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8/16/09

Minors Stuff




The Herd:


It was a slow progression for Nick Evans this season.


After struggling early in the season to find his groove, it looks like Evans has found his swing.
Evans belted a three-run home run to center field in the fifth inning as the Buffalo Bisons earned a 7-5 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in front of 10,662 at Coca-Cola Field on Saturday night.


The blast was an emphatic sign that Evans may have gotten his groove back.


The 23-year-old outfielder began the season in a woeful slump — hitting just 7 for 75 (.093) through May 11 when the New York Mets sent him to extended spring training.

"That's the past," Evans said. "The beginning of the season was a long time ago."



Some quick hits from tonight's 5-2 Harrisburg victory:

- The B-Mets have been swept in three of their last series.


- The B-Mets need to win 11 of their last 25 games to avoid posting the worst record in team history.


- All things considered, Dylan Owen pitched well for the B-Mets. He threw 7 1/3 innings, his second-longest outing of the year, striking out six with three walks, six hits and five runs allowed. It wasn't a stellar outing, but it was solid, and he ate innings, which says something.

- The B-Mets had nine hits but scored just two runs. That's not going to get the job done.

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Gnats:


For the Mets, Robert Carson was inefficient, but showed increased velocity. Throughout the evening, Carson struggled to finish his pitches and left a number of them up in the zone. His fastball topped out at 94 and it had enough velocity for him to blow it by Delmarva hitters up. Prior to this outing, I hadn't seen Carson top 92 and even then, it was only a pitch or two. His hitting 94 on back to back pitches at one point and sitting there a handful of times throughout the evening is something to monitor going forward. His slider was effective at times as a mid-80's offering and his change up still lagged behind considerably.


Before being ejected from the game after shattering his batting helmet on the ground, Wilmer Flores had roped a ball down the left field line for a double off the wall. After initially waving the ball fair, the umpiring crew reversed the call which led to the Gnats manager, and later Flores' ejection. It was the first real fire I'd seen out of Flores and I hope it comes out more often, in more productive ways. He seems to simply float through game after game and needs to improve his focus and intensity. Flores' hitting approach has regressed and he is once again popping out the right side an awful lot. He has also lost quite a bit of weight over the course of the season and his wrists look a bit tired at this point. A 140 game season for a 17-year old shortstop must be incredibly grueling.



With a 33-19 record, tied for the league’s best, the Brooklyn Cyclones earned six spots on the National League All-Star Team. The New York-Penn League All-Star Game will be held on August 18 at Medlar Field at Lubrano Park in State College, Pennsylvania, the home of the State College Spikes.


Mark Cohoon, Jim Fuller and Mike Powers were the pitchers selected to represent Brooklyn. Catcher Dock Doyle, first baseman Sam Honeck and right fielder Luis Rivera are the position players that were invited to State College for the midsummer classic.


Cohoon, who is considered the Cyclones top pitching prospect, leads the league with seven wins and in innings pitched with 65. Over that span, Cohoon has surrendered only 51 hits and 14 walks. He has struck out 48 batters this season. His ERA stands at 2.77.


Fuller has a team-best ERA of 2.13 over 55 innings pitched. He has been impressive, striking out more than a batter per inning, with 59 strikeouts. The lefthander has been unlucky, though, and holds a record of 3-5 for the Cyclones.



Plenty of offense and superb pitching were on display by Kingsport in an 11-0 victory over Johnson City on Saturday, giving the Mets their first series win over the Cardinals this season.
Kingsport (19-28) scored five runs in the fourth inning, sparked by a leadoff triple by Jeff Flagg.


Joseph Bonfe, Michael Moras, Luis Nieves and Richard Lucas all doubled in the big inning that saw the K-Mets bat around the order.

Two more runs in the next frame courtesy of a Moras line drive single to right field with two outs left Johnson City (28-22) in an 8-0 hole.


Bonfe capped the scoring in the eighth with a three-run home run to left field. The 6-foot-4, 220-pound third baseman had his best day since returning to the team after a stint with the Brooklyn Cyclones, going 2-for-3 with a homer, a double and four RBIs. He also reached base twice after being hit by pitches.


Six days after tying a season-high by surrendering eight earned runs, Deolis Guerra struck out nine over six hitless innings Friday as the New Britain Rock Cats one-hit the Aeros, 7-0, in front of a franchise-record 8,380 fans at New Britian Stadium.


"His last outing there in Akron, he got beat up," Rock Cats pitching coach Stu Cliburn said of Guerra. "But he had a little revenge in him tonight."


Guerra (5-2), acquired by Minnesota in the blockbuster deal that sent two-time Cy Young Award winner Johan Santana to the New York Mets on Jan. 29, 2008, lasted only 3 1/3 frames in Saturday's 11-7 loss to the Aeros.

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