Mets Fall 4-3 against the Astros

The Houston Astros (9-14) defeated the New York Mets (13-10) by a score to 4-3.
It was a very disappointing loss.
R.A Dickey was unhittable for the first 5 inning. In the 6th, everything fell apart for Dickey. He gave up hit after hit and then a 2 run homer to Matt Downs. He gave up 3 runs in 6 innings.
The Mets answered right back with a three spot of their own in the seventh. Andres Torres recorded his first hit which turned out to be a RBI single. Kirk Nieuwenhuis then drove in two runs with bases loaded via an RBI single tying the game at 3.
Terry Collins decided to bring Manny Acosta into the game... I think you get the point.
Acosta was solid in his first inning of work (7th) but, to no one`s surprise, gave up the lead in the eight inning thanks to a Jed Lowrie RBI single which drove in Jordan Schafer.
Brett Myers came on to close the game for the Astros. Myers would record a 1-2-3 inning and earn his 5th save of the season.

This was a tough loss to swallow. R.A was magnificent for the first 5 innings and it looked like he would go atleast 8 innings tonight.  But he gave up 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th leaving the Mets with a 3 run deficit. Terry Collins has continued to make questionable bullpen choices that has cost the Mets SEVERAL losses this season. Collins decided to send Acosta for a second inning of work. The fact of the matter is that Accosta shouldn`t have even gotten into the game in the first place. Accosta just may be the most unreliable pitcher in the Mets bullpen. If the Mets want to win, they MUST find a solution to their bullpen. First these  pitchers must be straigtened out.
   

I don`t believe Manny Acosta is a reliable option for this Mets bullpen. In a ideal world, he would be released or in AAA Buffalo. In my opinion, its just a matter of time before this guy comes up and fixes the mess.
                           
                                                        Josh Edgin

The Mets need serious changes in the bullpen and FAST. This can get UGLY.

Anyways here is the picture of the day.

WHOSE GONNA GET THE BALL?

Savannah hits five homers, gets past Lexington in 12, 10-9

The Savannah Sand Gnats hit five home runs, but the winning run scored on a wild pitch in the 12th inning as the Sand Gnats edged the Lexington Legends 10-9 Monday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

Travis Taijeron hit a three-run homer in the first inning and a two-run shot in the second for Savannah.  The Sand Gnats also got solo homers by Cam Maron in the second inning and Brian Harrison in the third to build a 7-1 lead.

The Legends, who scored a run in the first inning on doubles by Delino DeShields, Jr. and Zach Johnson, came back with four runs in the bottom of the third.  Singles by John Hinson, Johnson and Matt Duffy loaded the bases.  Drew Muren’s sacrifice fly brought in one run, and Mike Kvasnicka followed with his first home run of the year to close the gap to two at 7-5.

T.J.  Rivera’s home run in the top of the fourth gave Savannah an 8-5 lead, and the Sand Gnats added another run in the fifth when Tillman Pugh singled, stole second and third, and came home on Brandon Brown’s base hit.

Matt Duffy’s solo homer in the bottom of the fifth left the score at 9-6.    Lexington relievers Carlos Quevedo, who entered the game in the sixth inning, and Jason Chowning each pitched three scoreless innings as the Legends bounced back again.

In the bottom of the eighth, singles by Kvasnicka and Chris Epps put runners at first and second with one out.  Jimmy Howick grounded into a force play at second, but second baseman Brandon Brown’s throw to first was wide for an error, allowing Kvasnicka to score and Howick to go to second.  Howick scored on a single by John Hinson to cut the lead to one at 9-8.

The Legends tied it in the ninth when Muren doubled, went to third on a single by Kvasnicka and scored on a sacrifice fly by Jordan Scott.

In the top of the 12th, Taijeron doubled with one out and advanced to third when Aderlin Rodriguez grounded out.   With Gregory Pron at the plate, a wild pitch by Dayan Diaz allowed Taijeron to score the tie-breaking run.  

Jeffrey Walters (1-0) who entered the game in the 11th inning , got the win.  Diaz (4-1) was the losing pitcher.

DeShields  stole three bases for the Legends, and has a South Atlantic League-leading total of 16 for the season.


Attendance 5,609
Box score at http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t495&t=g_box&gid=2012_04_30_savafx_lexafx_1

Press Release - Zach Lutz

Bisons Activate INF Zach Lutz

OF Raul Reyes Transferred to Double-A Binghamton
OF Andres Torres Ends MLB Injury Rehab Assignment


April 30, 2012 –The Buffalo Bisons today announced that INFZACH LUTZ will be active for the club for tonight’s 6:05 p.m. game against the Rochester Red Wings. Lutz was optioned by the Mets following their game last night.

OFRAUL REYES has been transferred to Double-A Binghamton. Also, the Mets are expected to activate OFANDRES TORRES tonight from his MLB injury rehabilitation assignment with the Bisons.

Lutz was recalled to the Mets on April 24 and made his MLB debut that night against the Miami Marlins as a pinch hitter (strikeout). Lutz made his first big league start on April 27 against Colorado and picked up his first major league hit with a fifth-inning single against Esmil Rogers.

Lutz played in four total games with the Mets. He had one hit in eight at-bats and scored a run.

Torres played two games for the Bisons and was 1-7 with two walks, a stolen base and a run scored.

Reyes played 15 games with the Bisons this season and hit .219 (7-32) with two doubles, two RBI and five runs scored.

Draft Notes – Top MFers, Raph Rhymes,

ESPN's Top 2013 Middle Fielders

1. Oscar Mercado, SS, Gaither High School (Tampa, Fla.)

2. Tim Richards, SS, Wilson High School (Long Beach, Calif.)

3. Sheldon Neuse, SS, Keller Fossil Ridge High School (Fort Worth, Texas)

4. Elliott Barzilli, SS/2B, Palisades Charter (Calif.)

5. Kramer Robertson, 2B/SS, Midway High School (Waco, Texas)

Others to Watch

Brock Hartley, SS, Pinnacle (Phoenix)

Wesley Jones, SS, Redan (Stone Mountain, Ga.)

Andrew Rosa, SS, Owasso (Okla.)

Jamie Westbrook, 2B, Basha (Chandler, Ariz.)

Brandon Whiteford, 2B, Chapel Hill (Douglasville, Ga.)

Jim Callis‏ tweeted that he felt that LSU’s Raph Rhymes will go in the 4-6^th round range… Rymes is a pure hitter and leads the universe in hitting:  .500/.534/.628. This is not a home run hitter. He is someone you simply can’t get out.  ESPN said  Rhymes hitting 15-15 w/ man on 3rd & <2outs. Do you have any idea how big that stat is? He’s 6-0, 180 from Monroe, Louisiana. The Pirates had drafted Rymes in the 40^th round of the 2011 draft, but he would no part of it. He is now leading the nation in hitting. Good decision, Raph.

6:05pm - Buffalo at Rochester - Olsen vs. Thompson

Buffalo Bisons (14-10, 2nd(-1.0), North) vs. Rochester Red Wings (9-14, 5th(-5.5), North)
Monday, April 30, 2012 (6:05 p.m.) - Coca-Cola Field
LHP Garrett Olson (0-1, 2.82) vs. RHP Daryl Thompson (1-2, 4.26)
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, www.bisons.com


TODAY’S GAME: Tonight, the Buffalo Bisons host the Rochester Red Wings in the finale of a four-game series at Coca-Cola Field (6:05 p.m.). The Herd is looking for the sweep after outscoring the Wings 19-8 in the first three games. Buffalo has won four straight and nine of 12 since April 17.

vs. RED WINGS: The Bisons are 5-2 this season against the Red Wings. Buffalo won the first two games of the rivalry, April 7-8, before Rochester won a pair, April 9-10. Now, the Herd has three straight wins and can earn their first four-game sweep of Rochester since taking four at Frontier Field, April 26-29, 2004. The Herd has won nine straight over the Wings at Coca-Cola Field.

OLE: At 0-1, LHPGARRETT OLSON is still in search of his first win of the season despite having the 13th lowest ERA in the International League at 2.82. The southpaw is coming off back-to-back quality starts. His most recent came last Tuesday in Lehigh Valley as he allowed three runs in six innings of an IroPigs’ 4-3 win in 11 innings. Olson has limited left-handed hitters to a .176 (3-17) average with no extra-base hits.

STREAKIN’: All five Bisons players that had a personal season-high hit streaks extended them yesterday. INFVALENTINO PASCUCCI leads them all with a 13-game stretch over which he has hit .322 (19-58). The others are OFVINNY ROTTINO (11G, 15-44, .341), INF BOBBY SCALES (7G, 12-26, .462), INFJOSH SATIN (6G, 11-29, .379) and INF OMAR QUINTANILLA (6G, 7-23, .304).

LEADER BOARDS: The Bisons now lead the International League with 30 home runs. The club is also 2nd in team average (.281) and team ERA (.3.04). INFBOBBY SCALES leads the IL in average by 24 points (.413) and on-base percentage by 60 points (.522). INFVALENTINO PASCUCCI ranks sixth in the league with 18RBI.

BISONS BITS: Each of the Bisons last four wins have helped them gain a game in the standings, from five games back to only one....OFANDRES TORRES’ MLB injury rehabilitation assignment with the Bisons ended after two games. Torres had a hit, two walks and a steal in seven at-bats...INFZACH LUTZ was optioned by the Mets today and OF RAUL REYES was transferred to Binghamton (AA).

METS UPDATE: The Mets (13-9) closed out a series win in Colorado with a 6-5 win over the Rockies in 11 innings yesterday. Former Bisons INFRUBEN TEJADA had three hits on Sunday and 10 in the three-game series. He’s now hitting .310 on the season. The Mets are in Houston with an 8:05 p.m. first pitch tonight against the Astros.

B-Mets Pre-Game Notes

LAST GAME: Reese Havens went 3-for-4 in his return to the B-Mets and Zack Wheeler allowed one run over 5.2 innings to lead the Binghamton Mets past the Erie SeaWolves by a 7-1 score yesterday at Jerry Uht Park. Activated from the disabled list prior to the game, Havens crushed a two-run home run in the first inning on his first swing of the season. Matt den Dekker supplied an RBI triple and scored a run of his own to double the lead in the second. It was all the offense Wheeler needed to collect his first Double-A win. The righty struck out six and allowed two hits. Jeff Kaplan and Armando Rodriguez combined for 3.1 scoreless innings of relief to lead Binghamton in the rubber match victory.

STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP: LHP Darin Gorski (2-0, 2.75) makes his fifth start of the season and second against the Akron Aeros. The lefty took a no-decision in his last start, allowing four runs on five hits over 3.2 innings against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on April 25. Gorski struck out four and walked four in the game. The southpaw earned the win in his Double-A debut when he allowed just one hit over six shutout innings to defeat the Aeros on April 7. He spent all of last year with the St. Lucie Mets (High-A) and was named the Florida State League pitcher of the year. Gorski won the Sterling Organizational Award as the top pitcher in the New York Mets’ farm system.

RHP Steven Wright (2-1, 1.46) makes his fifth start of the season and second against the B-Mets. Wright has not allowed more than one earned run in each of his first four starts. He tossed a season-high 7.1 innings against the Bowie Baysox in a no-decision in his last start on April 25. Wright allowed one run on three hits over 5.2 innings in a loss to Binghamton on April 7. Wright, a native of Torrance, CA is in his fifth season with the Aeros. He pitched at four levels in the Indians system last year, racking up 25 appearances and making 20 starts. In seven starts with Akron in 2011, he went 2-4 with a 5.98 ERA.

EXTRA, EXTRA!: The B-Mets collected five extra-base hits yesterday against the Erie SeaWolves, including two doubles, two triples and a home run. It was the second time this season Binghamton collected a pair of triples. They lead the league with 12 three-baggers.

WALK THIS WAY: The B-Mets walked 10 times yesterday. It was the most walks for Binghamton in one game since they walked 12 times against the Akron Aeros on June 28, 2009. Binghamton walked 23 times during the three-game series.

MULTI-HIT GAME: B-Mets outfielder Matt den Dekker collected his team-leading tenth multiple-hit game of the season yesterday with a double and triple. He leads the Eastern League with 47 total bases.

PITCHING BATTLE: The Akron Aeros enter the series owning the best staff ERA in the league at 2.27. The B-Mets rank third with a 3.22 staff ERA. Binghamton has racked up the most strikeouts as a staff with 178, while Akron is a close second with 177.

A LITTLE WINDED: The Akron Aeros come into the series after playing 20 innings against the Altoona Curve yesterday. The Aeros took the first game of the doubleheader 4-3 in 13 innings and won the nightcap by a 3-2 score. Both were walk-off wins.

AGAINST THE AEROS: The Aeros took two of three games against the B-Mets back at NYSEG Stadium to open the season. Binghamton collected just 13 hits during the series and hit .157 as a team. Their pitching staff compiled a 2.00 ERA. LHP Darin Gorski was the only starter to record a win against Akron.

AT CANAL PARK: The B-Mets went 4-3 against the Aeros at Canal Park last season after winning all six meetings in Ohio in 2010.

NEXT GAME PREVIEW: The B-Mets continue their four-game set at Canal Park tomorrow night at 7:05 PM. RHP Greg Peavey will take on LHP T.J. House.

Notes for a Monday

Notes for a Monday

• SS Ruben Tejada raised his batting average 71 points while in Colorado. He came into the series batting .239 and heads to Houston hitting .310, good for top 15 in the National League.
• The Mets have 5 hitters in their lineup hitting .310 or above: Ruben Tejada, Daniel Murphy, Kirk Nieuwenhuis, Josh Thole, and David Wright.
• In case you missed it from the above two points, the Mets have 5 of the top 15 hitters in the NL through 22 games (13.6% of the season).
• Starting the week off against the Houston Astros, the Mets get to face fastball-slider hurler Bud Norris, former Phillie J.A. Happ, and Wandy Rodriquez, owner of a 2.91 ERA against the Mets in 43.1 innings.
• The New York Mets are one game out of first place in the East and still own a playoff spot if the season were to end today.
• Yes, Bryce Harper made a fantastic play in center field yesterday but the less-than-efficient route he took to the ball made it necessary to make that fantastic catch. Carlos Beltran could still make that play look smooth and effortless. Or Kirk Nieuwenhuis.
• Speaking of Kirk, the current center fielder in Flushing owns three plays on Sports Center's web gems. He has been a major league player for three weeks.
• The Mets are 2-1 in extra-inning games and 7-1 in 1-run ballgames to start 2012. Last year they went 7-7 in extras and 21-28 in 1-run affairs.
• Some bloggers, many fans, and even some experts predicted the Mets would lose (or would be in grave danger of losing) 100 games in 2012. In order to fulfill that prophecy, the Mets would have to go 49-91 the rest of the way to the tune of a .350 winning percentage. The only team in the major leagues with a lower winning percentage last year was the 106-loss Astros.
• Some early season stats just do not surprise you: Stephen Strasburg leads the NL in strikeouts, Matt Kemp in average, and Josh Hamilton in RBI for the AL. Others…do: Jake Peavy leads the AL in ERA, David Ortiz in average, and Jose Altuve, a 21-year old 5’7” second baseman from Venezuela who plays for the NL’s second worst team (Houston), is third in the league in batting.
• While I understand that this practice is more widely accepted in the game these days, the strutting, bat-flipping, and long-watching-of-home-runs by Todd Helton, Carlos Gonzalez, and Dexter Fowler rubbed me the wrong was as a fan. At least Helton’s tied a game and was late in the outing (but his team still lost). A note to the Colorado Rockies and those hitters: You are now sub-.500 team and you lost two of three in the series. Just keep that in mind.
• I wonder if the Mets would let Nieuwenhuis change his jersey number to NCC-1701.

LGM

Mourning the Blacksheep

Every family has a member that is slightly odd. One that doesn't quite fit in. The Mets family is no different. From the day he first took the mound in a Mets uniform, Mike Pelfrey seemed a little odd. Teammates noticed it. Media members noticed it. Fans noticed it.

He seemed to have a love/hate relationship with those fans. He has been a player the fans have loved to hate; the perfect object to spew all of their fanhood frustrations upon. Over the past few years, fans have called radio shows to complain about every start, posted repeatedly on message boards of how much he "sucks" and booed mercilessly with every pitch.

He has been the focus of all our deepest venting. How strange is it, then, that when he went down to injury last week that those same fans and media members now refer to him as "irreplaceable"? Since the inevitable departure of Ollie Perez at the beginning of Spring Training last season, Mike Pelfrey has been the lone symbol to the fans of everything they don't like about this franchise.

Last season, they had the chance to trade him and avoid the pay raise he would be due this past offseason. Instead, they kept him and paid him the extra money to avoid arbitration. As a direct result, they have nothing to show for losing him to season ending surgery and a possible free agency looming when he recovers. Pelfrey may have thrown his last pitch as a New York Met.

That fact has sunken into the collective conscience of the fans and they are certainly taking the loss with sadness and grieving. With a career ERA of 4.36 and a 50-54 record, it's hard to imagine why. Has he had a good start to this season? Yes.  Does that warrant a period of mourning by the Mets family? Not really.

The fact is he is the player that Mets fans rip on for being hit or miss but those same fans will never allow a fan of another team to speak ill of him. They think "he may be a black sheep in this family, but he's our black sheep!". They stand by him through thick and thin. That is what fans do.

Now that he is on the mend, they finally realize his value; he eats up innings. He's had four consecutive seasons with 184 or more innings pitched. Two of them for more than 200 innings pitched. Now that the oddball in the family is on his way to the hospital, we all stop to consider what role he played in this family. He was the one that was always there; rain or shine, blowout or close game.

Though he seemed to only be consistent through inconsistency, he was, in fact, there for his starts. Whether those starts were something left to be desired or not, is a different story. There in was where his trade value laid last season. Many fans were calling for his head on the trade block.

Now that he is injured and may never pitch for them again, it is evident that the fans had a soft spot in their hearts for him after all. He may have been the hand-licking, shrink-seeing square peg that was left chained up in the basement and let out occasionally, but dammit, he was OURS.

Let this be a lesson to us as fans. Let's appreciate these athletes while we have them on our team. You never know when we'll overpay for one, fail to trade them at the opportune time and see them go down to season ending injury never to pitch for us again.

As we mourn the season loss of Big Pelf, remember, it could be worse; we could sign Ollie again.

4-29-12 - Daily Mets Minors Report

Date: 4-29-12

Peter Gammons‏ put the Bryce Harper overkill into perspective: “Just a reminder:in '63, at the age of 19, Tony Conigliaro batted .290 with 24 homers, an .883 OPS and 137 OPS+”

From the “Something Was Lost in the Translation” department… Freddy Garcia : . "When you play in New York, they expect you to pitch good."

 AAA-Buffalo:

Brad Emaus started today at 3B…   14 hit attack on Sunday… three each for 2B Bobby Scales (.413) and LF Vinnie Rottino (.315)… SS Omar Quintanilla hit his third home run… RP Brad Holt frankly proved he should look for a future outside of professional baseball… man of the hour was SP Dylan Owen, who just won’t be pushed aside: 7.0-IP, 7-K,3.18… give him a shot, TC!

 AA-Binghamton:   

1B-3B-OF Eric Campbell and 2B Reese Havens were activated before game time… INF Joe Bonfe transferred from Binghamton (AA) to Brooklyn (SS-A)… Havens bats third and homers in the first inning. Welcome back…  SP Zack Wheeler pitched another one… 6-K in 5.2-IP, 95/55, 1.75 AA-ERA. Yes… 1.75 AA/ERA…

A+ - St. Lucie: -   

I’m not sure, but I think Cory Vaughn’s (6^th) home run today was the 3^rd in the last three games…C Juan Torres played 1B (who doesn’t these days?), and also homered… SS Wilfredo Tovar’s BA up to .319… RP Kyle Allen remains at 0.00… Adrian Rosario: 0.68.

A – Savannah:

P Marcos Camerena got his first start of the season and 2B T.J. Rivera batted third instead of leading off…  we may have found another hitter on this team… LF Dustin Lawley went 3-3, scored a run, and raised is BA to .284… Carmerena impressed wit: 5.0-IP, 2-H, 0-R, 1-K, 2-BB. His ERA has been lowered to 1.83 and I expect him to add to the rotation.

Press Release - Mack's Mets

I will be entering my Ralph Kiner stage of participation here on Mack’s Mets, effective May 1^st. I will continue to post the press releases I receive from the various minor league teams for your perusal; however, I will limit my original material to a daily recap of the minor league games and another about draft prospects. The other writers here will add their expertise and comments about the Mets, in general, and Queens, in particular.

John Mackin Ade
"Mack"

Savannah takes 9-3 win over Lexington

Brandon Brown and Aderlin Rodriguez each drove in two runs as the Savannah Sand Gnats took a 9-3 win over the Lexington Legends Sunday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

Savannah took a 1-0 lead in the third inning when Brown led off with a double, moved to third on an infield out by T.J. Rivera and came home on a single by Travis Taijeron.

The Sand Gnats added four runs in the sixth.  Dustin Lawley, who was 3-for-3 in the game, led off with a single.  After Taijeron flied out, Rodriguez singled, sending Lawley to second.  Brian Harrison grounded into a force play at second, leaving runners at first and third.  Charley Thurber’s single scored Lawley, and after Evan Grills relieved Lexington starter Nick Tropeano, Luis Nieves walked, loading the bases.  Brown singled to score two more runs, giving the Sand Gnats a 4-0 lead.  Nieves then scored on a double steal as Brown took second.  

The Legends got on the board in the seventh on a triple by Drew Muren and a single by Alex Todd.

Savannah pulled away with four more runs in the ninth.  Brown walked, Cam Maron singled, and after Rivera struck out, Lawley walked to load the bases.  Taijeron grounded back to pitcher Tanner Bushue, who threw to catcher Roberto Pena for a force at home, but Pena’s throw to first hit Taijeron for an error, allowing Maron to score.  Rodriguez followed with a double to left field, scoring Lawley and Taijeron, and Harrison singled, bringing Rodriguez home with the final Savannah run.

In the bottom of the ninth, Jordan Scott reached on an error by Harrison, the first baseman, and Matt Duffy followed with his third home run of the year to complete the scoring.

Savannah starter Marcos Camarena (2-0), who pitched five scoreless innings and allowed two hits, got the win.  Nick Tropeano (1-2), the Lexington starter, took the loss.

Each team has won one game in the series, which concludes with a 10:05 a.m. game Monday at Whitaker Bank Ballpark.

Attendance 3,650
Box score at http://www.milb.com/milb/stats/stats.jsp?sid=t495&t=g_box&gid=2012_04_29_savafx_lexafx_1

from team press release

Havens Leads Offense in Return to B-Mets,7-1

ERIE,PA – In his first game of the season, Reese Havens collected three hits,including a two-run home run, to lead the Binghamton Mets past the ErieSeaWolves by a 7-1 score in the rubber match Sunday afternoon at Jerry UhtPark. Binghamton pounded out 10 hits, including five for extra bases, to make awinner of Zack Wheeler for the first time in his Double-A career.

Binghamtonjumped on Erie starter Mark Sorensen in the first. Matt den Dekker started theattack with a double to the right field gap. Havens, activated from thedisabled list before the game, ripped a two-run homer to right field on hisfirst swing of the season. Havens launched six home runs in 58 games withBinghamton last year.

TheB-Mets did not take their foot off the gas pedal in the second. Pedro Zapatadumped a single to center and was quickly brought home when den Dekker ripped atriple down the right field line. Rodriguez followed by with a walk to putrunners at the corners. With Havens at the plate, Rodriguez forced himself intoa rundown and stayed alive long enough for den Dekker to score from third.

Sorensencould not reach the third. Patrick Cooper took over and put up a scorelessframe before allowing a leadoff triple to Zapata in the fourth. The speedyoutfielder scored one batter later on den Dekker’s sac fly to center.

Cooperallowed two more runs in the fifth. Eric Campbell singled and moved to third ona pair of wild pitches by the righty. Travis Ozga brought him home with asingle to center. Juan Centeno scored later in the frame when Zapata beat out apotential double play.

Theoffensive support was long-overdue for Wheeler. In his first four starts, theB-Mets had scored a total of four runs. Given a seven-run cushion, the rightyfrom Georgia collected his first Double-A win.

Wheelerdid not allow a hit until the fourth and surrendered just two over his 5.2innings. In the sixth he allowed a double to Brandon Douglas before inducingRob Brantly to fly out to center.

Withtwo outs, Pedro Lopez opted to replace Wheeler with Jeff Kaplan. Wheelerfinished with six strikeouts on the day. Jordan Lennerton greeted by poundingan RBI double off the left centerfield fence. It was the only run Erie platedin the game.

Kaplanforced Ben Guez to ground out to end the inning and worked around a two-outsingle to put up a scoreless seventh. Armando Rodriguez got the nod for theeighth and took the game to the finish line with two scoreless innings.

Thewin was Binghamton’s first in a rubber match and secured their second serieswin of 2012. Wheeler (1-2) earned his first Double-A win, while Sorensen (0-2)was handed his second defeat.

TheB-Mets (12-10) head to Akron, Ohio to start a four-game series against theAeros on Monday night at 7:05 PM. LHP Darin Gorski takes the ball forBinghamton against RHP Steven Wright. The Horizons Federal Credit Unionpre-game show begins at 6:50 PM on Newsradio 1290 WNBF

Owen is masterful in 8-2 Bisons win

Dylan Owen owned the plate on a sun-splashed Sunday afternoon at Coca-Cola Field
.
In his second start since being inserted into the Bisons rotation, Owen threw seven dominate innings in an 8-2 victory over the Rochester Red Wings. The victory was Buffalo's fourth straight and ninth in their last 12 games.

· Play-by-Play
· Box Score

Owen needed just 78 pitches to complete seven innings of work in his second win of the season. He retired the first seven batters he faced and 11 straight from the fourth inning into his final frame.
Owen used six pitched to retire the Red Wings in the second inning. In the sixth, he struck out Drew Butera looking on three pitches, fanned Ben Revere swinging on three pitches and induced Darin Mastroianni into a weak pop out on four pitches. Owen reached a three-ball count only twice and didn't throw more than six pitches to any batter.


In the seventh inning, the Red Wings finally got a run when Aaron Bates followed Joe Benson's two-out triple with a single to centerfield. Owen then retired Rene Rivera on a popout to end his outing.
Overall, Owen allowed just four hits without issuing a walk. He lowered his season ERA from 4.02 to 3.18.


The top of the Bisons batting order did the heavy-lifting for the Herd. Bobby Scales, Vinny Rottino and Valentino Pascucci combined to go 8-15 with four doubles, four RBI and four runs scored at the top of the lineup.


Rottino and Pascucci got aboard in the fourth inning for RBI-hits from Matt Tuiasosopo and Brad Emaus. Scales and Rottino drove in two more runs for a 4-0 lead in the fifth. Pascucci hit a two-rocket off the wall in centerfield to drive in two runs in the bottom of the seventh. With the game out of reach, Omar Quintanilla added his third home run in four games with a solo shot in the eighth inning.


The Bisons will go for the four-game sweep of Rochester on Monday with a 6:05 p.m. first pitch.

BISONS NOTES:Brad Emaus went 2-3 with a pair of singles and a walk in his Bisons debut...Valentino Pascucci (13 games), Vinny Rottino (11 games), Bobby Scales (7 games), Josh Satin (6 games) all extended their season-high hit streaks on Sunday...Omar Quintanilla's home run was the club's 30th of the year in only 24 games.

Mets Defeat Rockies in Extras 6-5

Today the New York Mets (13-9) took the series from the Colorado Rockies (10-11) in a nice Sunday evening. The game's match up was the ace, Johan Santana taking on the oldest pitcher in baseball, Jamie Moyer. I can go on writing how seven Mets weren't even born the time Moyer made his MLB debut in 1986, but on to baseball. The Mets decided they were in the mood to give Johan some run support today. They scored three runs in the first inning thanks in large part to David Wright's two run double. Santana took that lead and kept pitching in his typical bulldog mentality. As Keith Hernandez noted, Santana's stuff wasn't as dominant last time out against the Marlins but he made his pitches and kept the Rockies scoreless through six innings. With Josh Thole's line drive home run in the fifth inning. the Mets dealt a comfy 4-0 lead to the bullpen in the seventh inning. Miguel Batista handled the seventh inning quite nicely, and then came the eighth. 


Setup man, Jon Rauch didn't have a good time with the home plate umpire, Paul Emmel. He went on to load the bases with two outs, and gave the ball over to Tim Byrdak to face Todd Helton with two outs. With an eye towards his buddy Peyton Manning in the stands, Helton smacked a pinch hit grandslam to right field. THIS GAME WAS TIED. Bobby Parnell went on to give a perfect ninth inning, while Ike Davis didn't come up big in a situation to give the Mets the lead, lining out to Marco Scutaro. However, the super rookie, Captain Kirk delivered big in the tenth inning scoring Mike Baxter with a double. Unfortunately, this lead was quickly given up to the erratic Frank Francisco when he gave up a solo bomb to Carlos Gonazalez. This game was decided in the 11th inning when Ike Davis finally delivered a RBI single to left field scoring the Wright man. The Mets left home happy in their cowboy outfits to Houston thanks to a shutout inning by Ramon Ramirez.


A win is a win, no matter how gritty it is. The Mets played very well coming off their 18-9 loss on Friday, and is looking forward to gaining first place in the N.L East against the pitiful Houston Astros. 


Sleep well Mets fans, all is well. I leave you with this. 
                                        Yeehaw! He looks scared, don't he?

Mets bounce Miracle, 5-1, on Sunday afternoon

04/29/2012 3:28 PM ET

FORT MYERS, Fla. - The St. Lucie Mets knocked off the Fort Myers Miracle, 5-1, with four runs in the first three innings at Hammond Stadium on Sunday afternoon.

 

Mets starter Gonzalez German went seven strong innings allowing just one run on four hits with seven strikeouts and no walks. The only Miracle run came in the bottom of the seventh on a sacrifice fly from Lance Ray.

St. Lucie got the scoring started in the first inning when Cory Vaughn blasted a first pitch fastball over the left field fence off of Miracle starter Jose Gonzalez. With originally scheduled starter B.J. Hermsen called up to the New Britain Rock Cats (AA), Gonzalez (0-3) lasted three innings and allowed four runs on four hits in a spot start.

The Mets plated three in the third inning with a patient approach at the dish. St. Lucie put together two hits, two walks, and a hit batter to create bases loaded opportunities. Robbie Shields picked up a RBI with a walk. Wilmer Flores drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Cesar Puello followed with a RBI single.

Miracle reliever Ricky Bowen was touched up for a solo homerun off the bat of Juan Torres in the sixth inning.

German improved to (3-0) in four starts. Bruce Pugh pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth innings. The Fort Myers offense has produced only one run in 18 innings against St. Lucie in the series.

from team press release

Minors Notes - Overachievers

AAA-Buffalo:  

Players showing dominance early:

            2B Bobby Scales - .400/.517/.571/1.089

            1B Val Pascucchi - .300/.391/.575/.966, 6-HR

SP Jeremy Hefner – 2.08/1.12

RP Jack Egbert – 1.88/0.98

RP Fernando Cabrera – 0.87/0.97

RP Chuck James – 1.17/1.17

Next to Move:  Probably Cabrera, followed by James. 

AA-Binghamton:   

Players showing dominance early:

            3B Jefry Marte - .367/.418/.483/.901

            2B Josh Rodriguez - .358/.469/.493/.962

            SP Collin McHugh – 2.33/1.15

            RP Armondo Rodriguez – 1.50/0.67

            RP Elvin Ramirez – 0.00/0.71

Next to Move – Ramirez should be in AAA

A+ - St. Lucie: -   

Players showing dominance early:

            3B Wilmer Flores - .311/.341/.486/.828

            2B Wilfredo Tovar - .308/.384/.385/.768

            SP Chase Huchingtson – 1.23/1.09

            RP Adrian Rosario – 0.73/0.49

            RP Ryan Fraser – 1.54/0.94

            RP Adam Kolarek – 0.00/0.91

            RP John Church – 1.86/1.14

Next to Move – I’m thinking Wilmer to 1B in Binghamton 

A – Savannah:

Players showing dominance early:

            SS T J Rivera - .407/.490/.605/1.095

            SP Rafael Montero – 1.99/0.93

            SP Alex Panteliodis – 0.89/1.08

            RP Jack Leathersich – 0.69/0.92/13.0-IP, 23-K

            RP T J Chism – 1.64/1.18

            Next to Move – Probably ‘Leather’

It was written last night that the hope was that Michael Fulmer find location to add to his tools because the system really needs him. That’s ridiculous. What the system needs is for Fulmer to take his time until he gets it right. What is he, 12 years old? Stupid writing. 

There is also a lot of online chatter about moving Rivera to St. Lucie. Frankly, it would take moving Danny Muno out of there and that isn’t going to happen.

Shortstop seems to be set right now throughout the affiliates. Omar Quintanilla and Josh Rodriguez are holding their own in AAA and AA and Muno will learn all season in Florida.

The Mets don’t seem to be in any rush to move some of the extended bats to Savannah and are probably waiting to stock the remaining teams until around draft time. Rivera represents the lion share of a very bad Sand Gnats offense and it’s amazing his stat line because you just know he’s being pitched around every bat.

Draft Notes – Kevin Gausman, Baylor SPs, Robert Benencasa

You can’t determine everything from a stat line. LSU RHP Kevin Gausman may have given up 5-R, 3-ER Friday; however a closer look showed that eight of the 10 hits given up were softies and bloopers. More important is his 9-K and 0-BB plus the fact that he led his team to victory. I have Kevin as a lock for one of the top five picks in the June draft and possibly the first pitcher taken. 

First the good news: Baylor starters Josh Turley and Trent Blank have combined for 21 starts and have gone 16-0. Turley is 1.74 and Blank 2.18… the bad news… a combined 94-K in 138.1-IP (32-BB). Turley won again Friday with a typical stat line: 7.1-IP, 0-R, 1-H, 5-K, 2-BB. You never hear anyone mention the 6-0 Turley as a top draft pick. Everybody wants height and velo.

Junior Robert Benancasa had his 11^th save for #1 Florida State Saturday. His season stats are quite impressive: 4-0, 20-appearances, 25.2-IP, 37-K and only 5-BB. The 6-2 RHP is a Tampa native and was drafted in the 33rd round by the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2009 MLB Draft. He will be drafted again. In June.

FLASH - 2B Reese Havens

Reese Havens and Eric Campbell reinstated from the Binghamton DL.

1:05pm - Buffalo at Rochester - Owen vs. Diamond

Buffalo Bisons (13-10, T2nd(-2.0), North) vs. Rochester Red Wings (9-13, 5th(-5.5), North)
Sunday, April 29, 2012 (1:05 p.m.) - Coca-Cola Field
RHP Dylan Owen (1-1, 4.02) vs. LHP Scott Diamond (4-0, 1.07)
TV: Time Warner Cable SportsNet
Radio: WWKB AM 1520, www.bisons.com


TODAY’S GAME: This afternoon, the Buffalo Bisons host the Rochester Red Wings in the third game of a four-game series at Coca-Cola Field (1:05 p.m.). The Herd has won the first two games of the set by scores of 7-3 and 4-3. The Bisons have won three straight and eight of their last 11 games. After tomorrow’s contest, the Bisons will welcome the Syracuse Chiefs into town.

vs. RED WINGS: The Bisons are 4-2 this season against the Red Wings. The clubs split a four-game set at Frontier Field, April 7-10. Dating back to 2011, Buffalo has now won eight straight over the Wings at Coca-Cola Field. At 6-3, the Herd leads the 2012 Thruway Series by 1.5 games over Syracuse (4-4).

DEALIN’ DYLAN: RHPDYLAN OWEN will make his second straight start after being moved to the rotation last week. Owen allowed just one home run in 4.2 innings of a no-decision on Monday in Lehigh Valley. In that game, Owen became the first Bisons’ pitcher in more than 17 years to hit a home run (John Hope, 8/6/94 vs. Indy). Owen started 20 games for the Herd last year and was 6-7 with a 3.87ERA as a starter.

STREAKIN’: Five Bisons players bring a personal season-high hit streak into today’s game. INFVALENTINO PASCUCCI leads them all with a 12-game stretch over which he has hit .321 (17-53). The others are OFVINNY ROTTINO (10G, 12-30, .308), INF BOBBY SCALES (6G, 9-21, .429), INFJOSH SATIN (5G, 10-24, .417) and INF OMAR QUINTANILLA (5G, 6-20, .300).

HOMERING HERD: OFDUSTIN MARTIN became the 14th different Bisons player to hit a home run this year. With 29 blasts, the Herd is tied with Pawtucket for the International League lead. Only Toledo and the PawSox have scored more runs than Buffalo’s 110.

BISONS BITS: Each of the Bisons last three wins have helped them gain a game in the standings, from five games back to only two....The Bisons rank 2nd in the IL in both hitting (.277) and pitching (3.08ERA)...INF BOBBY SCALES leads the International League in both average (.400) and on-base percentage (.517)...OFANDRES TORRES was 1-3 (R, BB) yesterday in the second game of his MLB injury rehabilitation assignment with the Bisons.

METS UPDATE: The Mets (12-9) rebounded to defeat the Rockies, 7-5, yesterday in Denver. Former Bisons RHPDILLON GEE struck out seven in seven innings for his second win of the season. OFLUCAS DUDA hit his fourth home run of the season. The Mets and Rockies have the rubber game of their series today at 3:10 p.m.

Muren’s 11th inning HR gives Legends 5-4 win over Savannah

Muren’s 11th inning HR gives Legends 5-4 win over Savannah

Drew Muren’s walk-off home run in the bottom of the 11th inning gave the Lexington Legends a 5-4 win over the Savannah Sand Gnats Saturday night at Whitaker Bank Ballpark. 

The Legends jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run homer by Matt Duffy off Savannah starter Michael Fulmer.  John Hinson’s solo shot in the second made the score 3-0 Lexington.

Savannah got on the board in the third.  Luis Nieves reached on an error by Lexington starter Jonas Dufek, stole second and came home on a double by T.J. Rivera. 

The Sand Gnats tied the score in the fifth.   Albert Cordero led off with a double and advanced to third when Nieves reached on an error by Hinson, the second baseman.  Nieves stole second, and after Tillman Pugh struck out, Rivera, the league’s leading hitter with an average of .407, homered to left field to bring the Sand Gnats even at 4-4.

There was no further scoring until Muren, leading off the 11th, connected against Savannah reliever T.J. Chism.

Dayan Diaz (4-0), pitched two scoreless innings in relief and got the win.  Chism (1-1) took the loss.  The series continues Sunday afternoon.  Game time is 1:35 p.m. 

Attendance 4,695
 Box score

from team press release

Rottino Walks Off with Bisons Win

Vinny Rottino's RBI-single with two outs in the ninth inning drove home Omar Quintanilla and gave the Herd a 4-3 victory over Rochester on Saturday afternoon from Coca-Cola Field.

Buffalo has now won three straight, six of eight and eight of their last 11 games. They are a season-best three games over the .500 mark at 13-10.

· Box Score
· Play-by-Play

Rottino brought a nine-game hit streak into the contest but was staring at an 0-4 day before getting his chance in the ninth inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Rottino drove an offering from Rochester reliever Esmerling Vasquez right back through the middle for the game-winning run. Just as Quintanilla crossed the dish, the rest of the Bisons mobbed Rottino after first base.

The Bisons loaded the bases for Rottino without hitting the ball out of the infield. Quintanilla was hit by Vasquez to lead off the inning and then sacrificed to second by Andres Torres. Rochester intentionally walked Bobby Scales, but unintentionally issued a free pass to Valentino Pascucci to load the bases.

Buffalo had built a 3-0 advantage through the first three innings on Saturday. In his first game against his former team, Dustin Martin hit a solo home run to deep left-center in the second inning. Martin -who signed with the Mets on Wednesday- played 392 games over the past three seasons in Rochester.
The Bisons added two more in the third inning. Red Wings' third baseman Ray Chang hit Torres in the back on an attempted force out at home. Matt Tuiasosopo followed with a sacrifice fly.

Rochester scored two in the fifth on Joe Benson's home run and once in the sixth on Brain Dozier's RBI-single.

Jeremy Hefner started for Buffalo and worked a Bisons' season best 7.2 innings. The righty did not issue a walk and struck out five in his first game since being optioned back from the Mets.

BISONS NOTES:Pascucci singled in the seventh inning to increase his hit streak to 12 games. The stretch is the second-longest active streak in the International League...Andres Torres went 1-3 with a walk and a runs scored in the second game of his MLB injury rehab assignment...Jeremy Hefner has delivered a quality start in three of his four appearances with the Herd

from team press release

Vaughn leads Mets to 4-0 win over Miracle

FORT MYERS, Fla. (April 28, 2012) - Cory Vaughn launched a solo home run and delivered a two-out RBI single to propel the St. Lucie Mets to a 4-0 win over the Fort Myers Miracle on Saturday at Hammond Stadium.

Vaughn led off the fourth inning with a towering shot off of Jhon Garcia that home plate umpire Alex Ransom called fair as it crossed over the left field foul pole.

After a bunt single by Daniel Muno plated Alonzo Harris to make it 2-0 in the seventh, Vaughn followed with a two-out single to left that brought home Wilfredo Tovar for a 3-0 Mets lead.
While Vaughn came through with clutch hits, the Miracle lineup was unable to do the same. Fort Myers' best chance to score came in the sixth when Angel Morales and Oswaldo Arcia led off with singles against Mets starter Cory Mazzoni. Ryan Fraser came on in relief and struck out Wilkin Ramirez on three pitches, then induced a 4-6-3 double play ball from Josmil Pinto to end the inning.
Fraser, Taylor Whitenton and Adam Kolarek combined to hold the Miracle to just one hit over the remaining three innings.

Mazzoni lasted the first five innings, scattered six hits and struck out four on his way to improving to 3-0.

Garcia (0-3) took a tough loss after pitching five innings and allowing just Vaughn's home run and six hits. He struck out three.

Edgar Ibarra gave up four hits and two runs in 1 2/3 innings of relief of Garcia. Matt Hauser pitched the final 2 1/3 innings. His wild pitch in the eighth allowed Harris to score from third for the Mets final run of the game.

At the plate, Arcia and Morales each went 2 for 4 with a double and single for the Miracle.

St. Lucie pounded out 11 hits.

The Miracle (9-13) and Mets (18-4) play the second game of their three-game series on Sunday at Hammond Stadium. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.

More 4-28-12 - Daily Mets Minors Report

Date: 4-28-12

AAA-Buffalo:  

RF Dustin Martin wanted to make sure all the Mets fans out there knew he was back, so he hit a home run in the second inning.

Martin turned a lot of our heads when he came out of Sam Houston State (26^th round) and hit the ground running for the 2006 Cyclones (.315/.399/.454/.853).

He was hitting .287 for the 2007 St. Lucie Mets when he and C Drew Butera were dealt to Minnesota for 2B Luis Castillo.

Martin aces AA in 2008 (.290/.355/.447/.802) but it just hasn’t happened in three tries at the AAA level.

With all due respect, at 28, he’s no longer considered pro-ball material, but could help bring the fans in at Buffalo.

Martin went 2-4 against Rochester, a team that included Butera as catcher.

AA-Binghamton:   

Saturday’s game was simply three Erie pitchers (James Avery, Michael Morrison, Kenny Faulk) controlling the game. The Mets had only four hits which luckily weren’t scatters and produced two runs.

3B Jefry Marte hit safely again and finished with a .367 batting average. Why can’t this guy play second, first, right field or left?

This was not your typical Colin McHugh game: 4.1-IP, 3-R, 4-BB.

A+ - St. Lucie: -   

SP Cory Mazzoni pitched five more scoreless innings. He struck out fou while walking one and lowered his ERA to 3.00.

We all know how streaky OF Cory Vaughn can be. Well, he jacked another one tonight, his 4^th of the year. No one has ever questioned that the talent is there, just consistent desire.

Big game for ‘Zo’… forgotten CF Alonzo Harris went 3-4, 2-R, 1-RBI, .308.

A – Savannah:

Saturday was definitely the T.J. Rivera show… another home run and drove in the first four runs…

SP Michael Fulmer got touched up: 3.2-IP, 5-H, 4-ER, 4.08…