51s Lose First PCL Slugfest Of The Year

Fresno Grizzlies @ Las Vegas 51s

April 8, 2016

Asher Wojciechowski @ Seth Lugo

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Fresno	2	0	3	2	2	1	4	0	1		15	18	0
Las Vegas	0	0	0	3	3	0	1	3	0		10	14	2

W: Wojciechowski (1-0, 10.80 ERA); L: Lugo (0-1, 11.25 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Seth Lugo (11.25 ERA) – 4 IP, 9 H, 7 R (5 ER), 4 BB, 3 K, 76 Pitches (44 Strikes), 5 GO: 1 FO

Dario Alvarez (27.00 ERA) – 1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 K, 1 GO, HBP

Stolmy Pimentel (9.00 ERA) – 1 IP, H, R, BB, HR, 1 GO

Zach Thornton (108.00 ERA) – 0.1 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 1 GO

Paul Sewald (0.00 ERA) – 1.2 IP, 2 K, 3 GO, 2 IR – 0 S

Jeff Walters (4.50 ERA) – 1 IP, H, R, BB, 2 GO

Batters

DH – Dilson Herrera – 2-6, 2 R, 2B (1)

CF – Brandon Nimmo – 1-5, 2 R, HBP, SO

3B – Matt Reynolds – 1-2, 2 R, RBI (2), 2 BB
PR/3B – Daniel Muno – 1-1, 2 R, RBI (1)

C – Johnny Monell – 3-4, R, 2 2B (2), 3 RBI (4), BB

RF – Travis Taijeron – 1-5, RBI (2), 2 SO

2B – T.J. Rivera – 2-5, R, 2B (1), 2 RBI (2), SO

SS – Gavin Cecchini – 2-4, RBI (1), BB, SO

LF – Ty Kelly – 1-4, BB, SO

Recap

            The Las Vegas 51s lost a ‘classic’ PCL slugfest Friday night to fall back to .500 for the season. The Fresno Grizzlies scored against 51s pitching in 7 innings last night, with crooked numbers on the board 5 times. After falling behind big early, Las Vegas kept pulling close – 7-3, 9-6, 10-7, 14-10 – but Fresno was an unstoppable machine. The only Las Vegas pitcher that Fresno didn’t score upon was Paul Sewald, who retired all 5 batters he faced, which felt very out of place with the rest of the game. Matt Reynolds was removed for a pinch runner in the 7^th, so it’s possible that he’s on the Mets roster with Jacob deGrom off for paternity leave by the time you read this. 51s’ pitching coach Frank Viola was ejected in the top of the 7^th for arguing balls and strikes, and then he went out and let the umpire hear all of his complaints for a good 5 minutes – the crowd appreciated his fire.

            Seth Lugo continued to fall behind in this start, and the deep Fresno lineup made him pay. He threw only 12 of 23 first pitch strikes, but he did manage to induce 8 swinging strikes during the start for an above average 10.5% Swinging strike rate. A.J. Reed and Nolan Fontana hit hard doubles off of him, but the other 7 hits were singles, 5 of which came on groundballs. It doesn't excuse a bad start from Lugo, especially since he too often got himself in trouble by falling behind 1-0, but context is important.

The first 3 reached against Lugo in the 1^st, but Tony Kemp was erased on a caught stealing, so the damage was limited to two runs in the 1^st inning. Jon Singleton came through with a two out RBI single to LF in the frame. In the 2^nd, Lugo struck out the first batter on a wild pitch, but would later pick him off. The first four batters reached against Lugo in the 3^rd, with Reed and Singleton drawing walks. The Grizzlies would add two more runs in the inning after that point, with both coming on groundouts, but it could’ve been worse. With two outs, Roberto Pena singled up the middle, but center fielder Brandon Nimmo was quick to the ball and threw a strike home to nail Colin Moran at the plate. Fresno had two runners on with two outs against Lugo in the 4^th when he induced a weak grounder from Danny Worth. Unfortunately, Monell’s throw to 1B was wild, and both runners came around to score.

The 51s finally started battling back in the bottom half of the 4^th, with a Matt Reynolds walk sparking the rally. Monell would single him to 3B, but it wasn’t until T.J. Rivera doubled with two outs that the 51s got on the board. Gavin Cecchini followed with an RBI single into CF for his first PCL hit, and it was suddenly a 7-3 game.

Dario Alvarez was the first out of the pen for a second straight day, and immediately found himself in trouble again. Colin Moran, Jon Kemmer, and Pena would go single, double, single off of Alvarez before he settled down and struck out two in the frame.

Dilson led off the 5^th with a double into LF, and then Matt Reynolds brought him home. Monell followed with a double of his own, knocking in Dilson and Brandon Nimmo (HBP) to make it a 9-6 game.

Stolmy Pimentel would make his 51s debut in the 6^th, to the delight of Jon Singleton, who took him way out to right center field. Zach Thornton came on for the 7^th and the Grizzlies scored 4 off of him, adding two more doubles to the tally. Frank Viola would be ejected during the frame after Thornton issued his second walk. Two batters later, Wally Backman went to his closer to end the bleeding. Paul Sewald came into a tough situation, as Fresno had runners on 2B and 3B with only one out, but Sewald struck out Kemmer, and induced a 6-3 groundout from Pena.

After Reynolds led off the 7^th with a walk, Danny Muno made his 2016 debut as a pinch runner. Monell followed with his second double of the game, which brought home Muno. The 51s then put together a two out rally in the 8^th inning, temporarily cutting the deficit back to just 4. Dilson blooped a single into CF to start the two-out rally, and then Nimmo teed a grounder towards the 3B bag for an infield single to keep it going. Muno and Taijeron would follow with RBI singles, but Marc Krauss couldn’t come through – he was the only Las Vegas player without a hit.

Jeff Walters came in for the 9^th, and Friday was the second straight day Walters pitched. He was sitting 93-95 MPH with his fastball, which is a good sign. Unfortunately, after quickly retiring the first two, a Eury Perez grounder found its way into CF. Perez would steal 2B and 3B, and Monell’s throw to 3B hit him, so he got up and walked home.

With the series now even, the 51s turn to Gabriel Ynoa in his AAA debut at 10:05 PM. ICYMI, I took a closer look at Ynoa’s 2015, with links to all my coverage, here.

Pitcher Coverage

Table 1 – Lugo pitch stats by inning

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	Total
Total	23	9	22	22	76
Strikes	15	8	9	12	44
Swinging*	2	2	1	3	8

*10.5% Swinging strike rate

12/23 First-pitch strikes (52%)

*Radar velocities from the Cashman Field radar gun, it wasn't the clearest night for reading the board

I wrote ‘? Changeup likely’ when I could tell the pitch was in the 80’s, but not the exact speed

1^st inning

1)   Tony Kemp singled on a groundball hit to Cecchini – Gavin made a diving stop behind 2B, but had no chance with Kemp’s speed (S6/G)

                                  i.         90 MPH Fastball – ball 1-0, low

                                ii.         90 MPH Fastball – called strike 1-1

                               iii.         91 MPH Fastball – swinging strike 1-2

                               iv.         90 MPH Fastball – foul 1-2

                                v.         95 MPH Fastball – foul 1-2

                               vi.         93 MPH Fastball

2)   Nolan Fontana walked (BB)

                                  i.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 1-0
*Tony Kemp caught stealing

                                ii.         90 MPH Fastball – ball 2-0, low

                               iii.         90 MPH Fastball – ball 3-0

                               iv.         90 MPH Fastball – called strike 3-1

                                v.         91 MPH Fastball – ball 4

3)   A.J. Reed hit a double to CF that brought home Fontana (D8/F)

                                  i.         89 MPH Fastball – called strike 0-1

                                ii.         83 MPH Changeup – ball 1-1, low

                               iii.         ? Changeup likely

4)   Danny Worth hit a groundout to Reynolds (53/G)

                                  i.         89 MPH Fastball – swinging strike 0-1

                                ii.         92 MPH Fastball – foul 0-2

                               iii.         90 MPH Fastball

5)   Jon Singleton lined an RBI single into LF

                                  i.         91 MPH Fastball – ball 1-0

                                ii.         91 MPH Fastball – ball 2-0

                               iii.         90 MPH Fastball

6)   Colin Moran hit a grounder to Cecchini for a force out at 2B (64/G)

                                  i.         92 MPH Fastball – foul 0-1

                                ii.         84 MPH Changeup – foul 0-2

                               iii.         94 MPH Fastball

2^nd inning

1)   Jon Kemmer struck out swinging, but reached 1B on a wild pitch (K/Sw) -> (WP)

                                  i.         90 MPH Fastball – called strike 0-1, outside corner at the knees

                                ii.         92 MPH Fastball – foul 0-2

                               iii.         ? Changeup likely – swinging strike 3, down and in

2)   Roberto Pena lined out to LF (7/L)

                                  i.         90 MPH Fastball

3)   Andrew Aplin grounded a single back up the middle (S8/G)

                                  i.         90 MPH Fastball – called strike 0-1, outside corner

                                ii.         ? – ball 1-1, down and in

                               iii.         91 MPH Fastball – missed bunt 1-2
*Jon Kemmer thrown out trying to steal 2B

                               iv.         ? Changeup likely

4)   Kemp flied out to LF (7/F)

                                  i.         ? Changeup likely

3^rd inning

1)   Fontana doubled on a line drive to CF (D8/L)

                                  i.         87 MPH Fastball – called strike 0-1

                                ii.         ? Changeup likely – ball 1-1

                               iii.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 2-1

                               iv.         90 MPH Fastball – ball 3-1

                                v.         87 MPH Fastball

2)   Reed walked (BB)

                                  i.         ? Changeup likely – ball 1-0, outside

                                ii.         88 MPH Fastball – ball 2-0, way high

                               iii.         ? Changeup likely – ball 3-0

                               iv.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 4

3)   Worth loaded the bases with a grounder hit into CF (S8/G)

                                  i.         90 MPH Fastball

4)   Singleton walked in a run (BB)

                                  i.         77 MPH Curveball – ball 1-0, bounced

                                ii.         87 MPH Fastball – ball 2-0

                               iii.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 3-0

                               iv.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 4

5)   Moran hit a grounder to Rivera for a force out at 2B

                                  i.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 1-0

                                ii.         89 MPH Fastball – foul 1-1

                               iii.         89 MPH Fastball

6)   Kemmer hit a slow grounder to 3B to bring home Worth (53/G)

                                  i.         89 MPH Fastball – foul 0-1

                                ii.         77 MPH Curveball – swinging strike 0-2

                               iii.         78 MPH Curveball

7)   Pena singled on a line drive to CF, but Moran was thrown out trying to score on the play (S8/L) -> (82) OF assist to Nimmo

                                  i.         90 MPH Fastball – ball 1-0

                                ii.         88 MPH Fastball

4^th inning

1)   Aplin strikes out swinging (K/Sw)

                                  i.         77 MPH Curveball – ball 1-0

                                ii.         ? Changeup likely – called strike 1-1

                               iii.         88 MPH Fastball – ball 2-1, low

                               iv.         88 MPH Fastball – foul 2-2

                                v.         90 MPH Fastball – swinging strike 3

2)   Kemp singled through the right side (S9/G)

                                  i.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 1-0, outside

                                ii.         ? Changeup likely

3)   Fontana walked (BB)

                                  i.         89 MPH Fastball – ball 1-0, low

                                ii.         87 MPH Fastball – ball 2-0, outside

                               iii.         88 MPH Fastball – called strike 2-1

                               iv.         87 MPH Fastball – ball 3-1

                                v.         90 MPH Fastball – ball 4

4)   Reed struck out swinging (K/Sw)

                                  i.         83 MPH Changeup – foul tip 0-1

                                ii.         78 MPH Curveball – ball 1-1, high

                               iii.         91 MPH Fastball – called strike 1-2

                               iv.         90 MPH Fastball – swinging strike 3

5)   Worth hit a tapper fielded by Monell that should’ve ended the inning, but Monell’s throw to 1B was high, and two runs came home (E2/G)

                                  i.         90 MPH Fastball

6)   Singleton grounded out to 1B (3u/G)

                                  i.         ? – ball 1-0

                                ii.         90 MPH Fastball – foul 1-1

                               iii.         76 MPH Curveball – foul 1-2

                               iv.         91 MPH Fastball – ball 2-2

                                v.         77 MPH Curveball

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