B-Mets Game Notes - Binghamton vs. Erie - 6:35pm

LAST GAME: The B-Mets nailed down their second sweep of


the season with a convincing 6-1 decision over Akron Sunday

afternoon at Canal Park. Binghamton plated a run in the first

inning after Kirk Nieuwenhuis reached on an error by shortstop

Carlos Rivero. After Nieuwenhuis stole second, Luis Hernandez

plated him with a single to center and the B-Mets

would not trail in the game from there. Binghamton scored

two more in the second thanks to another error and starter

Paolo Espino’s lack of command. Espino took the loss after

allowing three runs, one earned, over 5.2 innings. The righty

walked a season-worst six men. On the flip side, Mike Antonini

turned in his third consecutive solid outing with 5.2 innings of

one-run work for his third win. Jose Coronado, who played

third base, turned in a 2-4 showing with a double and two RBI

to lead the offense, which managed just six hits.


STARTING PITCHING MATCHUP: RHP Eddie Kunz is due to

make his fifth start of the season tonight. The converted reliever

is coming of his best outing, five-plus innings versus

Portland April 28, in which he allowed three runs on four hits

for the win. Kunz is 2-2 with an 8.83 ERA in 17.1 innings with

16 walks. Last year, Kunz made 40 appearances for Buffalo

(AAA) with a 4-5 mark and a 5.02 ERA in 61 innings. He functioned

as the B-Mets closer in 2008 when he racked up 27

saves. The righty was taken by the Mets in the second round

(42nd overall) in the 2007 draft.


RHP Thad Weber will take the ball for the SeaWolves. He won

his last start April 28 at Bowie despite allowing 10 hits and

three runs over five innings. Weber is 1-2 with a 2.86 ERA in

22 innings. He made 25 starts last year between Lakeland

(High-A) and Erie. In 13 starts with the SeaWolves, he was 7-3

with a 4.06 ERA in 75.1 innings, including a no-hitter against

Akron August 22 with 10 strikeouts. Detroit took him in the

16th round of the 2008 June Draft out of Nebraska.


ANTONINI ANOINTED: LHP Mike Antonini has been the B-Mets

ace thus far in 2010. After allowing five runs in 3.2 innings

versus Akron in his first start of the year April 11, he has settled

in and gone 3-1 with a 3.09 ERA in 23.1 innings over four

starts. A season ago, he led the B-Mets with seven wins, but

carried an ERA over five.


NIMBLE NIEUWENHUIS: Centefielder Kirk Nieuwenhuis has

stolen seven bases in his last six games after stealing just one

over the first 16 contests of the year. His eight swiped bags

rank him in a tie for third in the Eastern League. He leads the

EL in at-bats (100) and hits (30) and is tied for second in runs

scored (21) with teammate Lucas Duda. He was a Florida

State League (High-A) All-Star a year ago with St. Lucie

Mike Hessman Named Batter Of the Week

From Press Release:

Bisons’ Mike Hessman Named


International League Batter of the Week

Bisons’ Slugger Leads ALL OF BASEBALL with 28RBI

The International League today announced that Bisons INF MIKE HESSMAN has been named the league’s Batter of the Week for the period from April 26-May 2.

In the past seven games, Hessman has averaged .321 (9-28) with a double, four home runs, 14RBI, seven runs scored and a .786 slugging percentage. He homered twice in the Bisons’ 9-5 victory over Durham on April 27 and then hit the club’s first grand slam since August of 2008 when he went deep in the team’s 12-7 win on Friday. Hessman also had a two-run home run and a two-run single in yesterday’s dramatic 6-4, 10-inning victory over Louisville.

On the season, Hessman is hitting .302 (26-86) with eight home runs and 28RBI. HIS 28 RUNS DRIVEN IN LEAD ALL OF BASEBALL, one more than Detroit Tigers’ INF MIGUEL CABRERA. He also ranks 2nd in the International League with eight home runs, 14 extra-bases, 56 total bases and a .651 slugging percentage.

His home run yesterday was the 319th of his minor league career, 27 more than any active player. In the decade of 2000-2009, Hessman led the International league in games played (899), home runs (201), RBI (556) and runs scored (488). This is the third time Hessman has been named International League Batter of the Week in his career.

Minor Rags: - Daniel Murphy, Mike Antonini, Reese Havens... and Collin McHugh

Bisons:


Ike Davis' emergence with the parent New York Mets could mean first baseman Daniel Murphy is in for an extended stay in Buffalo. Several New York media outlets reported over the weekend that Murphy will be ticketed here as he continues his rehab from a sprained medial collateral ligament in his right knee. Murphy hit .263 with 12 home runs and 63 RBIs in 155 games with the Mets last season, but has been on the disabled list since hurting his knee in the final week of spring training. When original replacement Mike Jacobs struggled, the Mets turned to Davis, a 23-year-old rookie who started the season with the Bisons. -
link

B-Mets:

Mike Antonini keeps getting better and the Binghamton Mets keep winning. The left-handed starter turned in his second consecutive superb start, surrendering just one run in 5 2/3 innings, and the B-Mets completed a three-game sweep of the Akron Aeros with a 6-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. Jose Coronado, a last-minute addition to the lineup when third baseman Zach Lutz was scratched, went 2-for-4 with a two-run double in the eighth inning that blew the game open. Fresh off the disabled list, catcher Mike Nickeas also had two hits. In his last outing, Antonini was victimized by a two-run home run in an otherwise stellar effort that resulted in a 2-0 loss. While he again allowed a home run Sunday, it was only a fifth-inning solo shot from Tim Fedroff that cut the B-Mets' lead to 3-1. - link

Lucy:

The Fort Myers Miracle rallied for three runs in the top of the sixth inning to erase a 5-4 deficit and hung on for an 8-7 victory over the St. Lucie Mets on Saturday at Digital Domain Park. The Mets jumped out to a 4-0 lead on the strength of the long ball. Sean Ratliff hit a solo home run in the first and Richard Lucas hit a two-run homer in the second. St. Lucie added a run in the fifth on an RBI double by Reese Havens and two runs in the eighth on an RBI triple by Stefan Welch and a sacrifice fly by Lucas. - link

Gnats:

In just three innings of work Saturday night, Collin McHugh had as many strikeouts as he's had appearances all season. In his fifth game of the year, third relief appearance, the native of Covington was impressive. McHugh struck out five of the 10 batters he faced in three innings, allowing no runs and one hit while picking up his first save of the season. The 6-foot-2, 195-pound right-hander entered the game with a 3-1 lead and never gave Lexington a chance to get back in it. - link

Buffalo 6, Louisville 4

From Press Release:


The Herd took sole possession of the top spot in the International League North division with a thrilling 6-4, 10-inning victory over the Louisville Bats on Sunday afternoon from Coca-Cola Field. Chris Carter's two-run walk-off home run capped a dramatic comeback as Buffalo collected its fifth consecutive victory.

The Bisons entered the game even with Syracuse with a 14-9 record, but the Chiefs lost 6-3 to Columbus. The last time the Herd was alone in first place was July 16, 2007 when they were 51-38.

Buffalo's climb to the top on Sunday wasn't easy, especially as the Bats took a 4-2 lead in the top of the 10th inning on Juan Francisco's two-run home run. Surprisingly, it was a pair of hustle plays that got the Herd's potent offense started.

With one out, Jason Pridie chopped a two-hopper to first base, but Louisville's Drew Sutton hesitated for just a split second. Instead of flipping to the pitcher, Sutton went to the bag himself, but was beaten by the speedy Bisons' centerfield.

The next batter was Bisons shortstop Andy Green. Even though he doubled in each of his two previous at-bats, Green took advantage of a winded Jon Adkins and dropped a perfect bunt single in front of the Louisville closer.

That set the stage for the big bats in the Bisons' order. After Mike Jacobs advanced the runners over with a groundout, Mike Hessman ripped a broken-bat single off the glove of Francisco at third. Pridie scored easily and Green reached his hand over the left-foot block of catcher Wilkin Castillo to tag home plate and tie the game.

Binghamton 6, Akron 1

Mike Antonini tossed 5 2/3 innings of one-run work and Jose Coronado went 2-4 with a double and two RBI in Binghamton’s 6-1 victory over Akron Sunday afternoon at Canal Park, earning the B-Mets a three-game sweep over the Aeros. Antonini picked up his third win of the season and improved his season record to 3-2, having picked up decisions in each of his first five starts.

Binghamton (14-9) took advantage of an Akron error in the first inning to take an early lead. Shortstop Carlos Rivero drew Beau Mills off the bag at first on Kirk Nieuwenhuis’ routine ground ball to short to open the game, allowing the B-Mets to get the leadoff man on base. Nieuwenhuis stole his way into scoring position where Luis Hernandez drove him in from on a single to center, making it 1-0.

After a 1-2-3 first from Antonini, the B-Mets would plate two more runs. Starter Paolo Espino issued a bases-loaded walk to Lucas Duda to push the first run across. D.J. Wabick followed with a routine groundball to second that should have ended the inning, however Cord Phelps booted it allowing a second run to score, running the lead to 3-0.

Antonini’s only blemish occurred in the fifth inning. After retiring the first two hitters of the frame, the southpaw hung a two-strike curveball to leadoff man Tim Fedroff, who blasted the mistake over the wall in right for a solo homer. That proved to be the Aeros lone run.

Akron (8-15) got a decent outing out of Espino, who faced 15 men in the first two innings. The righty settled in and threw 5 2/3 innings, allowing three runs, one earned, with a season-high six walks, but drew his first loss of the year.

Late-inning run-scoring has been a trademark of the 2010 Binghamton Mets and Sunday afternoon was no different. The B-Mets rallied for three runs in the eighth off reliever Steven Wright, who had been sent down to Akron from Triple-A Columbus prior to the game. Wright walked Carlos Guzman and Hector Pellot and allowed a single to Mike Nickeas to load the bases with one out. Nieuwenhuis hit into a fielder’s choice to short, plating Guzman. Coronado put the finishing touch on the inning with an opposite-field double to left, which plated Nickeas and Nieuwenhuis to extend the lead to five, 6-1.

The bullpen took care of the rest. Jose De La Torre extended his scoreless streak to 13 2/3 innings with 1 2/3 innings of solid relief and Edgar Ramirez fired the final 1 2/3 innings to nail down the sweep.

Gnats beat Legends 3-1 to complete sweep.

The Savannah Sand Gnats completed a 4 game sweep over the Lexington Legends Saturday evening at Grayson Stadium in front of 2,652 fans.
Savannah scored a run in the first when Sam Honeck walked, went to second when Jefery Marte was hit by a pitch and scored on a single by Kai Gronauer.
In the fourth inning, Gnats scored two runs: Cesar Puello led off the inning with a bunt single and advanced to second when Jeff Flagg was hit by a pitch. Puello advanced to third on a fly out and scored on an error by the third baseman. Alonzo Harris singled to load the bases. Juan Lagares hit a sacrifice fly to center to score Flagg.
Starting Sand Gnat pitcher,Brandon Moore, pitched 6 solid innings and picked up his first win of the season. He allowed only one run on four hits, 2BB, and struck out six.
Collin McHugh was superb pitching three scoreless innings in relief to earn his first save of the season. He gave up just one single and struck out five(3 were called third strikes).

Taking Sunday Off

I'm going back to my original plan on taking Sunday's off.

Need the rest.

Please come back on Monday... and please consider hitting the donate button over on the right side of this page.

Mack

Buffalo 1, Louisville 0

From Press Release:

Lefty Bobby Livingston tossed eight shutout innings, facing just two batters over the minimum as the Bisons shutout the Bats, 1-0, Saturday night at Coca-Cola Field.


The Herd has now won three straight and improved to 14-9 on the season.

Livingston was in complete control right from the start. The southpaw retired the first nine batters he faced with three strike outs. Bats' centerfielder Chris Burke was the first to get on base when he singled to lead off the fourth inning, but Livingston induced three consecutive groundouts to end that frame.

Livingston then got doubleplays in the fifth and sixth inning. He tossed a perfect 1-2-3 seventh inning and worked around his lone walk in the eighth to finish his outing just two batters over the minimum.

Livingston lowered his season ERA over a run and a half, from 4.96 to 3.33 in his first victory of the season. He threw 71 of his 98 pitches for strikes. All three hits he allowed were singles.

The only run the Bisons would need came in the third inning. Jesus Feliciano extended his hit streak to 10 games with a soft liner into centerfield with two outs. Mike Jacobs then ripped a grounder over the first base bag and into the right field corner for a RBI-triple.

Elmer Dessens pitched the ninth inning for Buffalo and recorded his third save of the season.

Binghamton 11, Akron 5

After missing the last three games due to a minor leg injury, shortstop Luis Hernandez returned to the lineup and produced a four-hit day with four RBI in Binghamton’s 11-5 win over Akron Saturday afternoon at Canal Park. The win is the third straight for the B-Mets, who have recorded 13 hits in each of the victories. Scott Shaw took advantage of the run-scoring, notching his fourth consecutive win with five-plus innings of five-run work to improve to 4-0.

Binghamton (13-9) found itself in an early hole thanks to RBI singles from Nick Weglarz and Beau Mills in the first inning off Shaw. The 23-year-old righty also allowed two runs in the first inning of his last start, April 25 against New Hampshire.

Akron (8-14) starter Scott Barnes was on cruise control entering the fourth inning. The lefty had struck out three and faced the minimum through the first three innings when he ran into trouble. After issuing a one-out walk to Jonathan Malo, Barnes served up a gopher ball to Lucas Duda, who mashed a one-strike fastball from the southpaw over the right-field wall to tie the score.

Luke Montz kept the inning going with a two-out single down the third base line. Hernandez followed with the first of his four hits, a double off the wall in right-center, to put men at second and third. With a 1-2 count on Marshall Hubbard, catcher Miguel Perez mishandled a Barnes pitch, allowing the go-ahead run, Montz, to score from third on a passed ball.

The B-Mets stretched the lead to two in the fifth courtesy of Brahiam Maldonado’s first Double-A homer, a solo shot to left-center off Barnes.

The Aeros were quick to answer, however, with a two-out rally culminating with a Weglarz RBI double, bringing the Binghamton lead back to one.

Hernandez proved to be the last hitter that Barnes would face. With one out in the sixth, Hernandez smoked a triple over the head of Weglarz in left, which plated Zach Lutz, who had walked to open the inning. Barnes exited in favor of former Major League righty Justin Germano, who promptly permitted an RBI single to Marshall Hubbard, stretching the lead to three at 6-3.

Akron once again closed the gap in the sixth courtesy of a Beau Mills solo homer off Shaw and a Jared Goedert sacrifice fly, cutting the Aeros deficit to 6-5. That was as close as Akron would get.

Lefty Derrick Ellison bridged the gap in the late innings, tossing 2 1/3 innings of hitless relief to hand it over to Clint Everts. Everts fired the final 1 2/3 innings in shutout fashion to nab his first save of the year.

Everts was able to work comfortably in the ninth inning thanks to a five-run outburst in the top half of the inning, in which the B-Mets brought 10 men to the plate and faced three different arms. Aeros stopper Vinnie Pestano surrendered bases-loaded RBI singles to Duda and Lutz, who had both been left on by Germano. The biggest blow of the inning was provided by Hernandez, who cleared the bases with his second triple of the game, over the head of rightfielder Matt McBride.

Barnes was charged with the loss for Akron after allowing six runs, five earned, over a season-high 5 1/3 innings. He falls to 0-3 on the year.