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MMN Recap: Big Second Leads Columbia to Victory

By Sam Lebowitz

April 10, 2018 No comments

El Paso (4-1) 14, Las Vegas (1-4) 0   Box Score

The 51s’ offense was quiet all game, with just five hits, all of which were singles. Two of them came from Cecchini, who has started to hit well in the last two games after a brief slow start. The only other hits came from Kelly, Matt den Dekker, and Bryce Brentz. Zach Borenstein drew the only two 51s walks.

  • RHP Mickey Jannis (L, 0-1, 22.50 ERA): 4.0 IP, 11 H, 10 R, 2 BB, 2 K
  • LHP Kelly Secrest (0-0, 3.00 ERA): 2.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, ER, BB, K
  • RHP Kevin McGowan (0-0, 4.15 ERA): 2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 4 K
  • RHP Tim Peterson (0-0, 0.00 ERA): 1.0 IP, H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Knuckleballer Mickey Jannis got lit up in his first career Triple-A start, which really shouldn’t be that surprising considering that Cashman Field is horrible for pitching to contact and relying on movement like knuckleballers do. Plus, knuckleballers can be wildly unpredictable. Still, it’s disappointing to see after the 30-year-old posted a 3.60 ERA in Binghamton last year. Secrest relieved him in the fifth and gave up a couple more runs before getting out of the inning down 11-0. A home run off Secrest in the sixth made it 12-0, and a two-run homer off McGowan in the eighth capped the ugly night of Las Vegas pitching at a merciful 14-0. On the bright side, Peterson pitched a very good ninth inning.

Akron (2-3) 6, Binghamton (3-1) 3   Box Score

All three Binghamton runs were pushed across as the team trailed 4-0 in the seventh inning. Levi Michael tripled to start the inning, and after Champ Stuart popped out, Andrew Ely, Peter Alonso, and Patrick Mazeika all walked consecutively. A wild pitch during Mazeika’s at-bat plated Michael. Tomas Nido followed with a two-run single and John Mora laced a single to reload the bases with one out, but Binghamton was unable to push across what would have been the tying run. The Ponies went out without a whimper, as the they could not muster a baserunner in the final two innings.

Marcos Molina’s season debut did not go according to plan, but the right-hander’s outing started out promisingly. Molina retired his first six opponents, striking out the side in the second inning. Things started to unravel after that point as he gave up a run in the third and three in the fourth. Gerson Bautista shined in his two perfect innings, punching out five of his six batters. Austin McGeorge uncharacteristically gave up a homerun, a two-run shot to Aruban-born Sicnarf Loopstok.

Tampa (3-2) 5, St. Lucie (1-4) 1   Box Score

St. Lucie was utterly dominated by the Tarpon’s triumvirate of Nick Green, Phillip Diehl, and Matt Frawley in this one. They managed just a single hit throughout the entire night, a Gene Cone single. Ian Strom scored St. Lucie’s lone run on a passed ball after he reached on an error in the third inning.

Gary Cornish made his season debut tonight for St. Lucie and pitched well in his five innings. More than anything, the runs he allowed were a product of bad catching behind the dish. Brandon Brosher allowed two passed balls while Cornish pitched, both of which were succeeded by run-scoring hits. Adam Atkins was the first man out in relief and immediately allowed a homer to his first batter and singles to the next two, but settled in and kept the Tarpons off the board for the remainder of his outing. Stephen Nogosek appeared for the second straight day, after hitting his only batter to force in the winning run the night prior.

Columbia (3-2) 8, Hagerstown (1-4) 3   Box Score

Columbia rode its way to victory thanks to a huge, six-run second inning. That second inning featured run-scoring doubles from Scott Manea and Giovanny Alfonzo, a Matt Winaker sac fly, and a two-run blast by Jeremy Vasquez. The Fireflies tacked on two more runs in the third inning, and did not look back for the rest of the night.

6’9” Chris Viall’s season debut went well for the Fireflies. The right-hander limited Hagerstown to just a couple of runs in his four innings. He threw 82 pitches in those four innings, a pitch count that is not as efficient as he would have liked. The Firefly bullpen was excellent in their five innings, as they allowed just five hits and a run, while punching out five. Read more observations from this game here.