*All results from games played on Saturday, July 14th, 2018.
Triple-A: Las Vegas 51s (45-48)
LAS VEGAS 2, ALBUQUERQUE 1/ 6 (BOX)
The 51s won their third-straight game to open the second half of the 2018 season, and they received some timely intervention from the weather in the process. Chris Flexen got the start for the 51s and he was on top of his game, giving up just two hits and one run over six quality frames of work. Flexen also singled twice and reached base in all three of his plate appearances against three Albuquerque pitchers.
Kevin Kaczmarski singled in the first run of the game for Vegas with the bases loaded, and Flexen drew a walk to force in another run just minutes later. The Isotopes would get out of the jam, but the skies would open up shortly thereafter, an extreme rarity for 51s home games that would force the game to be called at 2-1 Vegas in the middle of the sixth inning.
- 2B Jeff McNeil: 0-4, K
- 1B Patrick Kivlehan: 1-3, BB, 2 K
- RF Zach Borenstein: 0-2, BB, K
- 3B Luis Guillorme: 3-3
- SS Christian Colon: 1-2, R, BB
- LF Cody Asche: 1-3, R
- C Colton Plaia: 0-1, 2 BB
- CF Kevin Kaczmarski: 1-3, RBI, K
- P Chris Flexen: 2-2, RBI, BB
- RHP Chris Flexen: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, W (5-6)
ROSTER ALERT: Las Vegas 51s placed 1B Peter Alonso on the temporarily inactive list.
Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (43-47)
AKRON 1, BINGHAMTON 0/ 12 (BOX)
After missing much of the first half of the season with an injury, Ricky Knapp finally seems to be reacclimatizing to life on the mound. Saturday marked his second non-rehab start of the season, and the 2013 Florida Gulf Coast product was right at the top of his game. Despite striking out just one Akron hitter across six innings, he was able to induce weak contact and hold the RubberDucks off the board. Joe Zanghi also chipped in three scoreless innings, and he seems to be finding a rhythm: he now has six consecutive scoreless relief innings under his belt, after struggling in his first few appearances with the Rumble Ponies.
The game remained scoreless after nine innings, and neither team was able to muster a hit in three innings of free baseball, but thanks to the minor league tiebreaker rules, the RubberDucks were able to eke out the only run they would need.
Bobby Bradley would start the 12th inning on second base, while Matt Blackham took the mound for Binghamton. Connor Marabell would move Bradley over to third with a sacrifice bunt, and Blackham would intentionally walk the next hitter.
He would strike out the next two batters, but the third strike to Sam Haggerty squirted past Rumble Ponies catcher Patrick Mazeika, allowing Haggerty to reach safely and Bradley to score the winning run on a walk-off passed ball.
Given his inability to miss bats and his relatively advanced age, Knapp doesn’t seem like a very exciting prospect at this stage, but tonight’s start comes as an encouraging sign, and he should provide some nice filler depth should the Mets need to call up a surplus of arms from Triple-A.
- SS Andrew Ely: 0-5
- 3B Levi Michael: 1-3, 2 BB, 2 K
- RF-LF Kevin Taylor: 1-5
- 1B Joey Terdoslavich: 1-5, K
- DH Tomas Nido: 1-4, HBP
- C Patrick Mazeika: 0-4, BB
- 2B Josh Allen: 0-3, BB, K, E (4)
- LF Tim Tebow: 1-3, 2B, K
- PR John Mora: 0-0
- RF Jhoan Urena: 0-1
- CF Champ Stuart: 0-4, 2 K
- RHP Ricky Knapp: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
- RHP Joe Zanghi: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 K
- RHP Corey Taylor: 2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K
- RHP Matt Blackham: 0.2 IP, 0 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 2 K
ROSTER ALERT: Binghamton Rumble Ponies placed 3B Nick Sergakis on the 7-Day disabled list, and activated CF Champ Stuart from the 7-Day disabled list.
Advanced-A: St. Lucie Mets (27-40/8-13)
ST. LUCIE 7, PALM BEACH 2 (BOX)
Gabriel Llanes was on his game on Saturday afternoon, and St. Lucie got a three-run home run from Michael Paez in the fifth inning before pulling away late against Palm Beach. Llanes struggled throughout the first half of the season, but this game marks his fourth consecutive start allowing two runs or fewer, as he conceded just three hits and one run across six innings.
The Cardinals struck first on an RBI hit from Stefan Trosclair in the second, but Llanes kept them off the board after that, and after a pair of two-out singles in the fifth, Paez made Jake Walsh pay with a three run blast. The Mets would add on some insurance in the seventh: Luis Carpio doubled to lead off the frame, and JJ Franco drove him in before. A walk from Anthony Dimino and a single from Gene Cone presented further trouble, and Jeremy Vasquez brought in the second run of the inning with a sacrifice fly. Dimino was thrown out at second thanks to some overly aggressive baserunning, but the run scored ahead of the third out.
St. Lucie would tack on two more runs in the 8th on a double and a sacrifice fly. All nine Mets hitters reached base in the win.
- DH Anthony Dimino: 2-3, R, 2B, 2 BB
- CF Gene Cone: 2-5, R, K
- 3B Michael Paez: 2-3, R, HR (7), 3 RBI
- 1B Jeremy Vasquez: 0-3, RBI, E (1)
- RF Wuilmer Becerra: 1-4, 2B
- LF Raphael Gladu: 1-3, R, 2B, BB, HBP
- C Ali Sanchez: 1-4, R, 2B, RBI, K
- SS Luis Carpio: 2-4, R, 2B, E (9)
- 2B J.J. Franco: 1-3, R, 2 RBI
- RHP Gabriel Llanes: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 HBP, 5 K, W (3-9)
- RHP Thomas McIlraith: 1.2 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 0 K, H (3)
- LHP Seth Davis: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K, SV (1)
ROSTER ALERT: St. Lucie Mets placed SS Andres Gimenez on the temporarily inactive list.
ROSTER ALERT: 1B Anderson Bohorquez assigned to St. Lucie Mets from GCL Mets.
Low-A: Columbia Fireflies (10-12/34-33)
LAKEWOOD 5, COLUMBIA 2 (BOX)
Columbia starting pitcher Marcel Renteria went just two innings in his first start after a stint on the disabled list, and Yeizo Campos struggled after coming on for a lengthy relief stint. The BlueClaws scored two runs on a fifth inning single Nick Maton, and picked together a three-run rally in the seventh, ultimately pulling out a comfortable 5-2 win.
Campos had gotten off to a good start this year, but has struggled more recently after the Colaflies have attempted to stretch him out into a more expanded role. He has allowed fourteen runs in his last fifteen innings.
Matt Winaker was the only Firefly with more than one hit in the loss, tripling and then scoring a run on an RBI groundout from Scott Manea.
- SS Edgardo Fermin: 0-3, BB, K, SB
- 2B Oliver Pascual: 0-4, 4 K
- LF Matt Winaker: 2-4, R, 3B, K
- C Scott Manea: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB
- CF Quinn Brodey: 0-4, 2 K
- RF Dionis Paulino: 1-4, R, K
- DH Zach Rheams: 1-2, 2B
- 1B Carlos Sanchez: 0-4, 2 K
- 3B Hansel Moreno: 1-4, RBI, 2 K, E
- RHP Marcel Renteria: 2.0 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 1 K
- RHP Yeizo Campos: 6.0 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 5 K
ROSTER ALERT: Columbia Fireflies activated RHP Marcel Renteria from the 7-Day disabled list.
Short Season: Brooklyn Cyclones (15-13)
BROOKLYN 5, WILLIAMSPORT 3 (BOX)
The Cyclones gave up three solo home runs but rallied late to break a 3-3 tie and beat Williamsport. Jason Vargas made his third rehab start of the season for Brooklyn, and despite two run-ins with the long ball, looked to be finally regaining his form. He scattered six hits across six solid frames, and fanned ten Crosscutters in what was easily the best start of his brief minor league assignment. Unfortunately, however, Brayan Gonzalez took Kevin Smith deep in the top of the seventh, tying the game and ruining any shot at a win for the Mets’ lefthander.
In the 8th, however, the Cyclones would strike back with a two out rally. Manny Rodriguez doubled with two outs, and Jose Miguel Medina drew a walk to keep the inning going. This set the stage for Carlos Cortes and Walter Rasquin, who each came through with consecutive run-scoring singles. The Crosscutters would get out of the jam after a walk to Chase Chambers, but the damage was done. Smith closed out the game with a scoreless ninth, his third inning of work in relief. The seventh-round pick from Georgia has impressed in his first season of professional baseball, posting a shiny 0.75 ERA in twelve innings.
With the win, the third straight for Brooklyn, they remain three games behind first place Hudson Valley in the McNamara Division.
- RF Jose Miguel Medina: 1-4, R, BB, SB (4)
- 2B Carlos Cortes: 1-4, R, RBI, BB, K
- DH Walter Rasquin: 1-4, R, RBI, BB, SB
- 1B Chase Chambers: 2-4, R, 2B, RBI, BB, K
- CF Anthony Dirocie: 1-4, 2B, 2 RBI, BB, K
- 3B Jose Brizuela: 1-3, BB
- LF Ross Adolph: 1-4, K
- C Nick Meyer: 2-4, 2B
- SS Manny Rodriguez: 1-4, R, 2B, 2 K
- REHAB ALERT: LHP Jason Vargas: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 10 K
- LHP Kevin Smith: 3.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, W (3-0)
ROSTER ALERT: RHP Trent Johnson assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from Columbia Fireflies.
ROSTER ALERT: C Hayden Senger assigned to Brooklyn Cyclones from Kingsport Mets.
ROSTER ALERT: Brooklyn Cyclones released C Matthew Foley.
Rookie-Advanced: Kingsport Mets (13-10)
ELIZABETHTON 15, KINGSPORT 5 (BOX)
K-Mets starter Garrison Bryant could not find any of his stuff on Saturday, conceding three runs in the second, two in the third, and four more without recording an out in the fifth, before Sean Ratliff finally put him out of his misery and pulled him from the game. Bryant, who had been serviceable in three appearances before yesterday’s start, now sees his ERA skyrocket to an unsightly 6.88 mark.
The bullpen did not help matters, allowing the Twins to add on six more runs and turn a 9-5 slugfest into a 15-5 laugher. Gavin Garay hit his third home run of the season in the loss, while Luis Santana picked up four hits for Kingsport.
- LF Yoel Romero: 1-5, RBI
- SS L.A. Woodard: 1-4, R, BB, K
- 2B Luis Santana: 4-5, R
- 3B Mark Vientos: 0-4, E (5)
- CF Jarred Kelenic: 0-4, SB (2)
- DH Gavin Garay: 2-4, 2 R, HR (3), 2 RBI
- 1B Kenny Hernandez: 2-3, R, BB, E (2)
- C Domingo Martinez: 0-4, K
- RF Ranfy Adon: 0-4, 3 K
- RHP Garrison Bryant: 4.0 IP, 7 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 3 BB, 7 K
- RHP Marbin Montijo: 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, WP, 0 K
- RHP Christian Tripp: 1.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, WP, 2 K
- LHP Andrew Mitchell: 1.2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
- RHP Jose Moreno: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Rookie: GCL Mets (14-9)
GCL METS 5, GCL MARLINS 1 (BOX)
Michel Otanez gave the GCL Mets five innings of one-hit ball in his second consecutive good start, and the Mets broke a scoreless tie with two fifth inning runs, giving themselves a lead they would not relinquish. Hector Rodriguez and Miguel Ramirez combined for four innings in relief to finish out the game, allowing only three hits and one run, while the Mets scored three in the bottom of the eighth to pull away.
Ronny Mauricio picked up three hits, drove in a run, and scored in the win. He raised his average to .356 on the season, and he should expect a promotion to Kingsport before the end of the season.
- CF Jhoander Saez: 0-3, BB, K
- SS Ronny Mauricio: 3-4, R, 2B, RBI, CS (3)
- RF Stanley Consuegra: 2-4, R, 2B, K
- DH Jose Peroza: 2-3, R, RBI, BB, K
- 1B Anderson Bohorquez: 0-4, SB (4)
- C Luis Lebron: 1-4, RBI, K, 2 E (3), CS (1)
- 3B Jaylen Palmer: 1-3, R, BB, 2 K
- LF Cristopher Pujols: 1-3, R, 2B, RBI, K, E (7)
- 2B David Lozano: 1-3
- RHP Michel Otanez: 5.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, HBP, 6 K, W (1-3)
- LHP Hector Rodriguez: 3.0 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, H (1)
- RHP Miguel Ramirez: 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 K
Star of the Night
RHP Chris Flexen
Goats of the Night
RHP Garrison Bryant and C Patrick Mazeika