51s Drop Third Straight In Round Rock Due To A Pair Of Express Homers

Las Vegas 51s @ Round Rock Express

May 25, 2017

Sean Gilmartin @ Anthony Bass

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Las Vegas	0	1	0	1	0	2	0	0	0		4	10	1
Round Rock	0	0	3	0	1	0	0	2	X		6	9	0

W: Reyes (1-1, 2.75 ERA); L: Rowen (1-2, 6.17 ERA); Save: Claiborne (6)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Sean Gilmartin (6.43 ERA) – 4.1 IP, 6 H, 4 R (4 ER), 3 2B, 1 HR, 12 TB, 2 BB, 7 K (5 K/Sw), 4 GB: 3 FB: 3 LD: 2 PU, 95 Pitches (59 Strikes), 13 Swinging, 18 Called, 13.7% SwStr, 31.7% Whiff/Swing, 21.9 Pitches/IP, 23 BF

Logan Taylor (3.08 ERA) – 1.2 IP, 1 BB, 1 K (1 K/Sw), 3 GB: 1 PU, 27 Pitches (14 Strikes), 2 Swinging, 3 Called, 7.4% SwStr, 18.2% Whiff/Swing, 16.2 Pitches/IP, 7 BF

Ben Rowen (L, 1-2, 6.17 ERA) – 2 IP, 3 H, 2 R (2 ER), 1 3B, 1 HR, 8 TB, 1 BB, 6 GB: 2 FB: 1 LD, 35 Pitches (24 Strikes), 4 Called, 17.5 Pitches/IP, 10 BF

Batters

CF - Brandon Nimmo - 1-4, 0 R, 1 2B, 2 RBI, 1 BB, 10% SwStr, 28.6% Whiff/Swing, 4 Pitches/PA

SS - Amed Rosario - 1-5, 2 K, 1 SB, 23.5% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 3.4 Pitches/PA

1B - Dominic Smith - 0-5, 3 K, 16.7% SwStr, 30% Whiff/Swing, 3.6 Pitches/PA

RF - Travis Taijeron - 0-4, 1 BB, 4 K, 28% SwStr, 63.6% Whiff/Swing, 5 Pitches/PA

LF - Desmond Jennings - 1-4, 1 2B, 1 K, 5.9% SwStr, 16.7% Whiff/Swing, 4.25 Pitches/PA

3B - Josh Rodriguez - 1-3, 1 R, 1 HBP, 1 K, 3.25 Pitches/PA

2B - Gavin Cecchini - 2-3, 2 R, 1 BB, 4.25 Pitches/PA

DH - Victor Cruzado - 2-4, 1 R, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 1 K, 22.2% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 2.25 Pitches/PA

C - Xorge Carrillo - 2-4, 1 2B, 1 RBI, 11.1% SwStr, 25% Whiff/Swing, 4.5 Pitches/PA

Recapish

            The Las Vegas 51s troubles continued Thursday night in Round Rock, as they fell 10 games below .500 after a 6-4 loss to the Express. 51s starter Sean Gilmartin was knocked out down 4-2 in the 5^th, but Brandon Nimmo got those runs right back after he left. Unfortunately for the struggling 51s, the bats went quiet after that and Ben Rowen allowed a two run homer in the 8^th, which proved to be the difference in this game.

            The 51s struck first when they put a run on the board in the 2^nd. Josh Rodriguez and Gavin Cecchini picked up back-to-back singles with one out in the frame, and then Xorge Carrillo provided the big hit with a ground-rule double to left-center field.

            Amed Rosario singled and stole second in the 3^rd inning, but it led to nothing for Las Vegas.

            Gilmartin loaded the bases with no outs in the 2^nd, but he escaped that threat thanks to a strikeout and a pair of foul pop outs. He was smacked around by the first four batters of the 3^rd, allowing a pair of doubles and a three run homerun to lefty Brett Nicholas. But then he settled down, struck out the next two and induced a groundout to finish the frame.

            After a Cecchini walk, Victor Cruzado made it a 3-2 game with an RBI double, his first double of the year.

            The Express got to Gilmartin for one more run when Ronald Guzman doubled home Cesar Puello in the 5^th, but then Logan Taylor took over and he kept them in check for his 1.2 IP – he finished his out with a strikeout of Nicholas.

93 MPH

            The 51s reset this game when they tied it at four with a two run 6^th. Las Vegas strung together three straight singles (Cecchini, Cruzado, Carrillo) to load the bases for Nimmo, who doubled home a pair.

            Ben Rowen took over for Logan Taylor to start the 7^th and worked around a two out triple for a scoreless frame. Perhaps due to a shortened bullpen (?), Rowen was kept in for the 8^th and it did not go well. Four of the five batters he faced did hit the ball on the ground, but the first of those went for a hit, and the other batter (Jason Martinson) launched a game-changing two run homer to LF.

            The 51s went down quickly and quietly against Round Rock closer Preston Claiborne in the 9^th, clinching a four-game series loss before the fourth game of this series. They turn to current ace Tyler Pill (3-1, 1.96 ERA) to salvage a win Friday night, with first pitch scheduled for 8:05 PM in Round Rock.

Pitcher Coverage

Table 1 – Gilmartin pitch stats by inning

	1st	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	Total
Total	15	26	24	18	12	95
Strikes	9	15	15	11	9	59
Swinging*	2	2	2	4	3	13

*13.7% Swinging strike rate; 31.7% Whiff/Swing rate

  

Center-to-limb observations of the Sun with ALMA [SSA] https://t.co/kDAfEuHgMn pic.twitter.com/uYlnHuk1nD

— arXiver (@arXiver) May 26, 2017