Las Vegas 11, Tucson 3
Wilmer Flores clubbed two home runs Thursday for the Las Vegas 51s in an 11-3 victory against visiting Tucson in the first game of the four-game series at Cashman Field. Flores went 4-for-5 with four RBIs to pace a 16-hit attack for Las Vegas, including a two-run home run in the 51s’ five-run fifth inning. Zach Lutz and Matt den Dekker also homered for Las Vegas, which put the game out of reach with four runs in the eighth inning. Jamie Hoffmann had three hits, and den Dekker had three hits and three runs scored.
Rafael Montero tossed two scoreless innings in this game — but was pulled in order to stay fresh for the futures game on Sunday. The same tactic was used with Noah Syndergaard. Justin Hampson, Sean Henn, Greg Peavey and Robert Carson combined to complete the game for Montero, who got a ton of offensive help.
The series continues at 7:05 Friday.
Key Stats
Wilmer Flores: 4-for-5, 1 2B, 2 HR, 4 RBI, 2 R
Matt den Dekker: 2-for-5, 1 HR, 1 RBI, 3 R, 1 SB
Zach Lutz: 1-for-3, 1 HR, 2 BB, 1 RBI, 1 R
Rafael Montero: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 2 K
Justin Hampson: 2.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 K
Sean Henn: 2.0 IP, 1 H, 0 BB, 0 ER, 1 K
(Team Report)
Think we’ll see Flores make his debut after the break?
What to do with Murphy? Or do you want Flores on the bench?
Murphy gets traded, then Flores can play everyday. Otherwise I would let him in Las Vegas.
Flores is gonna be a starter, so I expect Murph to be trade bait at the deadline.
I’ve been on the Wilmer bandwagon forever; last night will only wake up the last of those who choose to keep sleeping on him. This age 21 season for him is just ridiculous. He’s leading the league with 74 rbis and in doubles as well. Perhaps even more important might be the fact that he has much more value to the Mets than on the trade market. Somehow he’s off mid-season prospect lists. That might not mean much, but it might mean that the rest of baseball is continuing to sleep on him as well, which means that he might only be perceived as a part of a package and not the main “get”.
That said, trade Murphy, and let the kid play everyday. He will outperform what we have seen from Murphy. At worst, his number will match the rest of Murphy’s wherever he ends up. At best, that bat has a chance to be very special, for us, and for a very long time.