8/17/12

Daily Mets Minors Report – 8-16-12


Date: 8-16-12
 MLB - Mets:

Adam Rubin‏-  Remember names Kolbrin Vitek, Brandon Workman. Sox drafted those 2 players w/ picks bought from Mets for $5.5M. (Wagner salary/cost to sign). So Sox got four draft picks in the top 57 in 2010 for buying Wagner and letting Bay walk to Mets.
Andy McCullough-  Terry Collins says the Mets will give Justin Turner some playing time in the outfield next spring.
Jon Heyman‏ -  Matt Harvey certainly has been impressive in first 5 starts. he & Wheeler bring hope. still need pen help tho (obvs.)
AAA – Buffalo:
RHP Zack Wheeler makes his third start with the Herd and his second at Coca-Cola Field. The righty is coming off a no-decision against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, August 11, where he tossed 6.0 innings of one-run baseball while allowing just two hits. Wheeler has surrendered only five hits and three earned runs over his first two Triple-A starts. (10.2IP, 11K).
Thursday
Zack Wheeler -  5 IP. 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 0 BB, 5 K, 1 HR, 1 WP. 89 pitches, 61 strikes.
It was the same old story for the Herd on Thursday afternoon. For most of the game, the Bisons defensive effort was marked by stellar pitching and fundamental fielding. But all it took was one big inning by the opponent to ruin the Herd's chances at victory.
 After scoring four 4th-inning runs in a victory over the Herd on Wednesday night, Lehigh Valley was at it again Thursday afternoon - plating four in the 2nd, off Bisons starter Zack Wheeler. The outburst was all the IronPigs would need, and Lehigh Valley went on to notch a 5-2 victory over the Herd in the matinee affair. With the win, Lehigh Valley takes a 2-1 lead in the four-game set, which concludes on Friday night.
After falling behind early on Thursday, the Herd had little margin for error. For a rally to be possible, the Bisons would need to take advantage of opportunities as the game went on. But it didn't happen - Buffalo went 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position, leaving seven men on base. When that's the case, it's hard to get ahead in the game - much less attempt a multi-run comeback.
"We're not hitting with guys in scoring position," Bisons manager Wally Backman said. "That's for sure. (We had) enough hits (7) to usually win a ballgame. You've just got to put them together in the right spots."
The big 2nd inning by Lehigh Valley started quickly yet innocuously, with Jake Fox dribbling a grounder to the first base side that rolled just through a gap between the foul line and Bisons 1B Adam Loewen. After Wheeler struck out Jason Pridie, Derrick Mitchell found a gap in center field to put runners on the corners with one out.
From there, the IronPigs would continue to hit Wheeler - with two consecutive singles that scored a pair of runs. Even the pitcher got in on the action, as Lehigh Valley starter Tom Cochran laid down a near-perfect sacrifice bunt that advanced runners to second and third. Next up was Cesar Hernandez, who put the finishing touches on the big inning with a two-RBI single on a blooper that dropped in shallow left field - just over the outstretched glove of Herd shortstop Josh Rodriguez.
The outburst gave Lehigh Valley a commanding 4-0 lead, which was more than enough for the victory on the afternoon. Buffalo tried to chip into the lead as the game went on, but never generated enough momentum to make the game particularly close. With the IronPigs holding a 5-0 lead in the 5th, the Bisons finally got on the board courtesy of a sacrifice fly by Lucas May that scored Brad Emaus - who had opened the inning with a leadoff double. The Herd would tack on another the next inning with the same formula - Fred Lewis led off with a double, and Lucas Duda sent him home on a sac fly later on.
But despite the offensive life that the Bisons showed throughout the afternoon, it wasn't enough to overcome the 2nd-inning disappointment. Buffalo's last promising opportunity came in the 8th, when the tying run came to the plate with two men on and two outs. With a chance to pull the Herd even with one swing of the bat, Josh Satin could not produce - grounding to SS Andres Blanco, who made the easy play to second to retire the side.
"We had some opportunities to score some runs," Backman said. "And we didn't do it."  As for Wheeler, the highly touted Mets prospect who took the mound for his third Triple-A start, it was a mixed bag. The back-breaking 2nd inning was certainly hard to overcome, but Wheeler made the best of it by retiring eight of the final ten batters he faced.
Backman was happy with much of Wheeler's game on Thursday, but pointed out that the 22-year old struggled with his control - which led to his falling behind early in counts. Consequently, hitters were able to stay aggressive and take advantage.
"His velocity was there," Backman said. "Everything was there. He just didn't have good command today, and good command is key. Those guys were swinging early, and they hurt him (by) swinging early in the count."
Bisons Notes: Wheeler faced Lehigh Valley RF Jason Pridie three times and got the best of him, striking him out every time...Zach Lutz and Brad Emaus recorded multi-hit games for the Herd. Emaus notched a pair of doubles...The Bisons bullpen finished the game strong, with Justin Hampson and Garrett Olson combining to pitch four innings of two-hit, no-run ball.

AA-Binghamton:
RHP Greg Peavey (6-7, 5.40) makes his 22nd start of the season and fourth against the Fisher Cats. Peavey has won three of his last four starts, defeating the New Britain Rock Cats in his most recent game on August 9. The righty allowed four runs on nine hits over 6.1 innings. In three starts versus New Hampshire, Peavey has gone 0-2 with an 11.93 ERA. In 14.1 innings, he has allowed a .394 batting average and never thrown more than five innings. Without his three starts against the Fisher Cats, Peavey would be 8-4 with a 2.82 ERA.
RHP Fernando Hernandez (3-6, 4.64) makes his tenth start of the season and fourth appearance against the B-Mets. Hernandez has shuffled between the bullpen and rotation this season, making 23 relief appearances. He comes off a no-decision in his last start against the Akron Aeros on August 10. He allowed one unearned run on four hits over five innings. Hernandez has gone 2-3 with a 5.48 as a starter this season. In three games (one start) against the B-Mets this season, he has gone 0-1 with a 3.00 ERA. Binghamton has hit .304 against him. Now in his tenth professional season, Hernandez was signed by the Toronto Blue Jays as a minor league free agent in February 2012. He has spent time with the Chicago White Sox, Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees organizations.
New Hampshire second baseman John Tolisano launched a three-run homer off Greg Peavey to break a tie game in the fourth inning and defeat the Binghamton Mets, 5-2, Thursday night at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. The B-Mets stranded ten runners and went 2-for-11 with runners in scoring position in the rubber match loss.
For the second straight night, the B-Mets struck first, plating a run in the second inning against starter Fernando Hernandez. Jefry Marte reached on a one-out walk, took second on a passed ball, advanced on a single and scored when Wilfredo Tovar beat out a double play.
Binghamton’s one-run lead disappeared in the fourth when the Fisher Cats hung four runs on Peavey. After Jake Marisnick’s leadoff single, Brad Glenn tied the game with a double to the left field alley. Ryan Goins singled to set the stage for Tolisano who blasted a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence. The three-run homer, his tenth of the season, gave New Hampshire a 4-1 lead.
Hernandez navigated his way through four scoreless innings after the unearned run in the second. Binghamton threatened with two runners aboard in the fourth and sixth, but failed to score in either frame. In six innings of work, Hernandez allowed four hits and struck out eight, a career-high.
After Sean Ochinko extended the Fisher Cats lead with a solo homer in the sixth, Binghamton’s struggles with runners on continued in the seventh. Ronald Uviedo allowed a pair to reach, but struck out Eric Campbell to end the inning.
The B-Mets plated their final run in the eighth. Uviedo was pulled after issuing a leadoff a walk to Raul Reyes. After Marte greeted reliever Chorye Spoone with a single to left, Francisco Pena rolled into a double play that left Marte as the surviving runner at second. Tovar brought him home with a single to center.

Spoone retired Pedro Zapata to end the inning and handed off to Sam Dyson in the ninth. Dyson threw a perfect frame to collect his seventh save of the season and second in the series.

Peavey (6-8) went a career-high eight innings, but allowed five runs on eight hits in the loss. It was his second complete game of the season. Hernandez (4-6) collected the win.


A – Savannah:
The Hickory Crawdads got the game-tying run as far as second base in the bottom of the ninth, but the Savannah Sand Gnats escaped with a 6-5 win, before 1,887 fans at L.P. Frans Stadium on Thursday.
Savannah (24-28, 65-54) struck first in the top of the first inning against LHP Kevin Matthews (L, 2-1). SS Matt Reynolds led off with a double and took third on a ground out. C Cam Maron then bounced an RBI ground out to second base, bringing in Reynolds for the 1-0 lead.
The 'Dads (28-25, 64-58) responded in the bottom of the second, tying the game against RHP Domingo Tapia (W, 6-3). DH Zach Cone started the stanza with a single to left field, before racing around to third on a base hit by 3B Drew Robinson. One out later, C Kellin Deglan brought Cone home with a ground ball to first base that was misplayed by 1B Cole Frenzel, squaring the score, 1-1.
The Sand Gnats retook the lead in the top of the third. With two on and one down, CF Gilbert Gomez swung Savannah in front with an RBI single. Maron then bounced an RBI fielder's choice to stretch the lead to 3-1.
The Crawdads chipped down the deficit with an unearned run in the bottom of the third, before taking the lead with two runs in the bottom of the sixth. Robinson worked a walk to start the inning, and then raced all the way home on an RBI triple by LF Alejandro Selen. One out later, Selen sprinted home from third on an RBI sacrifice fly by 1B Kevin Torres, moving Hickory ahead, 4-3.
Savannah, though, did not stay down for long, reclaiming the lead in the top of the seventh against RHP Jose Monegro (L, 2-1). With two on and no outs, 2B Yucarybert De La Cruz connected for a three-run homer, giving the Sand Gnats the 6-4 advantage.
After Torres knocked an RBI single in the bottom of the eighth, making it 6-5, Hickory threatened to tie it in the bottom of the ninth. With one down, pinch hitter Luis Sardinas sinled his way on and swiped second base. However, LHP T.J. Chism (S, 18) retired the next two batters, closing the 6-5 win for Savannah – team PR

A-Low – Brooklyn:
Thursday – Loss, 2-4
SP Mathew Bowman had his first pro start, probably due to the fact that three of the Clone starters pitched in the all-star game. He actually had a perfect game going in the first three innings… his excellent line: 4.0-IP, 1-H, 0-R
Logan Taylor continues to pitch scoreless (0.00).
Two hits apiece for 2B Dimas Ponce (.209) and C Kevin Plawecki (.265).


Rookie – Kingsport:
Thursday, Loss 3-14… you win with 14, you lose against 14… never a dull moment in K-Port
Juan Urbina actually keeps coming back: 2.0-IP, 0-R, 6-K, 6.14
Really nothing else to talk about here…

Rookie – DSL Mets
DSLMets2 – This is a team that fielded 10 players last night.. the top BA going in was .260… next… .241… last… .171. So, what do they do? Score 11 runs.
DSL1 – 2B Leon Canelon: 1-3, 1-R, .309
C Adrian Abreu: 1-3, 1-R, .299
LF Vincente Lupo: 0-3, BB, .344

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