Milner Edges Matz in Battle of Lefties

Binghamton Mets @ Reading Fightin Phils

August 17, 2014

Steven Matz @ Hoby Milner

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Binghamton	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
Reading	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	X	1	7	0

Win: Milner (8-6, 4.25 ERA) Loss: Matz (5-4, 2.35 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Steven Matz – 7 IP, 6 H, R, 2 BB, 4 SO, 101 Pitches (58 Strikes), 7 GO: 5 FO

Hansel Robles (4.73 ERA) – 1 IP, H, 1 GO: 2 FO

Hoby Milner – 9 IP, 3 H, 5 SO, 99 Pitches (71 Strikes) 9 GO: 8 FO

Batters

T.J. Rivera – 1-3, SB (1)

Juan Centeno – 1-3

Kyle Johnson – 1-3, 2B (23)

Recap:

Dueling southpaws stole the show Sunday afternoon in baseball town, Pa., and it was Reading starter Hoby Milner who came out on top, needing just 99 pitches to shutout the Binghamton Mets. Steven Matz overcame poor command to look very strong over 7 IP, but one run allowed was enough to earn him the loss on this day. Albert Cartwright, who went 3-3 against Matz Sunday, led off the 4^th with well-stroked double to CF. After Matz retired the next two batters, Jake Fox singled to RF to drive Cartwright in, although he’d be thrown out trying to advance to 2B after the run scored. And that was the game.

The Mets picked up their first hit of the game in the next half-inning, when T.J. Rivera pulled a single into LF.

No no-hitter, woot!

He’d steal 2B with two outs, but was left stranded there to end the inning. The Mets wouldn’t pick up another hit until the 8^th, when Juan Centeno lined a one-out single to RF.

No one-hitter, woot!

Wilfredo Tovar put an end to any threat when he followed with a grounder to the third baseman to start a double play. The Mets best offensive chance came in the 9^th, when Kyle Johnson led off with a double to the LF corner.

Finish your season strong Kyle!

The Mets sent up Jayce Boyd to pinch hit in front of Brandon Nimmo and Dilson Herrera, so this was a serious threat, but the Reading manager was confident in his starter, and Milner rewarded him by retiring those three in short order.

As I mentioned, Matz was effective when in the zone, though he was missing too often, and sometimes missing by a lot. Every starter is allowed some wild starts though, and Matz has two reasons he might be a little wild right now: he’s reached a new high in innings pitched for a season, and he’s throwing on extra rest with more regularity than normal. He had a very fastball oriented approach early, barely mixing in his secondary offerings over the first 3 IP – aka, the first time through the order. After his last start, I made some comparisons between Matz and Mets top-pitching prospect Noah Syndergaard, and there was a similar approach shown by Matz Sunday afternoon. Thor always comes out looking to establish his fastball the first time through the order, and then he starts mixing in his curve and change-up, sometimes throwing them as much as the fastball. Overall, if this is what Matz can do when he doesn’t have his best control, then wow.

Matz Pitch Coverage:

Table 1 – Breaking down pitch count by type and inning

Count (Strikes)	1^st	2^nd	3^rd	4^th	5^th	6^th	7^th	Total
Fastball	12 (8)	8 (4)	15 (8)	3 (2)	7 (2)	10 (7)	8 (5)	63 (36)
Change-up	1 (0)	0	0	2 (2)	2 (2)	6 (3)	5 (4)	16 (11)
Breaking Ball	1 (0)	2 (1)	0	4 (3)	5 (4)	5 (2)	3 (0)	20 (10)
Unknown	0	0	0	0	0	2 (1)	0	2 (1)
Total	14 (8)	10 (5)	15 (8)	9 (7)	14 (8)	23 (13)	16 (9)	101 (58)

Table 2 – Breaking down pitch results by type

Strike %
Total	Call	Sw	Foul

BIP%
LD	GB	FB	PU

Results
AB	BABIP	ISO	K

Fastball

57.1

19.0

4.8

15.9

.273

.071

Change-up

68.8

6.3

25.0

.200

.000

Breaking Ball

50.0

20.0

15.0

5.0

.500

.333

*One line-drive single allowed on an unknown pitch

1^st inning

1) Albert Cartwright pulled a single through the SS hole (S7/G)

a. 94 MPH Fastball, above the belt over the middle – ball 1-0

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

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

d. Fastball, letter high and outside – ball 2-2

e. Fastball above the belt and outside – ball 3-2

f. Fastball, knee high and inside corner

2) Carlos Alonso hit a grounder at Rivera to start a double play (543/G)

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

b. Fastball, thigh high and outside – ball 1-1

c. Curveball, belt high and inside – ball 2-1

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

e. Change-up, shin high and inside – ball 3-2

f. Fastball, knee high and outside corner – foul 3-2

g. Fastball, knee high and inside corner

3) Kelly Dugan hit a chopper back to the mound (13/G)

a. Fastball, knee high and outside corner

2^nd inning

1) Jake Fox flied out to Nimmo (8/F)

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

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

c. Fastball, belt high and outside corner – foul 1-2

d. Fastball, thigh high and outside – ball 2-2

e. Fastball, belt high over the middle

2) Aaron Altherr hit a groundout to Rivera (53/G)

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

b. Fastball, thigh high and inside corner

3) KC Serna hit a groundout back to the mound (13/G)

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

b. Fastball, belt high and inside – ball 2-0

c. Fastball, knee high over the middle

3^rd inning

1) Raywilly Gomez popped out to Dilson (4/P)

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

b. Fastball, letter high and outside – ball 2-0
Nearly identical pitches, missed bad, and Centeno went for a visit

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

d. 95 MPH Fastball, belt high and outside corner

2) Edgar Duran flied out to Nimmo (8/F)

a. Fastball, above the belt and outside – ball 1-0

b. Fastball, belt high and inside – ball 2-0

c. Fastball, thigh high and inside – ball 3-0

d. Fastball, knee high and inside corner – strike 3-1

e. Fastball, knee high and outside corner – foul 3-2

f. 96 MPH Fastball, thigh high and outside corner

3) Hoby Milner struck out looking (K/Lo)

a. Fastball, belt high over the middle – ball 1-0

b. Fastball, belt high and inside – ball 2-0

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

d. Fastball, knee high and outside corner – strike 2-2

e. Fastball, knee high and outside corner – strike 3 looking

4^th inning

1) Cartwright doubled to CF (D8/F)

a. 96 MPH Fastball, knee high over the middle

2) Alonso hit a groundout to Rivera (53/G)

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

b. Fastball, belt high and inside corner – ball 1-1

c. 84 MPH Change-up, knee high and outside corner

3) Dugan struck out swinging (K/Sw)

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

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

c. Curveball, bounced and outside corner – swinging strike 3

4) Fox hit an RBI single to RF, but was thrown out trying to advance to 2B on the throw home (S9/G) -> (926)

a. Curveball, bounced over the middle – ball 1-0

b. Change-up, belt high and outside corner

5^th inning

1) Altherr struck out swinging (K/Sw)

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

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

c. Fastball, belt high and outside – swinging strike 3

2) Serna walked (BB)

a. Fastball, letter high over the middle – ball 1-0

b. Fastball, shin high and inside – ball 2-0

c. Fastball, belt high over the middle – ball 3-0

d. 94 MPH Fastball, letter high and outside corner – ball 4

3) Gomez doubled into the LF corner and Serna was thrown out at home – Gomez went to 3B on the throw home (D7/L) -> (762)

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

b. Fastball, thigh high and outside – ball 1-1

c. Fastball, belt high and outside corner – foul 1-2

d. Curveball, thigh high and several feet outside – ball 2-2

e. Curveball, belt high and inside corner

4) Duran hit a groundout back to the mound (13/G)

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

b. Change-up, thigh high and outside corner

6^th inning

1) Milner struck out looking (K/Lo)

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

b. Fastball, letter high and inside – ball 1-1

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

d. Fastball, belt high and inside corner – foul 2-2

e. Fastball, thigh high over the middle – foul 2-2

f. Fastball, thigh high and outside corner – called strike 3

2) Cartwright lined a single into CF (S8/L)

a. Curveball, low and inside – ball 1-0

b. No view, low and inside – ball 2-0

c. No view

3) Alonso walked (BB)

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

*Cartwright stole 2B

b. Change-up, belt high and outside – ball 1-1

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

d. Change-up, belt high and inside corner – strike 2-2

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

f. Change-up, belt high and outside– ball 3-2

g. Fastball, thigh high and inside corner – foul 3-2

h. 93 MPH Fastball, shin high and inside – ball 4

4) Dugan flied out to Lawley (7/F)

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

b. Curveball, knee high over the middle

5) Fox flied out to Johnson (9/F)

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

b. Curveball, knee high and inside – foul 1-1

c. Change-up, thigh high and outside – foul 1-2

d. Change-up, belt high and outside

7^th inning

1) Altherr flied out to Johnson (9/F)

a. Fastball, thigh high over the middle – foul 0-1

b. Fastball, belt high and outside corner – swinging strike 0-2

c. Change-up, belt high and outside corner – foul 0-2

d. Fastball, bounced over the middle – ball 1-2

e. Curveball, belt high and outside – ball 2-2

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

g. Fastball, belt high and outside corner – foul 3-2

h. Fastball, thigh high and inside corner

2) Serna pulled a grounder through the SS hole and into LF (S7/G)

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

b. 94 MPH Fastball, shin high and outside corner

3) Gomez hit a groundout to Dilson (43/G)

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

b. Change-up, knee high over the middle – swinging strike 1-1

c. Change-up, thigh high and outside corner

4) Duran was at the plate when Serna was caught stealing 3B

a. Curveball, knee high and inside – ball 1-0

b. Change-up, thigh high and outside – foul 1-1

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

Astromets Mind

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Tuesday, August 19, 2014