Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (26-19) 11, Syracuse (24-24) 6 Box Score
- Gregor Blanco CF: 2-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, K, .246/.322/.403
- Rene Rivera C: 2-for-4, R, 2 RBI, K, .272/.349/.402
- Travis Taijeron 1B: 1-for-3, R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K, .214/.331/.556
The Mets offense had a big five run third inning, which featured a two-run single by Rivera and three-run home run by Taijeron. Beyond that, however, the team’s scoring was limited to just Blanco’s solo home run in the fifth inning. The bottom four batters in the lineup especially struggled in this game, as that quartet went just 1-for-15 with six strikeouts. Taijeron, who has homered in three of the last four games, has fully adopted a three true outcomes approach thus far in 2019: 64% of his plate appearances have ended in a walk, strikeout or home run and he is hitting the ball on the ground just over 20% of the time.
- RHP Corey Oswalt (4-1, 4.50 ERA) 3.1 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 2 BB, 4 K
- RHP Stephen Nogosek (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 2.2 IP, H, 2 K
- RHP Arquimedes Caminero (L, 0-2, 5.40 ERA) 0.0 IP, H, ER
- RHP Joseph Shaw (0-0, 4.50 ERA) 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, 2 BB
Oswalt got the start for the Mets and had what was, by far, the worst start of what has otherwise been a strong season. Despite his ERA jumping from 2.28 to 4.50 in his last two starts, Oswalt still has a very solid 36:8 K:BB ratio for the season. Nogosek was making his second Triple-A appearance following his promotion from Binghamton. After successfully transitioning to a relief role with St. Lucie, Shaw was promoted directly to Syracuse, although he did struggle in his first Triple-A appearance. With the aggressive placement, it is clear that Shaw had impressed the organization and could potentially be in line for a call-up at some point should bullpen help be needed.
Binghamton (27-17) 6, Trenton (28-19) 2 Box Score
- Sam Haggerty CF: 3-for-4, R. SB. .289/.425/.414
- Barrett Barnes RF: 1-for-2, R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, .311/.441/.554
- Andres Gimenez SS: 1-for-3, R, K, .235/.293/.353
The Binghamton offense pushed across six runs on nine hits in Sunday evening’s victory. Barnes had the big hit of the game with a fifth inning two-run home run that extended the Rumble Ponies lead to three runs. Haggerty is now hitting .315/.500/.444 with an 18:13 K:BB ratio in May. It is also interesting to note that this is the fifth time he has played in center field this season after making just three appearances there in his entire career prior to 2019. Gimenez continues to strikeout at a rate far higher than is normal from him (his K% is approximately 25% after striking out in only 14.4% of plate appearances at Double-A last season). It is still fairly early in the season and Gimenez will be just 20 years old for the entire season, so there little cause for concern at the moment, but this is still an issue that should be monitored throughout the season.
- LHP Anthony Kay (W, 6-2, 1.28 ERA) 5.2 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 4 K
- RHP Thomas McIlraith (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 2.1 IP, 5 K
- RHP Matt Blackham (1-0, 2.00 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 K
It speaks to how outstanding he has been so far in 2019 that this can be considered a “rough” outing for Kay’s standards. After pitching seven innings and allowing one or less run in each of his last three starts, Kay ran into early trouble in this outing, allowing two runs in the first inning. He was able to settle into the game after that and pitch int the sixth inning without allowing anymore runs to score. It was only the second time all season that he had allowed more than one earned run in a start. McIlraith struck out 5 of the 7 batters he faced in his Double-A debut. He looks like another guy who could potentially excel in a transition from starting to relieving. Blackham has been quietly excellent this season and has struck out 26 batters in 17.0 innings.
St. Lucie (25-24) 12, Lakeland (21-28) 4 Box Score
- Carlos Cortes 2B: 3-for-6, 2 R, RBI, 2 K, .269/.321/.395
- Quinn Brodey CF: 2-for-3, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, .271/.318/.395
- Jacob Zanon RF: 3-for-5, R, 3 RBI, K, SB, .235/.304/.353
The Mets cruised to a dominant victory with a constant barrage of singles and clutch hitting. Only two of the team’s 18 hits went for extra bases, but the team made up for the lack of power with an impressive 10-for-22 performance with runners in scoring position. Every player in the lineup had at least one hit, with seven players recording at least two hits. Cortes is now hitting .305/.351/.471 in 23 May games. After a dreadful start to May, Brodey has caught fire over the last week and is 11-for-20 in his last 5 games.
- RHP Kyle Wilson (W, 3-5, 4.09 ERA) 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, BB, 4 K
- RHP Joe Cavallaro (1-1, 5.54 ERA) 2.0 IP, H, BB,
- RHP Conner O’Neil (2-1, 6.98 ERA) 1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER
It has been an up-and-down season for Wilson so far, but his last two starts have been among his best. After giving up just two runs in a season-high 6.2 innings pitched in his previous start, Wilson again went six innings (something he failed to accomplish in his first seven starts of 2019) and needed only 84 pitches. Overall, Wilson’s 28:19 K:BB ratio does leave something to be desired, but he seems to be making the necessary adjustments to succeed at this level. After giving up eight earned runs in his first 3.1 innings of the season, Cavallaro has not allowed a run in his last 9.2 innings pitched.
Charleston (27-23) 5, Columbia (19-31) 3 Box Score
- Ronny Mauricio SS: 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI, K, .272/.325/.350
- Shervyen Newton 2B: 1-for-4, R, 2 K, .162/.235/.257
- Juan Uriarte C: 1-for-2, R, 2B, RBI, HBP, .192/.214/.293
The Fireflies offense had been better over recent weeks, but struggled in this game. The team was limited to just five hits, with the two of the three runs coming on doubles by Mauricio and Uriarte. Mauricio would score the third run of the game on an error in sixth inning. Uriarte, who missed nearly all of 2018 due to injury, has reversed his dismal April with an impressive May. After hitting just .100/.141/.133 in April, Uriarte has a .333/.333/.538 line so far in May. The young trio of Mauricio, Newton, and Mark Vientos (who went hitless in Sunday’s game) have also shown signs of improvement over the last couple weeks.
- RHP Christian James (1-4, 4.63 ERA) 6.0 IP, 4 H, BB, 4 K
- RHP Billy Oxford (L, 0-2, 4.58 ERA) 1.0 IP, 3 H, 5 R, ER, BB, 2 K
- LHP Jake Simon (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 1.0 IP, H, K
It has been a bit of a strange season so far for James. Outside of one disastrous outing in which he allowed eight earned runs, James has consistently allowed two or three runs each outing, resulting in a fairly high ERA. However, compared to last season, he has significantly increased his K rate (6.02 in 2018 vs. 7.74 in 2019) while also slightly decreasing his walk rate, while also keeping his batted ball profile basically the same (a large number of ground balls). This could indicate that his struggles earlier this season are at least partially due to luck and poor defense. Regardless, this start was James’ best of the year, as he needed just 72 pitches to blank the opposition for a season-high six innings. Hopefully he can build on the success of this start in his next outing.