MMMLR - 23-8-12

Date: 8-23-12        

MLB –

Keith Law -  I wonder how much better the Pirates' record would be if they weren't managed by a bowl of Jell-o

 Cubs let go of six scouts today, pro and amateur sides… Cubs makeover continues as they dismiss 6 scouts: Charlie Aliano, Rick Schroeder, Richie Zisk, Joe Housey, Tom Shafer, Tom Bourque

Peter Gammons‏ -  Veteran player:"Drug-testing this year has been crazy. It's almost like every week for a lot of us. I got tested during the winter. Good."

 MLB - Mets:

RHP Collin McHugh has been promoted to the Mets taxi squad (Mack scouting report – McHugh is Gee with two more mph).

Adam Rubin - Dillon Gee headed to St. Louis tomorrow. Angiogram Friday. Should be cleared to begin throwing, but not expecting to return this season.

Mark Simon‏ -  Johan Santana's 4.85 ERA is the worst single-season ERA for a Mets lefty (setting the minimum for the season at 20 starts) 

AAA – Buffalo:.

RHP JENRRY MEJIA takes the mound for his eighth start this season. The righty is 2-0 in August with a 0.59ERA in three starts in 15.1 innings pitched with three walks and five strikeouts. As a starter, Mejia is 2-1 with a 1.05ERA in his seven starts, tossing 34.1 innings with 10 walks and 15 strikeouts. Mejia has not given up a home run in 25.2 innings since J.C. Linares of Pawtucket hit a solo shot on July 14… OF MATT DEN DEKKER is hitting .435 (10-23) with five runs scored, a home run and six runs batted in against Scranton/WB this season… INF BRAD EMAUS has also done well against the Yankees, hitting .357 (5-14) with a run batted in. – team PR 

AA-Binghamton:

LHP Mark Cohoon (7-9, 3.52) makes his 21st start of the season with Binghamton and third against the Fisher Cats. The Texan comes off a loss to the Richmond Flying Squirrels on August 17. He allowed four runs on six hits over 7-1/3 innings. Cohoon has not lost consecutive starts since the middle of June. In two previous starts against the Fisher Cats this season, Cohoon has gone 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA. Over 13.0 innings, he has struck out just three and allowed a .261 batting average.

RHP Fernando Hernandez (4-6, 4.31) takes the mound for his eleventh start of the year with New Hampshire and third against the B-Mets. The Florida native defeated the B-Mets in his most recent start in Manchester on August 16. He allowed one unearned run on four hits and struck out a career-high eight over 6.0 innings. In four appearances, including two starts, versus Binghamton, Hernandez has gone 1-1 with a 1.40 ERA. The B-Mets have hit .239 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. – team PR

The Binghamton Mets scored three unanswered runs to defeat the New Hampshire Fisher Cats 6-3 in a rubber match Wednesday night at NYSEG Stadium. Wilmer Flores broke a tie game with an RBI double in the fifth and Mark Cohoon stranded ten runners over seven innings in the victory. 

The B-Mets drew first blood on a circus-like play in the second inning. With two aboard against starter Fernando Hernandez, Raul Reyes smashed a liner to right field. Reyes raced to third as both runners scored and was awarded home when second baseman John Tolisano’s relay throw to third sailed into the seats. Reyes was credited with his first triple of the season, giving Binghamton a three-run lead.

New Hampshire fought back to tie the game with three straight runs off starter Cohoon. A botched ground ball by shortstop Wilfredo Tovar put runners at the corners for Brad Glenn. The right fielder beat out a potential double play, allowing a run to score.

The Fisher Cats tied the game with a four-hit outburst in the fourth. Jake Marisnick cut the deficit to one with a sac fly to left and Ryan Goins tied it on an RBI single to center.

Tovar’s leadoff single in the fifth set the stage for Binghamton’s tie-breaking inning. The B-Mets shortstop moved to second on a groundout and came home when Wilmer Flores ripped a two-out double to left centerfield.

The two Fisher Cat runs in the fourth were the last against Cohoon. The southpaw finished his night with three scoreless innings, with his toughest test coming in the seventh. A two-walk to Ryan Schimpf put runners on the corners with two outs. B-Mets manager Pedro Lopez visited the mound and left Cohoon in the game. The decision paid off as Cohoon struck out John Tolisano looking to end the frame.

Binghamton added to their lead with two overdue homers. Dustin Martin squeaked a solo shot over the left field fence to snap a six-game team homerless streak. Allan Dykstra greeted reliever Sam Dyson with a solo bomb in the eighth, kicking the lead to 6-3.

Brad Holt made the lead stick with a shutout eighth. Drew Carpenter took over in the ninth and worked a perfect frame, earning his third save in four days.

Cohoon (8-9) allowed a season-high eleven hits over seven frames, but stranded ten runners and struck out seven in the victory. Hernandez (4-7) allowed five runs (four earned) on seven hits over six innings. – team PR 

A+ - St. Lucie:

OF Darrell Cecilliani was activated today from the DL.

The scheduled second game of a doubleheader between the St. Lucie Mets and the Jupiter Hammerheads on Wednesday, August 22 at Digital Domain Park has been postponed due to inclement weather. The game has been rescheduled as part of a double header on Thursday, August 23. Game one will begin at 4:00PM. Gates open at 3:30PM. The Mets and Hammerheads will play two seven-inning games. Tickets for game two of the doubleheader can be redeemed for admission to Thursday’s doubleheader.

The Hammerheads had a two-run ninth inning to come away with a 7-5 victory in game one of the doubleheader.

The Mets rallied from a 5-2 deficit with a three-run seventh, but they fell short in extra innings.

Catcher Blake Forysthe ripped a leadoff home run to right in the seventh to cut the deficit to 5-3. T.J. Rivera delivered an RBI infield single to score Darrell Ceciliani to make it 5-4. Danny Muno followed with a sacrifice fly RBI to center to plate Cesar Puello with the tying run.

The Hammerheads loaded the bases with two outs in the ninth against Adam Kolarek, before Rand Smith's go-ahead RBI infield single gave the Hammerheads the lead. Kolarek forced in a run with a walk, before John Church came out of relief to record a strikeout to close the ninth.

Rivera drilled an RBI double in the first inning to score Alonzo Harris. Puello's RBI double in the fifth brought home Forsythe.

Rivera went 3-for-5 with a double and two RBIs while Forsythe finished 2-for-3 with a home run and two runs scored. Ceciliani finished 3-for-4 in his return from the disabled list. Puello had two hits and drove in a run.

Erik Goeddel received a no-decision and allowed five runs and seven hits in 4 2/3 innings with two walks and four strikeouts.

Kyle Allen tossed 2 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out three. – team PR 

A – Savannah:

The Asheville Tourists overcame early deficits of 5-0 and 6-5 to defeat the Savannah Sand Gnats 8-7 Wednesday night at Historic Grayson Stadium. The Tourists swept the three-game series from the Gnats to improve to 9-1 in their last 10 games and handed Savannah their sixth straight loss.

Asheville scored two runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 7-6 lead. CF Tyler Massey singled home the tying run and then scored on 2B Taylor Featherstone’s RBI single.

Each team scored a single run in the sixth inning to establish the final margin.

The Gnats rallied in the bottom of the ninth, putting the tying run at third and the go-ahead run at first, but could not find the hit to tie the game to push the three-hour and forty-two minute marathon to extra-innings.

The Gnats built a 5-0 lead after two innings. Savannah scored four runs in the first and a run in the second. In the first, LF Gregory Pron’s two-run triple keyed the four-run frame. In the second, DH Cam Maron drove home 2B Yucarybert De LaCruz for the 5-0 advantage.  

However, the Tourists evened the game with a five-run top of the third against starter Domingo Tapia. The final two runs scored on a hotly disputed inside-the-park homerun from 3B Sam Mende. With a runner at first, Mende ripped a ball fair inside the third base line. The ball appeared to become lodged under the bench in the Asheville bullpen, where by rule it should have been ruled dead and a ground rule double. Base umpire Mike Patterson appeared to put up his hands during the play to signal dead ball, and a ground rule double, but the Tourists runners kept running, and after Pron pulled the ball loose from Asheville bullpen, and threw late to the infield, the play was ruled an inside the park homerun. Gnats’manager Luis Rojas discussed the play at length with the umpiring crew, but was ultimately sent back to the dugout.

Tapia, who was charged with the loss to fall to 6-4, allowed seven runs, five earned on a season-high 10 hits. He struck out five and did not walk a batter. The homerun he allowed was his first in 102.1 innings of work in2012.   

A-Low – Brooklyn:

John Sickles - 107) Matt Koch, RHP, New York Mets: 5.52 ERA with 12/6 K/BB in 15 innings for Brooklyn Cyclones in NY-P, 15 hits, 0.94 GO/AO. Pitched well at first but roughed up in last couple of outings.

Adam Rubin – Kevin Plawecki, selected 35th overall in June with a selection the Mets received for losing Jose Reyes as a free agent, was touted after the draft as a plate-discipline marvel who also is a capable catcher. Though 48 games with the Cyclones, Plawecki is hitting .250 with six homers and 22 RBIs. He has a .354 on-base percentage and has struck out 16 times in 168 at-bats. During his final season at Purdue, Plawecki struck out only eight times in 223 at-bats.

Adam Rubin - Right-hander Rob Whalen, the Mets’ 12th-round pick out of high school in Florida, is expected to make his professional debut Saturday with Brooklyn

Brooklyn came out on top of the Tri-City Valley Cats, 4-1 on the heels of a dominant performance by Luis Cessa. Coming into tonight’s game Cessa had lost his last two decisions, but after allowing a run in the second inning only two men would reach base over the next five frames.

In the top of the second, the Valley Cats took an early 1-0 lead thanks to timely hitting with runners in scoring position. With one out, Tyler Heineman lined a ball down the left field line that Stefan Sabol came up with cleanly and nearly threw him out at second but the throw was a little late. Mike Kokinos then singled up the middle to score Heineman and give Tri-City a 1-0 lead.

The Cyclones took advantage of sloppy defense in the second inning, as they were able to tie the game at 1-1. Stefan Sabol came up with one out and hit a grounder to shortstop Joe Sclafani who committed a throwing error allowing Sabol to reach. Alex Sanchez then came up and was hit by a pitch on his shoulder moving Sabol to second with one out. After Jeff Glenn reached on a fielder’s choice moving Sabol to third, Dimas Ponce singled down the right line to score Sabol and tie the game at 1.

Brandon Nimmo led the bottom of the third off with a single, and moved to second on a groundout by Ponce. Phillip Evans then singled to center, scoring Nimmo and giving the Cyclones the 2-1 advantage in the third.

The Cyclones would take advantage of two defensive miscues by Tri-City in the fourth as they etched across their third run of the game. Glenn came up with one out and hit a grounder to the third baseman, Ryan Dineen who threw the ball into the stands, allowing Glenn to reach second on an infield single compounded with an error. Ponce then would hit a grounder to shortstop, Sclafani who would commit his second error of the game to put runners on the corners with one out. With Eudy Pina batting, Tri-City starter Lance Day threw a wild pitch scoring Glenn from third and giving the Cyclones the 3-1 lead. – team PR