B-Mets Sweep a Double-Header in Reading (Pill Coverage)

Binghamton Mets @ Reading Fightin Phils

August 16, 2014

Game 1

Daisuke Matsuzaka @ Jesse Biddle

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Binghamton	0	0	0	2	0	0	0		2	6	0
Reading	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	3	0

Win: Matsuzaka (1-0, 1.50 ERA); Loss: Biddle (3-10, 5.03 ERA); Save: Velasquez (1)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Daisuke Matsuzaka – 6 IP, 3 H, R, 3 SO, 69 Pitches (43 Strikes), 6 GO: 8 FO, (0-1, RBI (1), BB, SO)

Jon Velasquez (3.68 ERA) – 1 IP, SO, 1 GO: 1 FO

Batters

Kyle Johnson – 2-4, SB (10), SO

Darrell Ceciliani – 1-3, RBI (48), 2 SO

Juan Centeno – 1-3

Wilfredo Tovar – 1-2, HBP, CS

Brandon Nimmo – 1-1, PO

Recap:

            Daisuke Matsuzaka made things look easy in game one Saturday afternoon, but that’s to be expected for an experienced Major League veteran™ pitching against any AA lineup. He did not hold back though, mixing in all of his pitches throughout the start, which induced a lot of weak contact and three strikeouts over six innings of one-run ball. Reading starter Jesse Biddle had matched Dice-K’s efficiency and effectiveness over the first three innings, but got wild in the 4^th. Biddle walked Brian Burgamy and Jayce Boyd to lead off the 4^th, and then with two outs, he hit Wilfredo Tovar and walked Dice-K with the bases loaded, which put the Mets up 2-0. Dice-K got into trouble when he allowed a leadoff double to Peter Lavin in the 6^th. The double was the only hard-hit fair ball that Dice-K allowed all night, getting just over the glove of Kyle Johnson near the warning track. Lavin would advance to 3B on a fly out to RF, and then come in and score on a wild pitch. In total, Dice-K faced just three over the minimum over six very strong innings. Righty Jon Velasquez came in for his first save of the season in the 7^th, setting the Fightin’s down in order.

            Outside of the two-run 4^th inning, the Mets offense didn’t put much together either. Darrell Ceciliani came up with the big RBI single in that 4^th to put the Mets up 1-0.

Ceciliani puts the Mets up 1-0

            Kyle Johnson had two singles and a stolen base in the game, here is the first hit.

Johnson started the game with a single

            Tovar played some nice defense at SS and came up with this single.

Tovar lines a single over the head of the second basemen

            Brandon Nimmo came off the bench and picked up this pinch-hit single to leadoff the 7^th. Dice-K could’ve stayed in for 9 the way he was pitching, but the Mets were naturally looking for some insurance runs.

Great view of this Nimmo single

            Jon Velasquez came in and struck out Jake Fox to start the 7^th.

0-1

0-2

YOUUUUU'RE OUT!

Game 2

Tyler Pill @ Adam Loewen

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Binghamton	0	0	2	0	0	3	2		7	4	0
Reading	3	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	3	2

Win: Pill (8-5, 3.85 ERA); Loss: Loewen (2-5, 3.26 ERA); Save: Fontanez (2)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Tyler Pill – 5 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 6 SO, HR, 69 Pitches (47 Strikes), 5 GO: 2 FO, (0-1, R, SAC)

Adam Kolarek (H, 11, 4.84 ERA) – 0.2 IP, BB, SO, HBP, 1 GO

Randy Fontanez (3.51 ERA) – 1.1 IP, SO, 1 GO: 1 FO, 2 IR – 0 S

Batters

Dustin Lawley – 1-3, R, 2B (26), 2 RBI (63), BB, SO

Wilfredo Tovar – 2-3, 2 R, HR (2), 3 RBI (27), BB

Jayce Boyd – 1-1

Recap:

            After a rough first inning, Binghamton starter Tyler Pill retired the last 13 batters he’d face, keeping the Mets in it long enough to come back and sweep the double-header. Pill was curveball happy Saturday evening, keeping hitters off balance with the bender all night. As good as the pitch was Saturday night, it was a curveball to Aaron Altherr in the 1^st that put the Mets behind 3-0 until the 3^rd. The Mets managed to score two runs in the 3^rd without the benefit of a hit – they wouldn’t get a hit until Wilfredo Tovar reached on an infield single in the 4^th. Tovar would provide the 2^nd hit of the game for the Mets with two outs in the 6^th, a three-run homerun that gave them a 5-3 lead.

Keep an eye out near the blue/left umbrella

            Pinch-hitter Jayce Boyd followed with a single to RF, but he’d advance no further.

Boyd with the pinch-hit single

            With the bases loaded (two HBP’s and a walk) and one out in the 7^th, Lawley extended the lead to 7-3 with this double into the left-center field gap.

Nice angle on the Lawley double

            Adam Kolarek and Randy Fontanez combined the pitch the last two scoreless innings of the game. Fontanez picked up his second save with the Mets when he struck out Edgar Duran to end the game.

Nice way to end the game

Pill Pitch Coverage:

Table 1 – Breaking down pitch count by type and inning           

Count (Strikes)	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
Fastball	9 (7)	4 (3)	4 (3)	4 (3)	7 (5)	28 (21)
Change-up	1 (1)	1 (1)	1 (1)	1 (1)	4 (2)	8 (6)
Breaking Ball	10 (4)	6 (4)	3 (2)	5 (4)	7 (4)	31 (18)
Unknown	0	1 (1)	0	0	1 (1)	2 (2)
Total	20 (12)	12 (9)	8 (6)	10 (8)	19 (12)	69 (47)

Table 2 – Breaking down pitch results by type

	Strike % Total Call Sw Foul	BIP% LD GB FB PU	Results AB BABIP ISO K
Fastball	75.0 28.6 3.6 17.9	0 43 43 14	7 .143 .143 0
Change-up	75.0 12.5 25.0 12.5	100 0 0 0	3 .500 .000 1
Breaking Ball	58.1 12.9 29.0 6.5	0 67 33 0	7 .000 .429 4
Unknown	100.0 0.0 50.0 0.0	0 67 33 0	1 .000 .000 1

1^st inning

1)   Alert Cartwright hit a groundout to Lawley (53/G)

a.     Fastball, knee high and outside corner – bunt foul 0-1

b.     Breaking ball, shin high – ball 1-1

c.      Fastball, knee high and outside corner

2)    Peter Lavin doubled off the RF wall (D9/F)

a.     Breaking ball, low and outside – ball 1-0

b.     Breaking ball, bounced over the middle – ball 2-0

c.      Fastball, thigh high and outside corner – strike 2-1

d.     Breaking ball, bounced and inside – ball 3-1

e.     Fastball, knee high and inside corner

3)   Kelly Dugan lined a single into RF, Lavin to 3B. (S9/L)

a.     Fastball, thigh high and outside corner – swinging strike 0-1

b.     Change-up, knee high and outside corner

4)   Jake Fox struck out swinging (K/Sw)

a.     Curveball, knee high and outside – swinging strike 0-1

b.     Curveball, shin high and outside – ball 1-1

c.      Fastball, shin high and inside – ball 2-1

d.     Curveball, knee high and inside corner – strike 2-2

e.     Curveball, bounced and outside – swinging strike 3

5)   Aaron Altherr hit a three-run homerun to LF (HR/F)

a.     Curveball, shin high and outside – ball 1-0

b.     Fastball, thigh high and outside corner – strike 1-1

c.      Curveball, knee high and outside corner – it wasn’t really a hanger but Altherr hit it on the sweet spot of the bat

6)   Brock Stassi flied out to Nimmo (8/F)

a.     Fastball, letter high and outside – ball 1-0

b.     Fastball, knee high and outside corner

2^nd inning

1)   Raywilly Gomez flied out to Nimmo (8/F)

a.     Fastball, thigh high and inside corner – strike 0-1

b.     91 MPH Fastball, knee high and outside corner – strike 0-2

c.      Curveball, bounced and inside – ball 1-2

d.     Slider, bounced over the middle – ball 2-2

e.     Fastball, low over the middle – ball 3-2

f.      Fastball, knee high over the middle

2)    Edgar Duran struck out looking (K/Lo)

a.     Curveball, knee high and outside corner – strike 0-1

b.     Curveball, shin high and outside – swinging strike 0-2

c.      No view – strike 3 looking

3)   Adam Loewen struck out swinging (K/Sw)

a.     Curveball, knee high over the middle – strike 0-1

b.     Change-up, knee high and outside corner – swinging strike 0-2

c.      Curveball, shin high and inside corner – swinging strike 3

3^rd inning

1)   Cartwright bunted a pop out back to Pill (1/P)

a.     Fastball, knee high and outside corner

2)    Lavin struck out swinging (K/Sw)

a.     Fastball, knee high and outside – ball 1-0

b.     Fastball, knee high and outside corner – strike 1-1

c.      Fastball, thigh high – strike 1-2

d.     Curveball, bounced and inside – ball 2-2

e.     Change-up, knee high and inside – swinging strike 3

3)   Dugan hit a groundout to Burgamy (31/G)

a.     Curveball, knee high over the middle – strike 0-1

b.     Curveball, thigh high and outside corner

4^th inning

1)   Fox hit a groundout to Rivera (43/G)

a.     Curveball, thigh high and outside corner – foul 0-1

b.     Curveball, shin high and outside – swinging strike 0-2

c.      Fastball, shin high and outside – ball 1-2

d.     Curveball, shin high and outside

2)    Altherr hit a groundout to Lawley (53/G)

a.     Curveball, shin high and outside – swinging strike 0-1

b.     Fastball, thigh high and inner half

3)   Stassi lined out to Rivera (4/L)

a.     Fastball, knee high and inside corner – strike 0-1

b.     Fastball, thigh high and outside corner – foul 0-2

c.      Curveball, shin high and outside – ball 1-2

d.     Change-up, knee high and outside corner

5^th inning

1)   Gomez hit a groundout to Rivera (43/G)

a.     Fastball, knee high over the middle – strike 0-1

b.     Curveball, shin high and inside – ball 1-1

c.      Change-up, shin high and inside – ball 2-1

d.     Fastball, knee high and inside corner

2)    Duran struck out swinging (K/Sw)

a.     No view – swinging strike 0-1

b.     Curveball, shin high and outside corner – swinging strike 0-2

c.      Curveball, bounced and outside – ball 1-2

d.     Curveball, bounced and outside – ball 2-2

e.     Fastball, thigh high and outside corner – foul 2-2

f.      Breaking ball, bounced over the middle – swinging strike 3

3)   Loewen struck out swinging (K/Sw)

a.     Change-up, knee high and outside – ball 1-0

b.     Fastball, knee high and inner half – foul 1-1

c.      Change-up, knee high and outside corner – strike 1-2

d.     Breaking ball, no view – foul 1-2

e.     Fastball, knee high and outside – ball 2-2

f.      Fastball, knee high and inside – ball 3-2

g.     Change-up, thigh high and outside corner – foul 3-2

h.     Fastball, thigh high and outside corner – foul 3-2

i.       Curveball, belt high and inside – swinging strike 3

Chain of storms across the sun today. I've added Earth for size comparison (speck at right). http://t.co/PgDnadQgRR pic.twitter.com/kCtdfDdrt1
— Corey S. Powell (@coreyspowell) August 18, 2014