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Mets Daily Prospect Report, 7/25/18: Three wins in five shortened games and a wild comeback for St. Lucie.

Catch up on all your Mets prospects in yesterday’s minor league action here!

By Matthew Mackenzie
Nabil Crismatt
Chris McShane

*All results from games played on Tuesday, July 24th, 2018.

Triple-A: Las Vegas 51s (48-54)

NASHVILLE 11, LAS VEGAS 4 (BOX)

Nabil Crismatt gave up a two-run home run in the first inning, and Las Vegas never led on Tuesday night, as they were routed by the Nashville Sounds, 11-4. After Crismatt’s troubles with walks and extra-base hits, the 51s did draw within two runs for brief moment in the bottom of the fifth after an RBI infield single from Peter Alonso and a two-run double from Kevin Kaczmarski. But back-to-back bases loaded walks issued by Buddy Baumann and Matt Purke extended the Sounds’ lead to 7-3, and after they added three more runs in the next inning, the game was out of reach.

Patrick Kivlehan also hit his seventh home run of the season in the loss, a seventh inning solo home run against Nashville starter Chris Bassitt. Crismatt, meanwhile, has struggled ever since a promising start against Albuquerque in which he pitched six scoreless innings. He has allowed eleven earned runs in his last 6 2⁄3 innings as he continues to adjust to life in the Pacific Coast League, and Triple-A batters are hitting .365 against the Colombian righty.

ROSTER ALERT: Las Vegas 51s activated LHP Buddy Baumann from the 7-Day disabled list.

ROSTER ALERT: Las Vegas 51s sent RHP Logan Taylor on a rehab assignment to GCL Mets.

ROSTER ALERT: New York Mets selected the contracts of 3B Phillip Evans and 2B Jeff McNeil from Las Vegas 51s.

Double-A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (48-53)

GAME ONE

BOWIE 9, BINGHAMTON 3 (BOX)

After Monday’s game between the BaySox and Rumble Ponies was suspended in the second inning due to heavy rains, the two teams picked up where they left off on Tuesday. Binghamton jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the fifth inning: Levi Michaels brought in the newly promoted Andres Gimenez with a double, and the next batter, Will Toffey, hit his first home run as a Mets prospect. That lead was short-lived, however.

Kevin McGowan took the mound in relief of Scott Copeland when the suspended game resumed, and he ran into some trouble with the long ball in the fifth inning. Aderlin Rodriguez touched him up for a two run blast, and three batters later, Martin Cervenka went deep with a solo home run of his own to tie the game. After that, the game quickly spiraled out of control. McGowan filled the bases with two walks and a double to open the sixth, and was relieved by Joe Zanghi, who allowed all three baserunners to score before recording the first out of the inning. Erik Salcedo added on a two-run single and Corban Joseph chipped in a sacrifice fly to make it 9-3. With the game completely out of hand by that point, the Rumble Ponies went down quietly, with Bowie pitchers facing the minimum over the final four innings of the game.

GAME TWO

BINGHAMTON 7, BOWIE 3/ 7 (BOX)

The Rumble Ponies took advantage of the shortened 7-inning format to go with a “bullpen game” in Game Two of Tuesday’s doubleheader, using three different relievers for 2 1⁄3 innings each. Patrick Biondi got the scoring started in the second inning, bringing in Patrick Mazeika with an RBI single, and three batters later, a throwing error from Ryan Mountcastle brought in two more runs.

Corey Taylor was the Binghamton “opener” in this game, and he ran into trouble in the bottom of the second when Anderson Feliz took him deep for a two run bomb, but after that, it was all Rumble Ponies.

In the very next inning, two walks and two wild pitches moved a runner into scoring position, and Andrew Ely brought in Joey Terdoslavich with a sacrifice fly to make it 4-2. Binghamton added three runs in the next inning on an RBI double from Kevin Taylor and an RBI single from Terdoslavich, at which point the game was out of reach for the BaySox.

Joshua Torres worked 2 1⁄3 innings in relief to earn the win; he has compiled an impressive 8-0 record with a minuscule 1.30 ERA in Double-A this season and remains a name to watch out of the Rumble Ponies bullpen.

Andres Gimenez remains hitless through his first two games in the Eastern League, but he has scored two runs, and he stole his first base in the nightcap of Tuesday’s doubleheader.

Advanced-A: St. Lucie Mets (27-40/12-18)

ST. LUCIE 10, CLEARWATER 8 (BOX)

Joe Cavallaro was roughed up in his third start for St. Lucie, but the Mets were able to use two four-run innings to come back from an 8-2 deficit and beat Clearwater on Tuesday evening. Cavallaro only allowed one home run, a two-run first inning blast by Jose Pujols; nonetheless, the South Florida product had to deal with a steady stream of baserunners throughout his start, only throwing one clean inning on the night.

After the first inning bomb from Pujols, the Threshers piled on with an RBI triple from Raul Rivas in the second, followed by a bunt single from Arquimedes Gamboa that also scored a run. Wuilmer Becerra brought in Jeremy Vasquez with a sacrifice fly to cut into the lead, and Luis Carpio followed with a solo home run, but Clearwater was just getting started. Cavallaro was chased in the fifth inning after a walk, two singles, and a sacrifice fly, with the Threshers leading 5-2, and he was relieved by Thomas McIlraith who promptly allowed both of his inherited runners to score. Edgar Cabral doubled in two runs to make it 7-2, and he scored on a throwing error by Michael Paez, the twentieth error of the season for the third baseman, who continues to struggle defensively.

With Clearwater leading 8-2 in the fifth inning, the game looked out of reach. The Mets were not about to go quietly, however. Dale Burdick was hit by a pitch to lead off the inning, and he found himself at third with two outs, when Paez attoned for his error with a two-run homer. Jeremy Vasquez was also hit by a wayward offering to extend the inning, and Dan Rizzie, who took over at catcher after Ali Sanchez left the game with a head injury, kept the line moving. Raphael Gladu brought them both in with a double, and the comeback was on.

In the 7th, St. Lucie struck again with yet another four run inning. Alberto Tirado walked the bases full, and left without recording the first out of the frame. He was relieved by Jakob Hernandez, who promptly gave up the game-tying two-run double to Rizzie, walked Gladu, and gave up the go-ahead sacrifice fly to Wuilmer Becerra. Luis Carpio added some insurance with a two-out single, but Gladu was thrown out at home to end the inning.

The sudden offensive outburst, though, was more than enough for a win. Two hit batters and seven walks issued by the Threshers’ pitching staff were surely a big help, but the Mets, who had ranked last in the Florida State League in OPS coming into the game, had exploded for ten runs, and the offensive barrage could not have come at a better time.

Adam Atkins and Stephen Villines combined for three scoreless innings of relief to finish the game, with Atkins earning the win and Villines earning the same. Villines has given up just one earned run in over fourteen innings ever since his promotion to St. Lucie.

Low-A: Columbia Fireflies (34-33/14-17)

GAME ONE

ROME 4, COLUMBIA 1/ 7 (BOX)

Chris Viall was done in by several untimely bleeders and bloopers in Game One of Tuesday’s doubleheader, and a solo home run by Matt Winaker was all the offense the Fireflies could muster in a 4-1 loss to the Rome Braves. The Stanford product allowed just two extra base hits over five innings for Columbia, but the Braves managed to piece together four runs on two sacrifice flies, an RBI single, and a run-scoring ground rule double that followed a walk.

The righthander had put together a small stretch of good starts in June and early July but has struggled more recently, and his ERA on the season is now an ugly 4.84.

GAME TWO

COLUMBIA 3, ROME 2/ 7 (BOX)

The Fireflies put up three runs in the first inning, and staved off the Rome offense for the rest of the shortened game to salvage a split of Tuesday’s doubleheader in the nightcap. Edgardo Fermin doubled on the third pitch of the game to get things started, and just two pitches later, Hansel Moreno singled to drive him in, moving up to second on the throw to the plate. Matt Winaker plated Moreno, who had moved up to third on a wild pitch, with a sacrifice fly, and the next batter, Zach Rheams, went deep with a solo home run. Just like that, it was 3-0 Colaflies after the first inning.

Jake Simon got the start for Columbia in this game, making his second appearance after a lengthy stint on the DL, and he was on top of his game. The lefty allowed just one run (a fourth inning RBI double from Hagen Owenby) in four solid innings, and has conceded just two earned runs in his last twenty frames on the mound.

Jean Carlos Encarnacion took Nicolas Debora deep in the sixth inning, but the Fireflies righty, normally a starter, was able to finish out the game without any further damage on his ledger, and he earned the win in relief.

Short Season: Brooklyn Cyclones (20-17)

MAHONING VALLEY 1, BROOKLYN 0/ 5 (BOX)

The Cyclones’ offense got off to a sluggish start on Tuesday evening and they were subsequently dealt a bad hand by the weather in a 1-0 five inning loss to Mahoning Valley. Christian James got the start for Brooklyn and he had his stuff working: the righty allowed just five hits and an unearned run over 4 1⁄3 innings, but when Jose Fermin singled in a run after a throwing error in the third inning, it was enough to hand James a loss. The Brooklyn offense managed just two hits over five innings, and with the weather being a constant factor in Niles, Ohio, the game was stopped as soon as it became official.

With the loss, the Cyclones remain 3 1⁄2 games behind the first place Hudson Valley Renegades in the McNamara Division standings. James, meanwhile, lowered his ERA to 2.25 as he continues to put in an impressive showing this season.

Rookie-Advanced: Kingsport Mets (17-15)

KINGSPORT 3, DANVILLE 1/ 6 (BOX)

Mark Vientos hit a three-run home run to give his team the lead in the sixth inning against Danville, and the game was stopped just minutes later, as rain continues to be a factor for Mets farm teams this week. Jose Butto got the start for the K-Mets, and he gave up just three hits and one run in a six-inning complete game, continuing his run of dominance in 2018. The twenty-year old right hander has allowed one run or fewer in four of his six starts this season, and his ERA is currently an outstanding 1.93 mark. He will be a name to watch next season as he likely starts 2019 in Columbia.

When Butto gave up a solo home run to Justin Dean in the sixth inning, and the rain continued to fall, however, things were looking urgent for Kingsport. Luis Santana and Shervyen Newton each singled to lead off the bottom of the inning, but Jarred Kelenic lined into a double play. Gavin Garay was hit by a pitch to extend the inning, though, and two pitches later, Vientos hit one a long way to right field for a three-run bomb. The umpires called for the tarp just a few minutes later.

The K-Mets were lucky to get the first six innings in quickly enough for Vientos to work his magic, as the first five innings of the game lasted just an hour and five minutes.

Rookie: GCL Mets (17-14)

GCL MARLINS 7, GCL METS 2 (BOX)

After Logan Taylor kicked off his rehab assignment with a hitless first inning, Jurgen Jimenez struggled with his command in three innings of relief, walking four batters and letting in two runs each in the fourth and fifth innings. Marcos Correa was knocked around to the tune of three runs in the next inning, and RBI hits from Jhoander Saez and Jaylen Palmer weren’t enough, as they dropped a fairly lopsided 7-2 contest to the last place Marlins affiliate.

Eighteen year old Brendan Hardy, a 31st round pick in 2018 from Gulfport, Mississippi, pitched two hitless innings in relief and fanned three Marlins in the loss.

Stars of the Night

RHP Jose Butto and 3B Mark Vientos

Goat of the Night

3B Chandler Avant

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