Mets Daily Farm Report - 7/24/13: In Which Many Runs Were Scored

*All results from games played on Tuesday, July 23^rd, 2013*

AAA - Las Vegas 51s (55-47)__________________________________

RENO 10, LAS VEGAS 12 (Box)

Jacob deGrom was shaky, allowing a run in each of the game's first three innings, but the Las Vegas offense made that all moot when they scored ten runs in the 3^rd inning. Seriously. How's that for having a teammate's back? Incredibly, despite putting up a ten spot, the 51s almost lost the game. The Aces scored two runs in the 4^th, 6^th, and 7^th, and one in the 8^th, while Las Vegas only scored two run during that timeframe, giving them a slim two-run cushion. Wally Backman seemed intent on testing fate, and had Robert Carson pitch the 9^th inning. Carson nailed the save, though he did allow a single and unleashed a wild pitch. All in all, this was a very PCL game- five home runs were hit in total, and twenty-two runs were scored all together.

• LF Mike Baxter: 2-3, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 RBI, HR (4)
• SS Ruben Tejada: 3-5, R, 2B, K
• 1B Wilmer Flores: 1-4, R, 2 RBI
• 2B Jordany Valdespin: 0-3, R, 2 BB, RBI
• CF Matt den Dekker: 1-4, 2 R, BB, RBI
• RF Jamie Hoffmann: 2-4, R, 2B, 2 RBI
• C Juan Centeno: 2-4, R, 2 RBI
• RHP Jacob deGrom: 3.2 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 6 K, HR
• RHP John Church: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
• LHP Robert Carson: 1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, WP

AA - Binghamton Mets (63-38)_____________________________________

READING, BINGHAMTON (Box)

On paper, we had ourselves a real good pitching match-up: Jesse Biddle for the Fightin' Phils and Noah Syndergaard for the B-Mets. In reality, one of the two top pitching prospects didn't show up- Jesse Biddle recorded only two outs. Josh Rodriguez got the run parade started with a double that scored Danny Muno and Darrell Ceciliani. A couple of batters later, Blake Forsythe laced a line drive single to center that scored Rodriguez, and sent Travis Taijeron to second. Wilfredo Tovar walked, and suddenly the bases were loaded. Biddle struck out Alonzo Harris, bringing Noah Syndergaard to the plate- it's always nice to come to bat before you take the mound. The top prospect wouldn't pitch to his fellow top prospect, as Biddle was yanked. Syndergaard would have the last laugh, as Brody Colvin, the pitcher who replaced Biddle, walked him. That's right- Syndergaard worked a walk and forced in a run. Muno grounded out in his second at-bat of the inning, but I don't think that took away the shame of embarassment from Colvin. On the mound, Syndergaard was good, but not great. In the 3^rd, he allowed two singles, and uncorked a wild pitch, scoring two. He did get all three outs in the inning via strikeout, so that much is good. All in all, he needed 96 pitches to go five innings, and he allowed four hits and two earned runs, while walking one and striking out seven. Much better than Biddle. The Fightin' Phils scored an unearned run off of Adam Kolarek to reduce the B-Mets' lead to a single run in the 6^th, but they gave themselves a cushion in the 7^th by scoring two more. After Blake Forsythe reached on an error, Wilfredo Tovar hit a triple that scored him. One batter later, Alonzo Harris hit a double that scored Tovar. In the 9^th, Jeff Walters does what he does best, and recorded his 27^th save of the year.

• 2B Danny Muno: 2-4, R, BB
• 3B Josh Rodriguez: 1-4, R, 2B, BB
• CF Darrell Ceciliani: 2-4, R, BB, SB (23)
• 1B Allan Dykstra: 0-3, 2 BB, E (5)
• RF Travis Taijeron: 0-4, R, BB, K
• SS Wilfredo Tovar: 1-3, R, 3B, BB, RBI
• LF Alonzo Harris: 1-4, 2B, K, RBI
• RHP Noah Syndergaard: 5 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, WP
• RHP Jeff Walters: 1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Hi-A - St. Lucie Mets (17-12 / 54-42)________________________________________

GAME ONE

ST. LUCIE 5, DAYTONA 3 / 7 (Box)

St. Lucie scored five runs- all five runs they would score- in the first inning and set the tone for the rest of the game. Kyle Johnson, the game's first batter, was hit by a pitch, and that set the tone for the inning. T.J. Rivera and Jayce Boyd both walked, loading the bases with no outs. The next batter, Dustin Lawley, also drew a walk, and the first run of the inning scored. Cory Vaughn came to bat next, and hit a ground ball that got the runner at second, but scored a run. Vaughn promptly filled the vacancy at second by stealing the base- and a throwing error on part of the Daytona catcher allowed a second run to score. Kevin Plawecki then knocked a base hit into center that score St. Lucie's fourth run. Two batters later, Yucary De La Cruz singled, driving in Plawecki, and the Mets' fifth run. They could have had a bigger inning, as Kyle Johnson walked in his second plate appearance to load the bases, but T.J. Rivera grounded into a force out to end the inning. Rainy Lara was a bit shaky, walking a batter who would eventually score in the 1^st and giving up a double in the 4^th that would plate two, but he was good enough. Playing an abbreviated amount of innings probably helped, but a win is a win- both for Lara, who won his fourth game with St. Lucie and his eighth game for the 2013 season, and for the St. Lucie Mets.

• 2B T.J. Rivera: 2-4, R, K
• DH Jayce Boyd: 0-3, R, BB
• LF Dustin Lawley: 0-2, BB, RBI
• C Kevin Plawecki: 1-3, R, RBI
• CF Kyle Johnson: 0-2, R, BB, HBP
• RHP Rainy Lara: 5.1 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 2 BB, 3 K
• REHAB ALERT RF Cory Vaughn: 1-3, R, 3B, RBI

GAME TWO

ST. LUCIE 0, DAYTONA 7 / 7 (Box)

This game is the make-up of the postponement from Monday, July 22^nd. Domingo Tapia doesn't like pitching on the dates of ‘20', ‘23', or ‘24'. On May 24^th, he recorded only one out, while giving up two hits, four walks, and six earned runs. On June 20^th, he pitched five plus innings, giving up eleven hits, and six earned runs, while walking two. Last night, on the 23^rd, he recorded only two outs, while giving up two hits, walking four, and allowing three earned runs. Even if Tapia had been on point, St. Lucie would have had trouble winning the game and sweeping the double header, because they were shutout by Daytona pitchers Pierce Johnson and Frank Del Valle.

• 2B T.J. Rivera: 0-3
• DH Jayce Boyd: 1-3, K
• LF Dustin Lawley: 1-2, 2B, BB, K
• 1B Kevin Plawecki: 0-3
• CF Kyle Johnson: 1-3
• RHP Domingo Tapia: 0.2 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 0 K
• RHP Bret Mitchell: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 1 K, WP

Lo-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (13-15 / 56-41)__________________________________

SAVANNAH 2, DELMARVA 9 (Box)

You'd have to go all the way back to the beginning of May to find a performance comprable to the one turned in last night by Luis Cessa. On May 19^th, he pitched five innings, allowing eleven hits, and six earned runs. He then went on a streak of eight starts where he pitched at least five innings, gave up no more than seven hits, and allowed three runs once, two runs twice, one run three times, and no runs twice. Well, last night, that streak came to an end, as Cessa gave up a season-high 13 hits over five innings, allowing five runs in the process. Savannah scored first, with Eudy Pina driving in two in the 1^st inning, but they wouldn't hold the lead for much longer. In the 1^st, Cessa danced out of danger without allowing a run. In the 2^nd, Cessa danced out of danger, allowing a single run. In the 3^rd, the house of cards fell apart, as he gave up five hits and uncorked a wild pitch, allowing four runs to score. In the 4^th and 5^th, he continued walking the tightrope, but was able to get out of danger both innings. In the 8^th, long after Cessa left the game, Hunter Carnevale gave up a two-run home run and a two-run triple, allowing the Shorebirds to tack on four more runs. The Sand Gnats did nothing of any particular interest after scoring in the first- Brandon Nimmo being ejected in the 5^th after striking out and arguing the call was the most exciting thing that Savannah did at the plate after the game's opening inning.

• CF Brandon Nimmo: 2-3, K
• DH Maikis De La Cruz: 1-4, R
• RF-CF Eudy Pina: 1-4, 2B, K, 2 RBI
• 2B Jorge Rivero: 1-4, R, K
• C Albert Cordero: 0-3, K
• RHP Luis Cessa: 5 IP, 13 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, WP

Short-A - Brooklyn Cyclones (15-20)

BROOKLYN 1, LOWELL 2 (Box)

All in all, the Cyclones and the Spinners played a fairly boring ballgame. Seth Lugo was very solid, pitching seven innings and giving up two runs, but unfortunatley, he would be a hard luck loser, as the Brooklyn offense managed only one run against Lowell starter Mario Alcantara and the bullpen after him. Brooklyn's lone run came in the 5^th inning, when Patrick Biondi hit a single that scored James Roche. The Spinners would do their damage against Lugo one inning later, on a Kevin Mager double.

• CF Patrick Biondi: 1-3, BB, 2 K, RBI, SB (13), CS (2)
• 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 1-4, K
• LF Jared King: 0-4, 2 K
• RF James Roche: 2-4, R, 2B
• 1B Matt Oberste: 0-4, K
• RHP Seth Lugo 7 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K

Rk - Kingsport Mets (17-14)_____________________________

ELIZABETHTON 4, KINGSPORT 5 (Box)

Not to be outdone by rotation mate Chris Flexen, who struck out 11 batters and walked one a few days ago, Robert Whalen pitched the best game of his young professional career. He blanked the Twins for seven innings, before getting touched up for two runs in the 8^th inning, all while striking out eleven batters and walking none. After allowing three consecutive hits and uncorking a wild pitch, his night was done. Though Ricardo Jacquez allowed one of his inhereted runners to score, and allowed an unearned run of his own, Kingsport displayed some serious grission by scoring two runs in the 9^th to get the walk-off win. With two outs, Jeff Diehl doubled and drove in the tying run. After Joe Tuschak was intentionally walked to set up a force out at either base, Jeyckol De Leon singled to center to notch the win.

• CF Champ Stuart: 1-5, R, SB (6)
• 2B Jeff McNeil: 2-4, R, RBI, E (2), HBP
• RF Victor Cruzado: 2-5, R, K
• SS Amed Rosario: 0-4, CS (4)
• LF Bradley Marquez: 0-3, BB, K, E (1)
• C Jeyckol De Leon: 3-5, 2 RBI
• RHP Robert Whalen: 7.1 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 11 K, WP

Rk - GCL Mets (6-21)_______________________________

GCL METS 3, GCL CARDINALS 4 (Box)

• 2B Branden Kaupe: 0-4, BB, K
• 1B Dominic Smith: 1-2, R, 2B, 2 BB, K, CS (2)
• RF Wuilmer Becerra: 2-4, R, K
• CF Ivan Wilson: 0-4, 2 K, E (5)
• LF Vicente Lupo: 1-4, 2 K, 2 RBI
• RHP Octavio Acosta: 7 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, E (1)

Star of the Night

Robert Whalen was fabulous yesterday...

Goat of the Night

Domingo Tapia, on the other hand, was not.