tough to come by for the remainder of the summer in Savannah.
- C Camden Maron: DNP
- C Albert Cordero:0-2, 2 BB, K, PB(2)
- CF Gilbert Gomez: 1-3, RBI
- SS Matthew Reynolds: 1-4, RBI; Batting .227 through his first 12 games as a pro
- RHP Michael Fulmer: 5 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K
- CF Brandon Nimmo:0-3, R, BB, K; 1 for his last 13
- SS Philip Evans: 1-3, RBI, BB
- C Kevin Plawecki: 0-4, K; Batting .204 through his first 15 pro games
- 2B Juan Carlos Gamboa: 1-5, RBI
- RHP Rainy Lara: 6 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 1 BB, 8 K
Short Season A - Brooklyn Cyclones (14-9)__________________________________
BROOKLYN 4, CONNECTICUT 1 (Box)
Brooklyn bats weren't scorching but they found the holes when it mattered in this one. And frankly, starter Rainy Lara only needed a couple of those runs as he continued his very nice stretch to open the season. Though lacking in top-flight stuff, the 6'4", 21-yr old righty still has some room for projection and already features excellent command.
Appalachian League (R) - Kingsport Mets (4-16)__________________________________
Postponed by rain for the second straight night
★ Star of the Night ★
Many noteworthy performances tonight, most of them within the Bingo lineup. However, we're going to reward St. Lucie starter Rafael Montero on a night when his brilliant outing was overshadowed by the little Mets hapless lineup. The 21-yr old Montero has been sensational this season featuring strong stuff and excellent command, a potent mix and one you don't often see at such a young age, against older competition no less.
Goat of the Night
That's gotta be the entire St. Lucie Mets lineup (Game 2 version). For shame.