6/30/14

June 30th 2014 -- Braves 5, Mets 3

The Mets made 3 errors in the bottom of the 8th inning allowing the Braves to score 4 times, the Braves go on to beat the Mets 5-3.  The Mets hit the ground running when Curtis Granderson led off the game with a solo homer (11) to make it 1-0 Mets.  In the second inning Travis d’Arnaud extended his hitting streak to 6 games since coming back from Las Vegas with an RBI double.  In the 3rd, Chris Young hit a sac-fly with the bases loaded to score Daniel Murphy.  The Braves got to Wheeler in the 5th when Freddie Freeman hit a sac fly to score B.J. Upton with their only run off Wheeler.   In the 8th the wheels came off. The usually steady Jeurys Famila threw a double play ball away with runners on 1st and 2nd  to load the bases with none out. Then Tommy La Stella hit an RBI single to center scoring Justin Upton that Juan Lagares bobbled  allowing Jason Heyward to score with the tying run. Then, with 2 outs and the bases loaded,  Eric Campbell botched a grounder by Andrelton Simmons, the third error of the inning, allowing Chris Johnson to score the 3rd run of the frame. Dana Eveland relieved Familia and walked Freddie Freeman with the bases loaded to bring Christian Bethancourt home with the 4 the run of the inning and cap the scoring. Wheeler went 6 innings he allowed 4 hits, the 1 run (earned) he walked 5 and struck out 4, he gets the no decision.  Familia went 2/3 of an inning he allowed 3 hits 4 runs (2 earned) he gets the loss falling to 1-3. Anthony Varvaro gets the win he’s 3-1.  Craig Kimbrel pitched the 9th and earned his 25th save. The Mets have now lost 4 of 5 on this road trip. The are now 20-25 on the road and 37-46 on the year. Tuesday night is game two of the series. Daisuke Matsuzaka (3-2  3.23) goes for the Mets. Mike Minor (2-5  4.50) goes for the Braves. 

ROSTER MOVES - Binghamton/Las Vegas



Please note the following transactions involving the Binghamton Mets.
June 30:
  • RHP Greg Peavey transferred from Binghamton (AA) to Las Vegas (AAA)
  • INF TJ Rivera activated from disabled list

2015 Draft Profile - RHP - Mike Matuella - Duke University - UPDATED 6-30-14



6-30-14 – Through The Fence – Early College Prospects - 1. Michael Matuella, RHP, Duke            - Matuella burst onto the scene earlier this year, thanks in part to Frankie Piliere at Perfect Game, who tweeted out that Matuella was a potential 1.1 for next year. The 6’-6”, 225 pound right-hander proceeded to make Piliere look like a genius as he showed everything you want in a first-overall pick. Obviously, he has the ideal size you want in an ace. He also showed the stuff, headlined by fastball that can touch 97 mph and sits 93-96. He adds two potential plus off-speed pitches in a 79-82 mph, 12-6 curveball with great depth and an 83-86 mph slider with tight spin. His change-up sits 87-89 and is a decent offering already. He has great command of his pitches and finished the season with a 2.78 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 69 K/15 BB over 58.1 innings. Opponents hit just .190 against him, he allowed just one home run and only hit two batters — pretty good for a power arm like his. All eyes will be on him next year and the upside is silly. http://throughthefencebaseball.com/2015-mlb-draft-early-30-college-prospects/43327

6-5-14 - Next June's first pick in the draft could easily be 6-6, 225 pound Duke RHP Mike Matuella.

His arsenal includes: 12-6 78-82 curve... 92-96, 97 fastball, an 87-89 change-up, and an 82-85 slider.

2014 season:  11-starts, (missed the first month due to a lat sprain) 1-3, 2.78, 58.1-IP, 69-K - has been on a limited pitch count for most of the year.

Binghamton Mets 2014 Game Notes



Binghamton Mets (48-33) at
New Britain Rock Cats (41-38)
(Double-A Affiliate of the Minnesota Twins)

RHP Rainy Lara (4-2, 4.74) vs. LHP Taylor Rogers (7-4, 3.90)

Monday, June 30, 2014  Game #82  Road Game #41
New Britain Stadium   New Britain, CT  7:05 PM

LAST GAME: The Binghamton Mets jumped out to a six-run lead and never relinquished in a 7-4 win over the Altoona Curve on SundayMatt Bowman went seven innings of two-run ball and struck out nine for his sixth win of the season. Darrell Ceciliani scored three times in a 2-for-4 performance. Jayce Boyd went 3-for-4 and scored twice. Travis Taijeron hit two doubles to extend his team lead to 21. Binghamton has won 16 of their last 19 games.

BINGHAMTON STARTER: RHP Rainy Lara makes his 11th start of the season and first against New Britain. Monday is his second outing since spending most of June on the disabled list. Lara gave up four runs in 3.2 innings and didn’t factor into the decision on Monday, June 23. The B-Mets won the game 12-8. After the righty went at least five innings in six of his first seven starts of the year, he hasn’t made it out of the fourth in his last three. The Bani, Dominican Republic native was signed by the Mets as a non-drafted free agent on October 31, 2009.

NEW BRITAIN STARTERLHP Taylor Rogers takes the hill for the 16th time this season and the third time against Binghamton. The Littleton, Colorado native is coming off of a win in his latest outing. He gave up just one run in eight innings and struck out 11 in a 3-1 New Britain win over Altoona on Wednesday, June 25. Rogers has allowed five runs (three earned) in 11 innings against Binghamton in 2014. The Kentucky product was taken by Minnesota in the 11th round of the 2012 draft.

LET’S SEE HOW FAR WE’VE COME: As the calendar turns, Binghamton can reflect on a month of June that’s featured quite the turnaround. The B-Mets started the month 2-6, but are 16-3 since. With a win on Monday, the B-Mets would have more wins in June than any other month thus far. However, three of Binghamton’s six June losses have come to New Britain.

ROCKY ROAD: The B-Mets only other trip to New Britain this season didn’t turn out so well. The team was swept in three games. The offense was held to just three runs in the series, including being shutout on May 30. On the other side, Binghamton is 9-3 in their last 12 games played away from NYSEG Stadium.

TOSSING WITH THE BEST OF THEM: Binghamton pitching has been on quite the roll of late. The unit hasn’t allowed more than four earned runs in five straight games. In that time, the B-Mets have 49 strikeouts in 44 innings. The squad’s pitching leads the league in strikeouts and his tied for the league lead in WHIP. They’ve also allowed the third fewest walks in the Eastern League.

YOU DON’T SEE THAT EVERYDAY: Binghamton has committed six errors over the past two games. This comes after the team had six total in the ten games prior. The B-Mets are still ranked second in the Eastern League in fewest errors committed with 56, five off the league lead.

DOUBLING OVER: This series features two of the league leaders in doubles this season. Binghamton’s Travis Taijeron tallied two more on Sunday to bring his total to 21. That’s tied for second in the league, two off the mark held by New Britain’s Reynaldo Rodriguez.

FILLING IN JUST FINE: Since Kevin Plawecki’s promotion to Las Vegas (AAA), Xorge Carrillo and Kai Gronhauer have not missed a beat. In four games, the pair is 6-for-13 with three runs scored. Carillo is hitting .444 (8-for-18) over the last ten games with five runs and four RBI.

ROSTER MOVE - SP - Gabriel Ynoa



SP Gabriel Ynoa has been promoted from St. Lucie to Binghamton.

He will start for the B-Mets on Thursday.

Craig Mitchell -- An Open letter to Angry Met fans...........

Dear Met fans. While the current vintage of the Mets aren’t world beaters, yet, you can’t say that Sandy
Alderson has sat still. Since opening day the team has been actively tinkering, changing and making roster moves which for the most part have been effective.  No, I’m being serious. The entire bullpen has been reworked and after starting off the campaign mind-numbingly bad, it is now a strength.  Seriously, our bullpen and our pitching depth is so good that we have barely missed Bobby Parnell and Dillon Gee and Matt Harvey.

 Let’s be honest, aside from his latest start, Diasuke Matsuzaka has been awfully good filling in for Gee.  How many of you were expecting Jacob deGrom to be this year’s Matt Harvey/Zach Wheeler? I think
the smart money was on Noah Syndergaard. Actually, Syndergaard may still show up in Queens this summer, but honestly, it’s not a necessity anymore. The staff has excelled and grown without Gee or Harvey for most of the season. I find that tremendously encouraging.

And the bullpen? Jeurys Familia and Josh Edgin have stepped up and are excellent righty/lefty setup men. Jenrry Mejia has not only excelled and flourished as a closer, but he’s thrown in a moon walk or two; Vic Black is making the Marlon Byrd trade look better and better. Matsuzaka and Carlos Torres have grown into the roles of bullpen saviors. Also, who thought Dana Eveland would be so effective? When Gonzalez Germen is your only weak link in the bullpen, you are doing something right.

Here it is June 30th and I’m still watching Met fans calling for boycotts and saying they've had enough.  Really? How many times have I covered this? The 2014 Mets are NOT the end of the world. Yes, they just dropped 3 of 4 to the Pirates. Yes, they have 6 outfielders and 1 shortstop. But, they are not the worst Met team of all time. They aren't even close.  I understand the frustration with the ongoing saga of the Wilpons money troubles. I understand how fans want to see the Mets spend big money on free agents and pull the trigger on deals in attempts to get the team’s offense better right away.  It’s time for acceptance. Yep, it’s time to accept what is. IT’S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN. At least not in that way.

The Mets plan on completing this rebuild a la the Oakland A’s. They are going to do it on a budget.  That means without a payroll near 200 million like the Yankees.  Threaten to boycott all you want. It comes across as a spoiled tantrum. No, it really does. Perhaps we should just sign on and enjoy the ride because frankly, I still think, barring injuries and anything unforeseen, the worst is over.

This year’s big expenditure, Curtis Granderson is proving he’s no Jason Bay.  Granderson has been terrific since May 1st.  He is giving the Mets exactly what they thought they were getting. The added bonus is he’s a tremendous asset on the bench and in the clubhouse. He’s fun to watch. Yes, he went 0-17 in the Pirate series, but he'll bounce back.

As I have stated over and over. I was firmly and loudly on team Ike.  Watching Lucas Duda the past three weeks has made me question that as well.  Maybe I don’t know everything about baseball. More specifically maybe the Met coaches who worked closely and know Ike Davis and Lucas Duda knew something I didn’t.  Because while Ike Davis is still in neutral and platooning in Pittsburgh,  Duda has shifted gears and is getting better and better.  Duda is on pace to bat   .252 with 25 homers and 80 RBI.  I can safely say that will easily match or better what Kendry Morales, Davis, Josh Satin or many other first basemen will do this year.  The year isn’t over, but there is reason to be very optimistic.

Now that said, I’m still not a fan of Terry Collins.  I still firmly believe he does not utilized talent well. He
lacks faith in young talent (and on a team that is rebuilding that is problematic), and I feel he is very staid as a field tactician. He has improved in his managing of the bullpen of late. But still, I think the Mets would benefit from a manager who has a fire in his belly. A man who can get the most out of his veterans while bringing along the young players at the same time.  It’s embarrassing to see Wilmer Flores bounced up and down from Las Vegas without being given a clear shot to prove what he has to offer. Clearly if the Mets think he can play shortstop at this level he should be given a shot. If they feel he’s not a good fit for this team then their tactics have diminished his trade value tremendously. He has been mismanaged.  The same can be said for Andrew Brown, Matt den Dekker and Chris and Eric Young.

Clearly, Chris Young is not viewed as a cog in the Mets future.  As Sandy Alderson has stated he was a 7.25 million dollar insurance policy on Juan Lagares. He still has value. His series against the A’s proves that. But Chris Young can be utilized most effectively by platooning him.  Eric Young Jr. is an asset with his speed. As a switch hitter, EY is a much better hitter against right handed pitching. CY is much better against lefties.  That dynamic SCREAMS platoon!  Platoon the Young’s in left and let Lagares and Granderson remain mainstays in center and right.  Why this hasn’t happened is beyond me.  If Alderson and Collins are so caught up in numbers, the splits clearly show this would be a great move.  Let’s hope. But if it doesn’t happen, I’m not going to kick my feet and suck my thumb and cry about it.  Terry Collins and Sandy Alderson are getting paid to make those decisions. I may not like all of them, but that’s the way it is. It's their necks on the line. Not mine. 

No, I’m not a lemming. I just look at the Yankees. Their payroll is 203,000,000. Their pitching is bolstered by Masahiro Tanaka and frankly their bullpen is quite good. But as for their position players, for that money they are a compilation of aging free agents on the south side of their careers.  The average age of their top 10 starters is 34.1 years old.  What about next year? Jeter is gone and A-Rod will try to come back. Teixeira will be 35, Beltran 38, Ichiro 41, Brian Roberts 37, Alfonso Soriano 39. The Yankees despite all that money are not going to have a lot to show for it next year.  That’s a no brainer.  The Mets will be in a much better position than their cross town high spending cousins.  The point is, money isn’t not the only answer.

The Mets need to improve at short. If not, then they do have to upgrade elsewhere. Are they really going to trade Daniel Murphy? Yes, they might.  If the Mets can package Murphy for an upgrade at short, or left field they’ll do it. They probably believe Flores can be plugged in at 2nd and they have Matt Reynolds in AAA who they are grooming for a middle infield position. Hell, EY is a natural second baseman.  We all love Murph’s bat, but he’s a square peg in a round hole at second base. This is as good as he gets. He is tremendously mediocre at second. In a close game my heart is firmly in my mouth when a grounder is hit to him with the game on the line. I know I'm not the only one who feels that way. It's just the way it is. This is his high water mark. That said, I don’t think the Mets are in a rush to move him, but if the right offer comes along, sure, Murph will be dealt.  It kind of reminds me of when the Mets traded Hubie Brooks.  I was quite upset with that deal, until I found out that Gary Carter was the return player.


Bottom line, as a Met fan I get frustrated too. But I also get tired of the same old complaints and threats by fans.  Sure, we’d all like a winner in Flushing.  But it’s not going to happen your way. It’s going to happen the Mets way. While you were in the middle of your tantrum you probably missed that Kevin Plawecki has moved to AAA and homered in his first game.  Good things are happening.  Just dry your eyes and relax. It is, what it is.


Morning Report – June 30th – Travis d’Arnaud, Wally Backman, Good Plays, Klaw-Chat


                                                                                                                                            
Coming Later Today –    

            12 00 noon  - Craig Mitchell - An Open letter to Angry Met fans...........

            3:00 PM - 2015 Draft Profile  -  RHP  -  Mike Matuella  -  Duke University - UPDATED 6-30-14




Have you noticed that sometimes a player comes along and they simply can’t produce at an advanced level for a particular team. IF Anderson Hernandez was like that for the Mets back in the early 2000s. No matter how well he did for the Mets in the minors it simply never was duplicated when he made the translation to the major league level.

Then, we just finished a similar example with 1B Ike Davis, In his case, he had a wonderful half season followed by nothing buy misery and every time he was sent to AAA to correct his game, it looked like things would get back to those 30+ home run days. They still haven’t in Pittsburgh but I truly believe his career will go better now that he’s got the Mets out of his head.

I’m afraid we’re developing the same kind of situation for C Travis d’Arnaud. This has nothing to do with natural talent. This is all about New York, the beat press, the fan base here, and how this organization conducts its business. Baseball just isn’t supposed to be this stressful and I’m afraid the Mets need to get what they can for this kid during the upcoming mid-season trading period. Most of baseball still recognizes him for the projected talent he can still be at his young age. They also understand the mind fuck you can fall in trying to do your job for Flushing’s answer to The Lannisters. I love the three hits on Friday night and you all know I've been a big fan of his, but the Mets need to pass his name around prior to when the trading season starts to see what interest there is out there.

He''s still very young, considered very talented defensively and many team know that a good hitter can get caught up in all this New York horseshit.

We can get by with Anthony Recker and Juan Centeno for the remainder of the year until it is Kevin Plawecki’s turn.




Ira Bloch to me -

Mack – Question from a loyal reader: I know a lot has been written about how you can’t really judge hitting stats in Vegas. But, on the other hand, I don’t read a lot about how much credit Backman and his staff might be due priming these guys to thrive. Look at Vaughn, who couldn’t hit a lick in AA. Numerous others like Duda, Davis, D’Arnaud etc etc. I think about how that would translate to the ML club and I can’t help but think Backman could really turn this franchise around.

It will never happen under Alderson, but my hope is Alderson disappears after this season and ownership starts giving a shit about the fans again.
Your thoughts?

                        Mack – Hi, Ira. It’s always great to hear from you.

There are a lot of people like yourself that are in Backman’s camp. The players swear by him, but, let’s remember, the players swear by TC also.
There’s a couple of factors here:

1.     Forget the air, remember the pitchers. This is not pitching at the major league level. Half are prospects still trying to find their way while the other half are ex-major leaguers that have lost their way

2.     Minor league managers spend far less time with the hitters than the batting coach does. It’s the coach that starts off in the cages with the kids and winds up standing behind the batting cage when they take BP. Managers tend to look over the entire flock during practice and hit ground balls to the infield.

3.     Backman is sort of the Joe Biden of the New York Mets. Yes, on paper, he’s next in line, but you just know it’s only a matter of time before he pisses someone off.

I don’t think Backman is high on Alderson’s list and he’s kept around to prevent more negative press. I also don’t think Alderson will stay a Met past the end of this season. He’s the same age as I am and, financially, doesn’t need all this shit. I expect him to either go into the 
commissioner’s office or return to the Latin American systems he loved being part of.

Backman?  I have no idea. He has a great baseball mind but he’s a hand grenade waiting for the pin to be pulled. I tend to think we’re looking at a career minor league manager.


Mark Simon broke out an interesting stat the other day. He took the number of ‘good plays’ a team made (avoiding a mistake), misplays, and errors and came up with a Good/Bad Ratio in the field so far this season.

The Mets have to be happy with this result.

The Mets came in 6th with 204 good plays, 128 misplays, and 45 errors, resulting in a 1.18 Good/Bad ratio.

They were only beaten by the Royals (1.32), the Nats (1.28), the A’s (1.22), the Red Sox (1.21), and the Blue Jays (118… one less error).




Need another reason to hate Terry Collins?

 Brian Mangan compiled an interesting set of facts about TC’s usage of Chris Young, using 1-4 (.250) at the plate as an average ‘good game’:

After the “bad games”, he was started 57% of the time and benched 42% of the time.

However after the “good games”, he was started 25% of the time and benched 75% of the time.

Amazing.


         Klaw-Chat –

Rave (NJ) - Flores demoted, Mets going with 6 OF's and no middle infielders. What is Sandy thinking?

Keith Law - How does the demotion of Flores alter the number of middle infielders on the roster?

Dave C (Albany, NY) - What kind of upside do you see for Kevin Plawecki. Regular catcher on lower end team or something more?

Klaw  -  More. Solid-average everyday catcher.



Minor Stuff - 

      Yes, the upper levels of the Mets pitching rotations leave a lot to be desired right now; however, I believe that it is time for the Giancarlo Alvarado experiment to be first, re-evaluated, and, secondly probably come to an end. Friday night was a wild one, with  five walks over 5.2-IP. His saving grade was the fact he only gave up one earned run keeping his  ERA at a high 5.82. He has no future in Queens and, frankly, if he has any purpose this year in the organization, I would think it would come out of the pen... Binghamton 3B/OF Dustin Lawley's bat is being to pop again, bring home his 10th home run last night, Always a slow starter, Lawley has his BA up to .343 his past 10 games, He's one of the few upper level potential 20+ home run hitters we have in the system... SP Luis Mateo pitched another rehab assignment on Saturday for the GCL Mets: 2.0-IP, 1-H, 0-R, 2-K, 1-BB... overall rehab ERA: 2.08. It will be interesting to see what level he winds up with at the end of his rehabbing. He's 24-yrs. old now, and has not pitched a full season since 2012 with Brooklyn. My guess is St. Lucie... 


And lastly from Bill Metsiac on Sunday...


Here we are at the halfway point of the season, and the Mets are on pace to finish exactly as predicted by "the experts". The "over/under" in Vegas for the Mets, as of OD, was 74.5. With the win total at 37, that projects to 74. How close can it get (not enough for me, because that would leave me one W short, since I bet the "over")?
The way I judge a mgr is how the results compare with the expectations. Given the results so far, the team (and Terry) are neither better nor worse than what was reasonably predicted. I guess by Alderson's ridiculous "90 win" standard, the season to date is a flop.
The second half will tell us if it's a flop by normal standards.


Mets Minor League Report: June 29, 2014




MMLR Player of the Day: St. Lucie RHSP Michael Fulmer.

 

Sacramento (48-35) edges Las Vegas (48-35) 2-1.

Darin Gorski: (L, 2-2) 6.0 IP, 2 R, 6 H, (HR) 2 BB, 8 K.
Erik Goeddel: 2.0 IP, perfection, 3 K.

Wilmer Flores: 2-4. (representing half of the 51’s hits)

 

 

Binghamton (48-33) bombs Altoona (29-52) 7-4.

Matthew Bowman (W, 6-5) had a strong start: 7.0 IP, 2 R, 1 ER, 6 H, BB, 9 K.
Jack Leathersich does it the Leathersich way, striking out all 3 batters he faced in a perfect 8th inning.
Ryan Fraser: 1.0 IP, 2 R, 2 H, BB, K.

Darrell Ceciliani: 2-4, BB, 3 R, SB.
Jayce Boyd: 3-4, BB, RBI, 2 R.
Travis Taijeron: 2-4, 2 2B, 2 RBI, R.

 

 

St. Lucie (46-32) nips Bradenton (41-38) 1-0 in a slug fest.

Florida State League leading hitter, Jairo Perez, (AVG .358, SLG .564 - Perez leads in both categories) came out of the game after being hit by a pitch in the 3rd inning.

Michael Fulmer (W, 3-7) was outstanding: 7.0 IP, 0 R, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K.
Julian Hilario wobbled: 0.1 IP, 0 R, H, BB.
But T.J. Chism righted the ship: 1.1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, K.
Paul Sewald (S, 3) got the final out with a K to close it out.

Four straight singles (by Aderlin Rodriguez, Gavin Cecchini, Philip Evans and Albert Cordero) to start the 2nd inning result in a run. Our A-Rod scored on Cordero’s hit, but Cecchini was thrown out at the plate. That’s all we got, but that’s all we needed.

 

 

Savannah (50-26) squashes Rome (26-54) 15-12 in a pitcher‘s duel.


Going into the 9th with a 15-6 lead, the Bravos put a scare into our pesky Sand Gnats, who held on for the win.

Ricky Knapp struggled: 4.0 IP, 6 R, 5 H, 4 BB, 3 K.
John Mincone: (W, 1-1) 4.0 IP, 0 R, 4 H, BB, 2 K.
Paul Paez could not record an out: 0.0 IP, 6 R, 5 H, 2 BB.
Darwin Frias: (S, 2) (W, 3-0) 1.0 IP, pitched a perfect 9th.

Champ Stuart: 4-4, 2 2B, BB, RBI, 4 R.
Dominic Smith: 2-4, 2B, BB, RBI, R.
Matt Oberste: 4-4, HR, 2B, 6 RBI, 4 R.
Victor Cruzado: 3-4, RBI, 2 R.
Yeixon Ruiz: 2-5, RBI, 2 R.

 

Staten Island (10-7) bests Brooklyn (11-6) 5-4.

Dillon Gee (L, 1-0) in his first rehab start: 2.2 IP, R, 4 H, BB, 6 K.
Josh Prevost: 0.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB.
Corey Oswalt: 2.2 IP, 4 R, 5 H, 2 BB, 2 K.
Scarlyn Reyes: 1.0 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB. 2 K.

Team batting leader Michael Katz: 2-4.

 

 
 
 

Johnson City (6-3) krushes Kingsport (5-5) 12-6 to complete suspended game.

Yoryi Nuez: (L, 1-1) 2.1 IP, 7 R, 4 ER, 5 H, 3 BB, 2 K.
Craig Missigman: 0.2 IP, R, 2 H, BB. K.
James Duff: 3.0 IP, 2 R, 0 ER, 3 H, 0 BB.
Ruben Reyes: 1.0 IP, R, 2 H, BB, K.
Bryce Beeler: 1.0 IP, R, H, BB, K.

Jean Rodriguez: 1-5, HR, 3 RBI, R.
Oswaldo Caraballo: 2-5, R.
Ivan Wilson: 2-4, 2B.

 

Regularly scheduled game: Kingsport (5-5) @ Johnson City (6-3) postponed - rain.
 

 
GCL and DSL - no games scheduled today.















Savannah Sand Gnats 15 Rome Braves 12

Game three of the series between the Savannah Sand Gnats and the Rome Braves was played in front of 1,188 fans Sunday afternoon at Grayson Stadium.
Fans saw plenty of hitting and runs scored Sunday afternoon with Savannah winning 15-12. Sand Gnats had 17 hits and Braves had 14 hits.
Rome got off to a fast start in the first inning scoring 5 runs on 1 hit, 3 walks, and 2 hit batsmen.
Savannah scored 2 runs in the bottom of the first. Champ Stuart,cf doubled and scored on a single by Dominic Smith,1b. A double by Cole Frenzel,3b scored Smith.
Savannah scored single runs in the second and third innings, and scored 2 runs in the 4th inning to tie the score at 6-6.
In the 5th inning, Savannah erupted for 8 runs, highlited by a double and a grand slam home run by Matt Oberste,dh, his first home run of the season.
Sand Gnats scored a single run in the 7th inning.
Rome rallied in their 9th inning, getting 5 hits and 2walks to score 6 runs.
Hitting stars for Savannah. Oberste was 4-for-4  with a double, home run, 3 runs scored and drove in 6 runs. Stuart was 4-for-4, drove in 1 run, 2 doubles, and 4 runs scored.
Savannah pitching:          IP.    Runs.    Hits.   K.    BB 
Ricky Knapp.                  4.0.      6.         5.      3.      4
John Mincone(W,1-1).     4.0.     0.         4.      2.      1
Paul Paez.                        0.0.      6.        5.      0.      2
Dawrin Frias(S,2).           1.0.      0.        0.      0.      0
The final game of the series starts at 7:05 pm Monday at Grayson Stadium.

Binghamton 7 - Altoona 4



The Binghamton Mets racked up eleven hits and secured their sixth straight winning series with a 7-4 victory over the Altoona Curve on Sunday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. Darrell Ceciliani sparked the offense with three runs scored, leading Binghamton to their third straight win and 16th in their last 19 games.

Binghamton busted out the bats in the second. After Ceciliani and Jayce Boyd started the rally with consecutive one-out singles, Travis Taijeron ripped an RBI double down the third-base line. Kai Gronauer followed with a run-producing groundout and Matt Bowman helped his own cause by blooping an RBI single behind short. Dilson Herrera capped the four-run frame by threading another RBI single up the middle.

The B-Mets struck again in the third. Ceciliani walked and swiped second before Boyd brought him home with a single to right. Taijeron followed with an RBI double. His hit, a carbon copy of his two-bagger inside the third-base line in the second, kicked Binghamton’s lead to six runs.

Altoona cashed in on a B-Met fielding mistake to get on the board in the third. With one out, Alen Hanson’s chopper to first eluded Boyd for an error. Two batters later, Matt Curry sliced a double down the left-field line chasing Hanson home with the Curve’s first run.

Binghamton struck back with another tally in the fifth against reliever Yao-Hsun Yang. Yet again, Ceciliani and Boyd started the rally with singles. Gronauer kicked Binghamton’s advantage to six runs by lacing an RBI single to left.

The Curve scratched out one last run against Bowman in the sixth. Following a leadoff single by Willy Garcia, Stetson Allie pulled an RBI double down the left-field line. Bowman bounced back by retiring six of the next seven batters he faced, capping his night with a scoreless seventh inning.
Jack Leathersich struck out the side in order in the eighth. In the ninth, Ryan allowed two runs on a pair of hits and a walk before fanning Matt Curry to secure the victory.

Bowman (6-5) struck out nine batters while holding the Curve hitless in nine at-bats with runners in scoring position. The righty stranded seven runners en route to his third win in his last four starts. Ludwig (0-3) was tagged for six runs on seven hits over three innings in the loss.


POST-GAME NOTES: Binghamton is 9-2 in their last 11 road games…the B-Mets are 17-7 in series finales this season…Travis Taijeron’s double in the second inning snapped an 0-for-16 stretch at Peoples Natural Gas Field in 2014…the Curve went 7-for-50 with runners in scoring position during the four-game series - team press release

St. Lucie 1 - Bradenton 0



Michael Fulmer’s dominance of the Bradenton Marauders continued on Sunday at Tradition Field.

Fulmer pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits while striking out a season-high eight as the St. Lucie Mets blanked the Marauders 1-0.

In three starts against Bradenton this season Fulmer is 2-0 and hasn’t allowed a run in 18 innings.

The lone run in the game was scored in the second. The Mets opened the frame with four consecutive singles against Jason Creasy. The fourth came off the bat of Albert Cordero and deflected off the glove of third baseman Walker Gourley into left field. Aderlin Rodriguez scored and Gavin Cecchini was thrown out at home.

The 1-0 lead was good enough for Fulmer and three Mets relievers.

Fulmer struck out Jordan Steranka to end the top of the first with runners on second and third after two errors by the Mets had extended the inning.

Fulmer only allowed three Marauders to reach between the second and sixth innings - Jin-De Jhang on a walk, Jonathan Schwind on a throwing error by Jeff McNeil and a hit batter.

Raul Fortunato led of the seventh with a double to right, but Fulmer struck out two and got Adam Frazier to line out to first to end the inning.

Fulmer threw 101 pitches.

T.J. Chism got Taylor Lewis to fly out to left to strand the bases loaded in the eighth.

Chism recorded the first two outs in the ninth and Paul Sewald struck out Gourley to end the game with the tying run on second.

It was the fourth straight one-run game played by the Mets and the Marauders at Tradition Field. Both teams have won and lost twice.

Creasy took the tough luck loss for Bradenton. The four straight hits he gave up to start the second were the only hits he allowed in six innings. He struck out five.

Phillip Evans went 2 for 3 and was the only Met to record a multi hit game. - team press release

6/29/14

Binghamton Mets 2014 Game Notes



Binghamton Mets (47-33) at
Altoona Curve (29-51)
(Double-A Affiliate of the Pittsburgh Pirates)

RHP Matt Bowman (5-5, 3.72) vs. RHP Pat Ludwig (0-2, 5.54)

Sunday, June 29, 2014  Game #81  Road Game #40
Peoples Natural Gas Field  Altoona, PA  6:00 PM

LAST GAME: The Binghamton Mets scored the first seven runs of the game and held on to beat the Altoona Curve, 8-7, on Saturday night at Peoples Natural Gas Field. The Curve scored six runs in the bottom of the seventh to cut the deficit to one and left the tying run at third base in the ninth. Dilson Herrera went 4-for-5 with a home run and tallied  in five RBI. Xorge Carrillo managed three hits and scored twice. Steven Matz picked up his first Double-A win, while going six scoreless innings and striking out nine.

BINGHAMTON STARTER: RHP Matt Bowman makes his 14th start of the season and first against Altoona. The Chevy Chase, Maryland native is coming off a hard-luck loss on Sunday, June 29 at Bowie. Bowman went seven innings allowed two runs and struck out three in a 2-0 Binghamton defeat. The game was the fourth time the righty had gone seven innings in a start. He’s allowed a total of four runs in the last 20 innings. The Princeton product was taken by the Mets in the 13thround of the 2012 draft

ALTOONA STARTERRHP Pat Ludwig makes his fourth appearance of the year for Altoona and his third straight start. The 24-year-old is coming off a loss in his last outing. He went five innings and allowed four runs on three home runs in a 5-2 defeat to New Britain on Tuesday, June 24. Ludwig started the season with Bradenton (High-A). He was 2-1 with a 3.96 ERA and two saves in 15 games. He started four of those outings. The Yale product was drafted by Pittsburgh in the tenth round of the 2012 draft.

COMING IN HOT: B-Mets INF Dilson Herrera went 4-for-5 at the plate on Saturday and drove in a career-high five runs. It’s his fifth multi-hit game since joining Binghamton on June 19. He’s hitting .389 (14-for-36) in nine outings with the B-Mets. He has seven runs and nine RBI. The five RBI tie the second most a Binghamton player in a game this season and it’s the eighth time a player has had at least four hits in a contest.

STREAK ON THE LINE: With a win on Sunday, Binghamton would guarantee it’s sixth straight series win. The last time they lost a series was June 6-8 against New Britain. The team is 15-4 over the course of the last five series, That includes separate six-game and five-game winning streaks.

KYLE CAPITALIZES ON CURVE Binghamton OF Kyle Johnson continued his hot hitting against Altoona on Saturday. The righty went 2-for-4 and scored three times. Johnson is 5-for-10 through the first three games of the series with four runs and three RBI. On Friday night, he finished just a home run shy of the cycle. Overall, the righty is hitting .478 (11-for-23) through seven games against the Curve.

OUT OF THE ELEMENT: The four B-Met errors on Saturday isn’t something they do often. It’s only the fourth time Binghamton has had more than two errors in a game and the first since May 5. The team has committed the second fewest errors in the league with 54.

THEY ARE WHO YOU THOUGHT THEY WERE: The first three games of this series have gone exactly how you would assume a matchup of the team that strikes out the most against the pitching staff that tallies the most strikeouts would go. Binghamton has K’d 27 batters through the first three games. That includes nine by starter Steven Matz on Saturday.

PILL PINCH HITS: Binghamton stating pitcher Tyler Pill has been getting recognition for his play at the plate of late. The righty tallied a base knock while pinch-hitting on Saturday. Pill also went 2-for-3 on Friday night with two runs scored. He is hitting .636 (7-for-11) this season with a home run, five runs and four RBI.

NEXT GAME PREVIEW: Binghamton continues their road trip and starts a series at New Britain on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 PM.