Catch up on all of yesterday’s minor league action from around the Mets farm system!
Triple-A - Las Vegas 51s (30-11)______________________________________
LAS VEGAS 10, EL PASO 2 (Box)
The municipality of El Paso, Texas razed its city hall last year and built a new home field for the Chihuahuas, Triple-A affiliate of the San Diego Padres, atop the rubble. Last night, it was the bats of the visiting 51s that brought the house down. Matt den Dekker led off the game with a solo homer and Andrew Brown bookended the affair by taking our old friend Jeff Francoeur deep in the ninth.
All told, the offense produced ten runs in support of Noah Syndergaard. The most vaunted member of the Las Vegas rotation inched closer to joining former rotation mates Rafael Montero and Jacob deGrom in the majors by tossing another solid start. Syndergaard's efficiency wasn't great (93 pitches in just five frames), though all but one of the 15 outs he recorded came via grounders and whiffs (three swinging, two looking).
Also, #HAIL Satin for rapping base hits in 80% of his plate appearances.
- CF Matt den Dekker: 3-5, 3 R, 2B, HR (4), RBI, K
- 2B Josh Satin: 4-5, 3 R, 2B, 2 RBI
- 1B Allan Dykstra: 1-3, 2 RBI, BB
- PR-LF Kirk Nieuwenhuis: 0-0, 2 R, BB
- RF Andrew Brown: 2-5, R, HR (7), 3 RBI, K
- LF-1B Brandon Allen: 0-4, BB, 2 K
- 3B Zach Lutz: 2-4, 3B, BB, K
- C Kai Gronauer: 0-5, K
- SS Omar Quintanilla: 1-4, K
- PH Cesar Puello: 0-1
- RHP Noah Syndergaard: 5 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
Double-A - Binghamton Mets (21-16)______________________________________
BINGHAMTON 8, NEW HAMPSHIRE 6 (Box)
The B-Mets scored eight times in this game, but they also ceded New Hampshire six runs of the unearned variety to make the proceedings a lot closer than they needed to be. Matt Clark's error to open the third inning must have rattled starter Matt Bowman, who proceeded to give up a triple, hit a batter, unleash a wild pitch, walk a batter, and get torched for a grand slam. That sequence aside, Bowman pitched great. The little Lincecum clone hardly needed his fielders at all, fanning 12 batters in six innings of work.
Kevin Plawecki continues to heat up. His slash line for the last ten games sits at .395/.405/.553.
- CF Kyle Johnson: 3-5, 2 R
- 3B Brian Burgamy: 1-4, 2 R, 2B, 3 RBI, BB
- SS Matt Reynolds: 1-4, R, BB
- 1B Matt Clark: 1-5, R, 2 RBI, K
- C Kevin Plawecki: 3-3, 3 RBI, 2 HBP
- RF Cory Vaughn: 0-4, BB, K
- LF Dustin Lawley: 1-5, K
- DH Jayce Boyd: 1-4, R, BB, K
- 2B Wilfredo Tovar: 1-5, R, K
- RHP Matt Bowman: 6 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 12 K, HR
High-A - St. Lucie Mets (23-18)______________________________________
ST. LUCIE 6, LAKELAND 4 (Box)
May has been a very merry month indeed for righty Luis Cessa. The 22-year old right-hander out of Vera Cruz, Mexico held his opponents to just one run for the third start in a row. Cessa struggled with his control earlier in the season, but of late he's been pinpoint accurate with his pitches. Over the 19 innings that span Cessa's three prior starts, he's issued a mere two free passes. It's a welcome return to form for a pitcher who walked just 3.5% of the batters he faced in 2013.
- 2B Dilson Herrera: 2-4, 2B, SB
- CF Brandon Nimmo: 1-4, R, 3B
- 3B T.J. Rivera: 1-4, RBI
- DH Jairo Perez: 1-4, R, HR (5), RBI, K
- C Cam Maron: 2-4, 2 R, HR (2), RBI
- LF Gilbert Gomez: 3-4, 2 R, 2 2B
- SS Phillip Evans: 1-3, RBI
- 1B Cole Frenzel: 1-2, RBI
- RF Eudy Pina: 0-4, RBI, K, CS
- RHP Luis Cessa: 6 IP 4 H, ER, 0 BB, 3 K, HR
- REHAB ALERT RHP Gonzalez Germen: 1 IP, 1 H
Low-A - Savannah Sand Gnats (28-12)_____________________________________
SAVANNAH 11, GREENVILLE 3 (Box)
Savannah's Historic Grayson Stadium is just about the hardest park in all of minor league baseball in which to score runs, yet it's been a home sweet home field for Gavin Cecchini. Small sample size, of course, but the shortstop's batting average is 75 points higher in Savannah and his slugging percentage is greater by 50 points.
Anyway, that's a long way of saying that Cecchini put on another laser show in Savannah's hitter-unfriendly confines. Gavin went a combined two-for-six during yesterday's twinbill with a double, a triple, and two walks. Fellow first-round draftee Dom Smith also had a productive day in the first of the two games, lacing two singles and drawing a base on balls. Actually, just about the entire Sand Gnat lineup was buzzing in the blowout, save leadoff hitter Patrick Biondi.
- CF Patrick Biondi: 0-5, 2 K
- SS Gavin Cecchini: 1-2, 3 R, 2B, 2 BB, K
- 3B Jeff McNeil: 3-3, 3 R, BB
- LF Stefan Sabol: 1-3, R, 3 RBI, BB, K
- 2B L.J. Mazzilli: 1-2, R, RBI, 2 BB
- DH Dominic Smith: 2-3, R, 3 RBI, BB
- RF Victor Cruzado: 1-3, R, 2 RBI, BB
- 1B Matt Oberste: 1-3, 2B, RBI, BB, K
- C Colton Plaia: 1-3, R, 2B, RBI, K
- RHP Miller Diaz: 5 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 4 BB, 8 K
GREENVILLE 4, SAVANNAH 1 (Box)
The Drive exacted a measure of revenge in the nightcap, however. Teddy Stankiewicz, who the Mets drafted but didn't sign in 2012, got the start for Greenville and gave up a run in the first on extra-base hits from L.J. Mazzilli and the aforementioned Cecchini, but nothing else from that point forward. Meanwhile, Savannah starter John Gant was dominant at the get-go, striking out the side in the first, but became progressively more hittable as the game went on.
- LF Patrick Biondi: 0-4, K
- DH Gavin Cecchini: 1-4, R, 3B, K
- 3B Jeff McNeil: 1-3, K
- SS L.J. Mazzilli: 2-3, 2B, RBI, K
- 1B Dominic Smith: 0-3
- RF Victor Cruzado: 0-3, K
- 2B Jorge Rivero: 1-2, BB
- C Jeff Glenn: 0-1, 2 BB
- CF Champ Stuart: 0-3, 2 K
- RHP John Gant: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 ER, 2 BB, 7 K
- RHP Akeel Morris: 2 IP, 0 H, BB, 2 K
Star of the Night
There are plenty of performances to choose from, but there's something aesthetically pleasing about Gavin Cecchini's line from last night. It's not an eye-popping string of digits, but the combination of a little pop and a little patience pretty much encapsulates what his game is all about. Cecchini might have any exceptional skills, but it looks like he might actually be developing into the well-rounded, high-floor shortstop the Mets expected when they drafted him.
Goat of the Night
No Mets farmhand had an egregiously bad game yesterday, so let's put the horns on Teddy Stankiewicz for pitching just well enough to prevent the system from having a perfect 6-0 record.