Minors Stuff

The Herd:


There were plenty of opportunities for the Buffalo Bisons to produce runs in Sunday's 5-2 loss to the Durham Bulls, but once again the Herd was unable to cash in.
"We left too many runners on in scoring position, plain and simple," said Bisons manager Ken Oberkfell after the team dropped its second straight to the Bulls before 7,567 at Durham Bulls Athletic Park and fell to 14-34 for the International League season.
"We haven't gotten it done all year. We were 2 for 11 [with runners in scoring position], and you can't win games that way. It just baffles me that this team can go 48 games and not hit with runners in scoring position."
The Bisons outhit the Bulls, 10-8, but left 10 runners on.
In the each of the first two innings, the first two Buffalo batters hit safely but the Herd ended up with nothing. The first threat ended when Jesus Feliciano was thrown out at the plate by left fielder Jon Weber to complete a double play. In the second, Mike Lamb, Jonathan Malo and Feliciano were retired with two runners in scoring position after a leadoff single by Emil Brown and a double by Michel Abreu.

http://www.buffalonews.com/sports/bisons/story/688725.html


B-Mets:


For Immediate Release
Date: May 31, 2009 Contact: Matt McCabe, mmccabe@bmets.com

Sanchez Struggles in Start, B-Mets Lose 15-7

After going eight innings in his previous start, Jose Sanchez struggled early and left the game in the fourth after giving up eight runs on 10 hits in the B-Mets 15-7 loss at New Britain Stadium Sunday afternoon. D.J. Wabick was a bright spot going 2-3 with two walks and an RBI. Wabick has now recorded two hits or better in five straight games.

Binghamton (21-25) was first to tally in the contest, getting to Rock Cats’ lefty Ryan Mullins in the first inning. After hitting leadoff man Emmanuel Garcia, Mullins walked Nick Evans with one out to lead up to Lucas Duda. Duda lined a single to left off the left-hander to score Garcia and get the B-Mets on the board. Evans was thrown out at third on the play trying to go first to third. The next hitter Shawn Bowman rode a high fastball out of the yard to centerfield to give Binghamton a 3-0 lead.

After throwing up a zero in the first, Sanchez gave up solo home runs to start the second and third innings to Rene Tosoni and Brandon Roberts, respectively to get the Rock Cats within one. Then with two outs in the third, New Britain (25-24) rallied for two runs on RBI singles from Erik Lis and Matt Moses to take a 4-3 lead.

The B-Mets tied it up with two outs in the fourth, however. Garcia reached on an infield single to second and promptly stole second base for his 14th swipe of the season. Then Josh Petersen served a single into shallow left field to score the speedster and tie things up at four.

In the bottom of the fourth, things began to get out of hand. Sanchez allowed four straight to reach after getting the lead out in the frame. Righty Eric Brown replaced him on the hill and allowed the next four men to reach base safely before getting an unconventional double play from Evans on an over-the-shoulder catch, in which he doubled off a runner at second. New Britain plated six runs in the inning to take a commanding 10-4 lead.

The Rock Cats scraped across four more in the fifth inning. After walking two men with one out, Brown grew frustrated and was thrown out of the game for arguing balls and strikes with home plate umpire John Conrad. The two walks would score as Nick Abel entered to spell the departed Brown and was greeted rudely with four consecutive hits from the New Britain lineup, giving them a 14-4 advantage.

Jake Eigsti led off the sixth for the B-Mets against Mullins and drove a ball over the left-centerfield wall for his first AA home run to close the game to nine.

Binghamton would plate two in the seventh and would allow New Britain to score again in the eighth inning to yield the 15-7 final score. The B-Mets are now 3-10 in their last 13 road games.




Lucy:


Bradley Holt continued to pad his impressive resumé with another stellar pitching performance for the St. Lucie Mets on Sunday at Tradition Field, throwing six innings of a 6-0 shutout of the Clearwater Threshers.

Holt (4-1), one of the New York Mets' top pitching prospects, gave up just three hits while striking out six and walking one. Brant Rustich then closed it out with three scoreless innings of relief.

Offensively, Ike Davis hit a two-run homer Matt Watson had a double, a triple and two RBIs.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2009/jun/01/no-headline---200906010001-01tstlucie


Gnats:


Fans' budgets include Sand Gnats. Betty Stevenson was asked if she considered not renewing her season tickets for the Savannah Sand Gnats' 2009 campaign because of the current economic climate. "Heavens no," said Stevenson, perhaps surprised at the notion. "This is one of the things we do for our outings, and it's probably one of the less expensive things families can do. It's good, clean entertainment." Stevenson and her husband, Bill, have been season-ticket holders for eight years, and she has been going to baseball games at Grayson Stadium since moving to Savannah in 1977. Harry Olbeter was asked the same question about cutting back on Sand Gnats tickets. "Absolutely not," said Olbeter, 61, a season-ticket holder since 2006 and a baseball fan since growing up near Pittsburgh, Pa. "One, the ticket prices haven't increased for three years. It's stable," continued Olbeter, a business development consultant. "Two, it's great entertainment at a very affordable price. I love baseball. I played baseball. I watch baseball. It's my number one sport. I enjoy going to the games, watching kids play their hearts out and trying to live their dreams."

http://savannahnow.com/node/731292



Offense was the word of the day for Asheville as they hammered Savannah pitching for 12 runs on 25 hits in a, 12-3, win over the Savannah Sand Gnats in front of 2,721 at McCormick Field. The 12 runs and 25 hits allowed by Savannah pitching are both season highs. Things started well for the Gnats as they were able to jump out to a, 1-0, lead over the Tourists. Jordany Valdespin tripled to start the game and Rafael Fernandez hit a sacrifice fly to drive him in. After that it was all Asheville as they hit around starter Jeurys Familia (3-4) for three runs in the first inning as the 19-year-old also committed two balks in the inning. The offense never quit for Asheville as they scored three more runs in the fourth, one in the sixth and five more in the eighth. Familia lasted four innings and allowed six of the 12 Tourists runs on 13 hits. Sean Ratliff and Wilmer Flores hit back-to-back homers in the seventh to pull the Sand Gnats within four after 6.5 innings before Asheville opened it back up in the eighth. It was the fifth homer of the year for Ratliff and the first of the campaign for Flores. Tourists’ starter Ethan Hollingsworth (3-3) was masterful before he allowed the back-to-back knocks in the seventh. The home runs broke up a streak of 14 straight retired by the Joliet, Ill. product. He lasted 6.1 innings and allowed three runs on five hits with a season-high eight strikeouts.