51s Blast Their Way To Victory On Opening Day

Fresno Grizzlies @ Las Vegas 51s

April 7, 2016

Brad Peacock @ Rafael Montero

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Fresno	1	0	0	1	0	2	0	0	0		4	6	0
Las Vegas	1	0	0	1	0	0	1	1	2		6	7	1

W: Bradford (1-0, 0.00 ERA); L: Jankowski (0-1, 6.75 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Rafael Montero (1.80 ERA) – 5 IP, 3 H, 2 R (1 ER), 2 BB, 5 K, 81 Pitches (49 Strikes), 3 GO: 3 FO

Dario Alvarez (54.00 ERA) – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, K, HR

Chase Huchingson (0.00 ERA) – 0.2 IP, 2 BB, K, 1 GO, 1 IR – 0 S

Jeff Walters (0.00 ERA) – 1 IP, BB, K, 2 GO

Josh Smoker (0.00 ERA) – 1 IP, 2 K, 1 GO

Chase Bradford – 1 IP, H, BB, 2 GO

Brad Peacock (3.60 ERA) – 5 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 5 K, HR, 81 Pitches (49 Strikes), 2 GO: 3 FO

Batters

Dilson Herrera – 1-4, 2 K

Matt Reynolds – 2-3, 2 R, HR (1), RBI (1), BB, K

Johnny Monell – 1-4, R, RBI (1)

Travis Taijeron – 1-4, R, HR (1), RBI (1), 2 K

Marc Krauss – 1-4, R, HR (1), 2 RBI (2), 2 K

Roger Bernadina – 1-3, R, HR (1), RBI (1), K

Recap

            The Las Vegas 51s refused to lose on opening day, battling back 3 different times before finally walking off with a win. Rafael Montero didn’t have his best control Thursday night, but he maintained 90+ MPH heat throughout his 5 innings, and appeared to get stronger as the start went on. Grizzlies starter Brad Peacock had the 51s number through 5 innings, but early season pitch-limits knocked him out after only 81 pitches, and Las Vegas went to work on the Fresno pen. The first pair of lefties out of the 51s pen struggled with command, but the damage was limited to two runs, and then Jeff Walters, Josh Smoker, and Chase Bradford made quick work of Fresno through the 9^th. This opened the door for a 51s walkoff, which would be the third affiliate walkoff of the day: Amed Rosario gave St. Lucie a walkoff blast, while Columbia lost in a very odd way.

            It still wasn’t vintage Montero, but it was an encouraging start. He induced 10 swinging strikes for a 12% rate, with many coming on 87 MPH changeups (identification assumed based on velocity). His fastball was 93+ throughout the 5^th inning, so he got stronger throughout the start. He only walked Tony Kemp, although he walked him twice, the second time coming on 4 pitches. He maxed out at 94 MPH, hitting that mark 2-3 times during the start.

            Matt Reynolds was the only thorn in Peacock’s back tonight. Reynolds worked a two out walk bottom one, stole second base, and then scored on a single from Johnny Monell. Then after Fresno jumped out to a 2-1 lead top 4, Matt Reynolds launched a 92 MPH Fastball over the RF wall to tie it bottom 4. The Grizzlies took the lead back when Danny Worth went deep in the 6^th inning, but there is no such thing as a safe lead in the PCL (TINSTAASLITPCL!). Travis Taijeron launched an 87 MPH pitch for a homerun in the 7^th. Roger Bernadina launched a bomb of his own in the 8^th – welcome to the franchise! Then the other franchise newbie in the lineup - Marc Krauss - absolutely obliterated a ball over the Cox sign in left center field – see the “highlights” below for location.

            This series continues in the desert Friday night, with Seth Lugo scheduled to pitch for Las Vegas at 10:05 PM.

The Marc Krauss Party at Home Plate!

Defense Highlights

            T.J. Rivera made a couple of nice plays in this game. Roger Bernadina made a nice diving catch in LF. Matt Reynolds handled a bunt attempt as a third baseman nicely. Unfortunately, two of the plays led to a run.

Pitcher Coverage

Table 1 – Pitch stats by inning

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
Total	21	14	17	15	14	81
Strikes	13	10	7	9	10	49
Swinging*	4	2	2	1	1	10

*12.3% Swinging strike rate

Strikeout #1 came on a 1-2 fastball at 93 MPH (swinging)

Strikeout #2 came on a 2-2 pitch (change?) at 87 MPH (swinging)

Strikeout #3 came on a 1-2 pitch (change?) at 87 MPH (swinging)

Strikeout #4 came on a 0-2 fastball on the outside corner at 92 MPH (looking)

Strikeout #5 came on a 2-2 pitch (slider?) at 85 MPH (swinging)

Triple allowed to Jon Kemmer came on a 91 MPH fastball

Triple allowed to Danny Worthy came on a 85 MPH pitch (slider?)

12/20 First pitch strikes

Chandra Flashback of the Day! M87: A Nearby Galaxy Metropolis https://t.co/qOjalSwjqh pic.twitter.com/o5W2Vju26u

— Chandra Observatory (@chandraxray) April 7, 2016