B-Mets Beat Up In Trenton

Binghamton Mets @ Trenton Thunder

July 23, 2015

John Gant @ Joel De La Cruz

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Binghamton	0	1	2	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	8	1
Trenton	2	0	3	0	0	2	0	0	X		7	11	2

W: Vargas (W, 6-0, 3.28 ERA); L: Gant (4-5, 4.70 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

John Gant (L, 4-5, 4.70 ERA) – 5.1 IP, 9 H, 7 R (6 ER), BB, 3 SO, 96 Pitches (63 Strikes), 9 GO: 2 FO

Dario Alvarez (3.19 ERA) – 0.2 IP, H, BB, 2 SO, 2 IR – 1 S

Akeel Morris (6.10 ERA) – 2 IP, H, SO, 3 GO: 1 FO

Batters

L.J. Mazzilli – 4-4, R, 2B (13), BB

Josh Rodriguez – 1-4, R, BB, SO

Brandon Nimmo – 1-3, BB, HBP, SO

Joe Benson – 1-5, R, 2B (2), RBI (4), 2 SO

Jared King – 1-3, RBI (33), SF, 2 SO

Recap

            The first place Binghamton Mets rolled into Trenton Thursday with a 1.5 game lead over the Thunder, which is a role reversal from where these two teams found each other when they squared off in Binghamton last week. Just like last week, the Thunder won the first game of this 4-game series, so now it’s on the B-Mets to win the next 3.

            Not to make any excuses for John Gant, but lady luck was not in his favor from the start of this game. Danny Oh led off the 1^st with a lazy liner into the right-center field gap for a hit, and turned it into a hustle double when he caught Nimmo off guard by going for 2B. The next batter would hit a weak roller to first baseman Jonathan Galvez, but Galvez made a poor toss to Gant, and Oh came around as it bounced up the line. Two batters later, Mark Payton attempted to lay down a sac bunt, but popped it up down the 3B line. Unfortunately for Gant, he was the only player who had a chance on it, and his diving attempt came up about a foot short. He’d retire the next 3 batters on groundouts, but a second run would come home in the frame.

            After a perfect 2^nd inning, the B-Mets jumped ahead with 3 runs over their next two trips to the plate, but the lead would not last long. Gant allowed 3 runs on a walk sandwiched by a pair of doubles in the 3^rd, and then another pair of runs in the 6^th. The second double allowed in the 6^th was inches away from being the second out of the frame, but Nimmo’s dive came up just short. Dario Alvarez had to bail Gant out in the 6^th, and he’d allow one of two inherited runners to score. Akeel Morris worked the final two innings for Binghamton, and he looked good (as far as I can tell in the grainy Trenton footage), topping out at 96 MPH with his fastball.

            This series continues Friday night at 7:00 PM, with Robert Gsellman (4-5, 3.76 ERA) scheduled to start for the B-Mets. Gsellman is coming off his best AA start of the year, when he threw 7 shutout innings and held Trenton to just 2 hits in his last outing.

Scoring Highlights

Mets Minors GIFs of the Week

Highlighting the best GIF’s from the last week in Mets minor’s action.

July 13-19, 2015

Top 3 Plays

      1)   Brandon Nimmo nails the runner tagging up from the 3B, with an assist from Albert Cordero, which kept the B-Mets ahead 3-2.

      2)   Xorge Carrillo makes a strong throw from his butt to get the runner trying to advance to 3B and complete the double play.

      3)   Alfredo Reyes makes this play in the hole look easy, and shows off an impressive arm while doing so (from 7/15)

B-Mets Overcome An Early Deficit For The Win Over Trenton

Trenton Thunder @ Binghamton Mets

July 17, 2015

Jaron Long @ John Gant

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Trenton	0	2	0	0	0	1	0	0	0		3	7	0
Binghamton	0	0	3	1	0	1	0	1	X		6	10	2

W: Gant (4-4, 4.17 ERA); L: Long (0-2, 4.09 ERA); S: Velasquez (12, 2.41 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

John Gant – 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, BB, 7 SO, HR, HBP, 98 Pitches (67 Strikes), 4 GO: 3 FO

Adam Kolarek (H, 6, 4.91 ERA) – 1 IP, 3 FO

Josh Smoker (H, 1, 0.00 ERA) – 1 IP, H, 3 GO

Jon Velasquez – 1 IP, H, 3 SO

Batters

Gavin Cecchini – 3-4, R, 2 RBI (37)

L.J. Mazzilli – 1-4, R, RBI (6), 3 SO

Michael Conforto – 2-4, 2B (11), SO

Josh Rodriguez – 1-4, R, HR (14), RBI (56), SO

Joe Benson – 2-4, 2 R, 2B (1)

Xorge Carrillo – 1-3, R, BB, 2 SO

Recap

            The B-Mets evened their series with Trenton Friday night behind big nights at the plate from Gavin Cecchini, Michael Conforto, and Joe Benson, and a strong start from John Gant. After retiring the side in order during the 1^st inning, John Gant ran into trouble in the 2^nd, as Trenton jumped out to a 2-0 lead, but then he’d settle in for a very nice start. The B-Mets jumped ahead in the 3^rd, when they scored 3 runs on 4 singles and a bases loaded walk, and then kept tacking on against the Thunder. The B-Mets bullpen took over in the 7^th and gave the Thunder 3 different looks over 3 scoreless innings – Adam Kolarek offers a ¾-arm slot lefty with a ~90 MPH sinker, Josh Smoker is a lefty who sits in the mid-to-upper 90’s, and Jon Velasquez is a righty with low 90’s heat – continuing their recent run of dominance.

B-Mets Pitching Getting It Done Lately

Michael Fulmer and Gabriel Ynoa have been leading the way for a revamped B-Mets pitching staff

The Binghamton Mets are 47-42 overall, but have a 19-12 record over their last 31 games played, and they have some great pitching to thank for their current run.

            Coming into the 2015 season, the Mets were considered to have a Top-5 farm system, with the Las Vegas 51s ranked the third most talented roster in the minor leagues by Baseball America, and much attention given to the overall pitching depth within the system. While there are interesting players throughout the system, the 51s and the PSL Mets appeared to have the most talented rosters coming out of spring training, although the B-Mets initial roster had some exciting names too. Still, the B-Mets were lacking Michael Fulmer, who was staying back in extended spring training to get to full health, and L.J. Mazzilli, who was suspended 50 games to start the season (for drugs of abuse, not PED’s), and we all knew Michael Conforto was not far off, so the B-Mets figured to finish the first half more talented than they started.

18 Hits Lead B-Mets Over Portland In Their Series Opener

Binghamton Mets @ Portland Sea Dogs

July 10, 2015

John Gant @ Justin Haley

Teams	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9		R	H	E
Binghamton	0	4	2	0	1	0	0	0	0		7	18	1
Portland	1	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0		3	7	1

W: Gant (3-4, 4.13 ERA); L: Haley (3-10, 5.45 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

John Gant – 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R (2 ER), 3 BB, 4 SO, 97 Pitches (59 Strikes), 9 GO: 3 FO

Adam Kolarek (5.14 ERA) – 1 IP, SO, 1 GO

Matt Koch (3.25 ERA) – 2 IP, 2 H, 2 GO: 2 FO

Batters

Gavin Cecchini – 4-5, 2 R, 3B (2), RBI (35), BB

Michael Conforto – 3-5, 2 RBI (21)

Brandon Nimmo – 1-5, R

Josh Rodriguez – 3-5, 2 R, 2B (15), SO

Aderlin Rodriguez – 2-5, R, 2 SO

Xorge Carrillo – 2-5, R, 2 RBI (23)

Eudy Pina – 3-4, RBI (19), SF, SO

Recap

            The B-Mets had an outburst of singles in Portland Friday night, hitting 16 total as they beat the Sea Dogs 7-3 in the opener of a 4-game series. John Gant made his second start for Binghamton since returning from St. Lucie, and he would allow a few runs early, but retired 10 of the final 12 Portland batters before handing the ball to the pen. Adam Kolarek and Matt Koch were nearly perfect for Bingahmton out of the pen, with a pair of leadoff singles against Koch leading to nothing for Portland.

3 Mets Minor Leaguer’s Win Pitcher Of The Week Awards In Same Week

Tyler Badamo, left (image from here); John Gant, center; Gabriel Ynoa, right

The Mets had a pitcher win the weekly award from last week at 3 minor league levels, and another starter got robbed.

            The Mets have promoted two starters with legit top of the rotation stuff so far this season (Steven Matz and Noah Syndergaard, if you weren’t sure), and one of their next best has been out for months with a sore forearm (Marcos Molina), so it would be understandable if there was little left down on the farm, but instead the minor league pitching has been heating up over the past month. The hot run has started near the bottom, where the Brooklyn Cyclones have had the league’s second best team ERA to date at 2.40 (Williamsport is 1^st at 2.15). Cyclones opening day starter Tyler Badamo earned the award for his 7 innings of one-hit ball against Hudson Valley last Wednesday. The Sand Gnats team ERA has been middle of the pack so far at 3.43, but they had a starter earn the pitcher of the week award 3 times in June (twice by Scarlyn Reyes, and once by Martires Arias), and Corey Oswalt pitched well enough to earn the award last week. It’s been a similar story to date for the St. Lucie Mets, but they’ve been getting more consistent starts lately, and John Gant dominated the league while there, earning the FSL Pitcher of the Week award in the same week he was promoted back to Binghamton. Finally, the B-Mets are actually near the bottom of the pack in team ERA after a rough stretch from a few starters and relievers, but everyone has been clicking lately, and they had two legit contenders for last weeks award, but Gabriel Ynoa’s one-hitter topped Michael Fulmer’s two great starts.

Gant Gets Little Support In His Return To Binghamton

Portland Sea Dogs @ Binghamton Mets

July 5, 2015

Justin Haley @ John Gant

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

W: Haley (3-0, 4.84 ERA); L: Gant (2-4, 4.29 ERA)

MiLB.com Boxscore

The Highlights:

Pitchers

John Gant (L, 2-4, 4.29 ERA) – 6 IP, 6 H, 4 R (1 ER), 5 SO, 97 Pitches (59 Strikes), 7 GO: 4 FO

Dario Alvarez (3.67 ERA) – 1 IP, SO, 1 GO

Josh Smoker (0.00 ERA) – 1 IP, 2 SO, 1 FO

Akeel Morris – 1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, BB, 2 SO, 2 Balks, 1 FO

Batters

Gavin Cecchini – 1-3, BB, SO

L.J. Mazzilli – 1-3, BB, GIDP

Michael Conforto – 1-3, 2B (10), BB

Dustin Lawley – 1-4, 2B (16), RBI (20), SO

Eudy Pina – 1-3

Recap

            In his return to the B-Mets Sunday night, John Gant pitched better than the final score would indicate, but he got little support from his teammates, offensively or defensively, as Binghamton fell a game under .500 at home for the season. There were errors committed behind Gant in 2 of the 3 innings that the Sea Dogs scored runs, meanwhile the B-Mets were held scoreless until the 9^th, and they didn’t even pick up a hit during their ‘rally’. Dario Alvarez looked good working a scoreless 7^th, and then Josh Smoker looked great making his AA debut during a scoreless 8^th. Akeel Morris came on for the 9^th and got into a little trouble right away, and then 2 runs would eventually come around to score, but there were two weird balks called on him in the inning that didn’t help his situation.