5/15 Minor League Report! Fernando, Thole, Rustich!

Buffalo 6, Gwinnett 5, Game 1

Michael Antonini's meteoric rise through the system took him to the highest minor league level tonight, a year after he was pitching for the Savannah Sand Gnats in the South Atlantic League, the lowest full season league in organized baseball. And while he has struggled in Binghamton this year, the ascent itself is quite an accomplishment.

He ran into massive trouble with the AAA Braves, though, giving up 5 runs on 8 hits and 2 walks in 3.1 innings, taking an ND. Eddie Kunz worked 1.2 innings behind Antonini for the win.

Angel Pagan, Ramon Martinez and Javier Valentin had multi hit games for the Bisons, while Willy Mo Pena (0 for 3, RBI, BB, 2 Ks, .176) and Argenis Reyes (0 for 3, K, .284) took 0-fers. The Bisons had 9 hits and drew 4 walks, but went a putrid 1 for 11 with RISP and left 9 men on base.

cf Angel Pagan 2 for 4, 2 runs, 3b, K, .286
ss Ramon Martinez 2 for 4, run, RBI, .333
lf Fernando Martinez 1 for 3, run, HR, 2 RBI, BB, .274
1b Javier Valentin 2 for 2, run, HR, RBI, 2 BBs
3b Mike Lamb 1 for 4, run, 2b, .158
c Robinson Cancel 1 for 3, .231
Michael Antonini 3.1 IP, 8 H, 5 ER, 2/4 BB/K, HR, 13.50 era, 79:47:32, 4:2:4
Eddie Kunz 1.2 IP, 2 BBs, 2.30 era, W (3-1), 22:10:12, 2:3:0
Elmer Dessens 2 IP, H, BB, K, 0.98 era, SV (3), 35:20:15, 1:4:1

Buffalo 3, Gwinnett 5, Game 2

Tim McNab, and not Kyle Snyder, got the start tonight for the Bisons, and he allowed 2 runs in 3.1 innings. Jon Switzer took the loss, allowing 2 runs in 3 innings.

The offense had 8 hits and 2 walks, and went 3 for 8 with RISP, leaving 7 men on. Cory Sullivan, Fernando Martinez and Mike Lamb had multi hit games, while Ramon Martinez, Rene Rivera, Jesus Feliciano and Argenis Reyes took 0-fers.

cf Cory Sullivan 2 for 4, run, K, .218
rf Fernando Martinez 2 for 4, run, RBI, .281
1b Michel Abreu 1 for 3, BB, K, .214
3b Mike Lamb 2 for 4, RBI, K, .180
lf Jason Cooper 1 for 2, run, .211
Tim McNab 3.1 IP, 6 H, 2 ER, 2 Ks, HR, 3.24 era, 63:41:22, 5:3:2
Connor Robertson 1.2 IP, 3 H, ER, 2/2 BB/K, 4.24 era, 38:23:15, 2:1:2
Jon Switzer 3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 1/5 BB/K, 2.65 era, L (0-2), 50:33:17, 1:3:5
Binghamton 2, Trenton 4

Things were going well for Jose Sanchez (for a rare time this season), until the 6th, when he allowed 3 runs, and didn't complete the inning. Still, 3 runs in 5.2 innings actually lowers Sanchez' ERA from 6.23 to 6 even. Roy Merritt gave up another run in his inning of work, he's now given up 8 runs in his last 8 innings, on 10 hits and 6 walks.

The BMets were led on offense for a second straight game by Josh Thole, who started off reaching base in his first 3 PAs, before striking out in the 8th. He had the only multi hit game, while Emmanuel Garcia (0 for 4, .241), Jose Coronado (0 for 4, run) and Shawn Bowman (0 for 4, K, .291) had 0-fers. The Mets had just 7 hits and 1 walk on the night, and were a putrid 1 for 9 with RISP, leaving 7 on base.

dh Josh Thole 2 for 3, run, 2 2b, BB, K, .357
1b Lucas Duda 1 for 4, 2 RBI, .283
lf DJ Wabick 1 for 4, 2b, .258
c Salvador Paniagua 1 for 4, 2 Ks, .211
rf Carl Loadenthal 1 for 4, .255
ss Ruben Tejada 1 for 4, K, .241
Jose Sanchez 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 2/4 BB/K, 6 era, L (1-4), 10:3:4
Julio De La Cruz 2.1 IP, H, 1/3 BB/K, 3.66 era, 3:1:3
Roy Merritt IP, H, ER, 2 Ks, HR, 4.34 era, 0:1:2

St. Lucie 3, Fort Myers 4

Angel Calero suffered a second straight subpar outing, giving up 4 runs on 8 hits and 3 walks in 4 innings. Over his last two outings, Calero's given up 7 runs on 14 hits and 5 walks in just 6.1 innings, for a bloated 9.95 era. Taking it back a start, his ERA over his last 3 outings is 7.94 (10 runs in 11.1 innings, on 20 hits and 8 walks). Brant Rustich, on the other hand, has been stellar all season, he matched his season high with 5 innings tonight, giving up just 2 hits and striking out 4, his ERA stands at a stellar 1.44.

The Mets offense had just 7 hits and a walk tonight, and were just 1 for 5 with RISP, leaving 7 on base. Kirk Nieuwenhuis and Matt Bouchard had multi hit games, while the 3-4-5-6 hitters (Havens, Davis, Pena and Guzman) were a combined 0 for 14 with 6 Ks. Brahiam Maldonado (0 for 3, 3 Ks, .210) also took an 0-fer.

2b Hector Pellot 1 for 5, run, 2 Ks, .282
cf Kirk Nieuwenhuis 2 for 4, run, 2b (9), HR (7), 2 RBI (17), .254
ss Reese Havens 0 for 3, K, .260
1b Ike Davis 0 for 3, BB, K, .282
dh Greg Veloz 1 for 4, run, .221
3b Matt Bouchard 2 for 3, .224
ph Jacob Eigsti 1 for 1, RBI, .231
Angel Calero 4 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 3/3 BB/K, 3.51 era, L (1-3), 4:4:3
Brant Rustich 5 IP, 2 H, 1/4 BB/K, 1.44 era, 6:5:4

Savannah 7, Lexington 1

Jeff Kaplan was dominant again tonight, giving up just a run in 7 innings, and Savannah broke it open late with 4 in the 9th to beat Lexington 7-1. Rhiner Cruz pitched the final 2 innings for his 5th save.

The Gnats had 7 hits and drew 6 walks, going 3 for 9 with RISP and leaving 6 on base. Juan Lagares, Josh Satin and Eric Campbell had multi hit games, while Jordany Valdespin (0 for 4, run, BB, .300), Rafael Fernandez (0 for 4, 2 Ks, .248), Kai Gronauer (0 for 4, .243), Raul Reyes (0 for 4, K, .273), and Jefry Marte (0 for 3, run, BB, K, .214) took 0-fers.

rf Juan Lagares 2 for 5, run, K, .268
2b Josh Satin 2 for 3, 2 runs, HR, 4 RBI, 2 BBs, .339
lf Sean Ratliff 1 for 4, 2 runs, BB, K, .357
1b Eric Campbell 2 for 3, 2 2b, 3 RBI, BB, K, .264
Jeff Kaplan 7 IP, 6 H, ER, 2/5 BB/K, 1.15 era, W (4-1), 10:4:5
Rhiner Cruz 2 IP, 2/1 BB/K, 2.04 era, SV (5), 3:2:1