Fireflies Finally Overcome Early Delmarva Deficit, Lose Anyway

Delmarva Shorebirds @ Columbia Fireflies

July 14, 2016

Ofelky Peralta @ Joe Shaw

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Delmarva	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1		8	14	0
Columbia	0	4	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		5	6	1

W: Jimenez (7-7, 4.47 ERA); L: Duff (0-1, 11.57 ERA); Save: Turnipseed (13)

Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Joe Shaw (4.87 ERA) – 6.2 IP, 8 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 2B, 1 HR, 12 TB, 2 BB, 7 K (7 K/Sw), 2 GIDP, 7 GB: 3 FB: 8 LD, 97 Pitches (68 Strikes), 17 Swinging, 12 Called, 17.5% SwStr, 30.4% Whiff/Swing, 14.5 Pitches/IP, 28 BF

Jimmy Duff (L, 0-1, 11.57 ERA) – 2.1 IP, 6 H, 3 R (3 ER), 2 2B, 8 TB, 1 BB, 4 K (4 K/Sw), 6 GB: 1 FB: 2 LD, 43 Pitches (27 Strikes), 9 Swinging, 4 Called, 20.9% SwStr, 39.1% Whiff/Swing, 18.4 Pitches/IP, 15 BF

Batters

2B - Jean Rodriguez - 2-4, 1 R, 1 HR, 3 RBI, 1 BB, 2.8 Pitches/PA

C - Brandon Brosher - 2-4, 1 K, 1 SB, 16.7% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 3 Pitches/PA

SS - Milton Ramos - 1-4, 1 R, 2 K, 10% SwStr, 33.3% Whiff/Swing, 5 Pitches/PA

CF - Enmanuel Zabala - 1-3, 1 R, 1 RBI, 1 BB, 1 K, 4.25 Pitches/PA

Recapish

            The Fireflies dropped their third straight to Delmarva Thursday night, taking a sweep after falling behind big early in all 3 games. Joe Shaw was knocked around for 5 runs (4 ER) in the 1^st inning, and it looked like another long night for the Fireflies pen, but Shaw worked into the 7^th, keeping Delmarva from scoring again until after he left. Columbia then tied the game in the bottom of the 7^th, but recently demoted Jimmy Duff was quick to give that lead back in the 8^th, and the Shorebirds pen swept things up after that.

            Cedric Mullins greeted Shaw with a solo blast to get the game started and give Delmarva a 1-0 lead before an out was recorded. Then the Fireflies got a little sloppy, allowing Yermin Mercedes to reach on an E5, and then come around to score on a pair of wild pitches from Shaw. Delmarva scored their final three runs of the 1^st with two outs in the frame, which proved huge later in the game.

2015 GIF’s and Stats: Savannah Relievers

David Roseboom, Luis Mateo, Alberto Baldonado and Jimmy Duff

Savannah’s bullpen saw a lot of turnover during the 2015 season, but these were the top-5 relievers I saw on MiLB.tv

Note: Order does not reflect relative ranking

          1)   James Duff, RHP, 22

          2015 with Savannah: 35 G, 41.1 IP, 3.48 ERA/2.32 FIP, 40 H, 17 R (16 ER), 44 K: 8 BB (25.7 K%: 4.7 BB%), .247 AVG, .333 BABIP, 67.2 LOB%, 0.22 HR/9

          2015 with St. Lucie: 12 G, 18.2 IP, 1.93 ERA/2.95 FIP, 16 H, 4 R, 13 K: 1 BB (18.1 K%: 1.4 BB%), .232 AVG, .273 BABIP, 85.2 LOB%, 0.48 HR/9

The Mets selected Duff in the 20^th round of the 2014 draft because he was a big pitcher (6’6) with good control and a nice sinker. The big guy was still available in the 20^th round because he was only sitting 86-90 with his heat, but he’s had a nice start to his pro career, finishing the year as one of the best relief pitchers on the St. Lucie roster. In addition to the sinker, Duff mixes in a nice changeup and an improving slider. He was particularly effective against RHB’s last year, finishing with a 27.5 K%: 2.2 BB% and .515 OPS allowed against righties across both levels. At one point he had 11 straight scoreless appearances for Savannah, and he was used for more than one inning in 21 of 47 appearances last year. He only spent a month with St. Lucie, but he’s probably ready for a relief role in the B-Mets pen, if available. The Mets could still move him back to the rotation, although they didn’t exactly use him as a piggyback starter last year, so it doesn’t appear to be the plan.

          Astromets Mind Coverage

4/23 – 2 IP, 2 K, 4 GO
Swinging strike
Called strike

5/7 – 2 IP, 4 K, 2 GO
‘Immaculate’ 6^th inning
Strike 1
Strike 2
Strike 3
Strike 4
Strike 5
Strike 6
Strike 7
Strike 8
Strike 9
Strikeout #4

5/24 – 1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, K
Swinging strike
Swinging strike

7/4 – 1 IP, K, 2 FO
Swinging strike
Swinging strike

7/5 – 1 IP, H, K, 1 GO: 1 FO
Strikeout to end the game

          2)   David Roseboom, LHP, 24 on 5/17

Lupo And Eudor Provide Sand Gnats Power In Greenville

Savannah Sand Gnats @ Greenville Drive

July 5, 2015

Ricky Knapp @ Jeffry Fernandez

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Savannah	0	4	1	1	0	0	0	0	2		8	11	0
Greenville	3	1	0	0	0	1	0	1	0		6	15	0

W: Peterson (1-0, 9.00 ERA); L: Harris (0-2, 2.45 ERA); Save: Duff (9, 2.75 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Ricky Knapp (2.86 ERA) – 5.2 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 5 SO, 82 Pitches (58 Strikes), 6 GO: 5 FO

Paul Paez (H, 2, 2.28 ERA) – 1.1 IP, 2 H, 2 GO, 2 IR – 0 S

Tim Peterson (BS, 1) – 1 IP, 2 H, R, 1 GO: 2 FO

James Duff  - 1 IP, H, SO, 1 GO: 1 FO

Batters

Jonathan Johnson – 1-4, BB, SO

Patrick Biondi – 1-5, R, 2B (5), SO, GIDP

John Mora – 1-3, R, RBI (37), BB, SF, GIDP, CS

Eudor Garcia – 2-3, 2 R, HR (5), RBI (26), BB

Michael Katz – 1-5, 2B (3), RBI (2), 2 SO

Jon Leroux – 2-5, R, SO

Jean Rodriguez – 1-5, R, RBI (25)

Vicente Lupo – 1-2, 2 R, HR (6), 3 RBI (23), 2 BB, SO

Tyler Moore – 1-2, 2B (5), RBI (5), 2 BB

Recap

            The Sand Gnats overcame an early hole dug by starter Ricky Knapp to extend their winning streak to 3 straight games. Knapp would allow 4 runs over the first two innings, but Savannah put up a 4-spot of their own in the top of the 2^nd. The Gnats would build up a two run lead over the 3^rd and 4^th innings, but Knapp and the bullpen couldn’t hold it. After retiring 11 of 12 batters entering the 6^th inning, Javier Guerra hit a leadoff single against Knapp in the 6^th, and then moved to 2B on a wild pitch. Knapp was able to retire the next two Drive batters, with Guerra only advancing to 3B on the balls in play, but then Greenville struck for 2 two out singles to knock Knapp out. Tim Peterson was activated, added to the Gnats roster, and then made his season debut Sunday, blowing the save, but then earning the win (see how useful those stats can be…). Peterson had been out for an 80-game PED suspension and is likely just working his way through the lower minors, as he probably starts 2015 with Binghamton if he hadn’t been suspended. He allowed a pair of singles and a sac fly to the LF warning track (from Yoan Moncada) to blow the save, but then the bats bailed him out in the 9^th. Patrick Biondi led off the inning with a double, and then scored on a sac fly. Eudor Garcia followed with a solo blast to left-center that gave Savannah a nice insurance run. The Duff-Man came in for the save in the 9^th, working around a one out double, and finishing the game with a strikeout for the second straight day.

            Check out highlights from the game below. This series continues Monday night at 7:05 PM, with Casey Delgado scheduled to pitch for Savannah.

Lupo and Katz Power Sand Gnats Behind a Sharp Oswalt

Savannah Sand Gnats @ Greenville Drive

July 4, 2015

Corey Oswalt @ Degdar Jimenez

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Savannah	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	2	0		3	11	0
Greenville	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0		1	6	1

W: Oswalt (6-3, 3.70 ERA); L: Drehoff (1-1, 3.19 ERA); Save: Duff (8, 2.83 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Corey Oswalt – 7.1 IP, 6 H, R, BB, 4 SO, 89 Pitches (64 Strikes), 11 GO: 4 FO

Cameron Griffin (H, 5, 2.92 ERA) – 0.2 IP, BB, SO, 1 FO, 1 IR – 0 S

Jimmy Duff (S, 8, 2.83 ERA) – 1 IP, SO, 2 FO

Batters

Patrick Biondi – 1-4, SAC

Luis Guillorme – 1-5, GIDP

John Mora – 1-4, R, BB, CS/PO

Michael Katz – 2-3, R, 2 2B (2), RBI (1), BB

Jon Leroux – 2-4, RBI (30), 2 SO

Jean Rodriguez – 1-4, SO

Vicente Lupo – 1-4, R, HR (5), RBI (20), 3 SO

Natanael Ramos – 2-4

Recap

            Corey Oswalt continued his recent string of strong starts Saturday night in Greenville with one of his best outings of the year, limiting the Drive to just one run as the Gnats took the opener. Oswalt has now gone 6+ IP in 4 straight starts (28.2 IP), with a 1.57 ERA, on 24 hits allowed, and 17 K: 7 BB. The Gnats struggled to get anything going early against Greenville starter Dedgar Jimenez, who would allow just 3 hits and a walk, but left after 4 innings. They finally broke the scoreless tie when Vicente Lupo hit a mammoth homerun to CF, apparently landing well beyond the 420-foot sign, although I don't think you can see the ball on the Greenville feed – the feed was not great overall, as they often cut to a poor secondary camera as the pitch was being delivered, so a lot of action was missed. Cameron Griffin replaced Oswalt when Greenville broke the shutout in the 8^th inning, recording the final two outs after an initial walk. James Duff came in for the last inning, and he’d strike out Danny Bethea to end the game.

Gnats Bats Go Quiet in Rome

Savannah Sand Gnats @ Rome Braves

May 24, 2015

Scarlyn Reyes @ Caleb Beech

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Savannah	1	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		1	9	0
Rome	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	2	X		5	12	0

W: Beech (4-2, 2.31 ERA); L: Reyes (3-4, 3.62 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

Scarlyn Reyes – 7 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 BB, 2 SO, 92 Pitches (57 Strikes), 10 GO: 5 FO

Batters

Luis Guillorme – 1-4

John Mora – 1-4, R, 3B (4), SO, GIDP

Jean Rodriguez – 1-4, SO

Eudor Garcia – 1-4, RBI (7), SO

Stefan Sabol – 1-4

Vicente Lupo – 2-3, 2 2B (6)

Patrick Biondi – 2-3, CS

Recap

            The Sand Gnats jumped out to a one run lead in the 1^st Sunday afternoon, but it was all down hill after that, as Scarlyn Reyes lost to the Rome Braves for the third time this season. Savannah would pick up 7 more hits after the first, including a pair of doubles from Vicente Lupo, but had numerous base running mistakes throughout that cost them. In the 1^st, Mora didn’t break on a groundball to 3B with the infield back, and the ball deflected of Jordan Edgerton into foul territory – the ball was sharply hit, and he would come home to score, but he should be thinking break on contact with the infield back. Lupo was thrown out after both of his doubles, first trying to score on a single, and then trying to reach 3B on a groundout. Patrick Biondi was also caught stealing in the game. The Braves managed to scratch out three runs against Arias, and then add two insurance runs against Jimmy Duff in the 8^th, as they won the final two games of this 5-game set.

            Check out more from this game below. The Sand Gnats return home Monday night for a 7 PM game against Asheville, with Corey Oswalt scheduled to pitch for Savannah.

Scoring Highlights