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MMN Recap: Vientos Hits Tenth Home Run Of Season

By Daniel Muras

May 8, 2023 No comments

Mark Vientos, Photo by James Farrance

 

AAA: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (17-15) 8, Syracuse Mets (15-18) 4  Box Score

The Mets pushed across four runs on nine hits in Sunday’s loss. Locastro broke the scoreless tie with a groundball single in the third inning, but the offense was otherwise lifeless until the game was already out of reach.

https://twitter.com/MBrownstein89/status/165529568515815834p

Vientos hit a solo home run in the sixth inning and Locastro hit a two-run homer in the eighth, but both big hits were too little, too late. Vientos has had a ridiculously hot start to the season: he is tied for third in the International League with ten home runs and is second in the league in OPS. He has also dramatically cut his strikeout rate from last season (28.6% to 21.9%).

Mejia has given up three runs or less in five of his seven starts but gave up seven runs in each of the other two, resulting in his quite high ERA. Muckenhirn is limiting runs from scoring despite a very low 3.14 K/9. Núñez has struck out seven batters but has also walked six in 5 1/3 innings pitched.

AA: Somerset Patriots (17-9) 11, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (11-14) 2  Box Score

The Rumble Ponies had almost no offense to speak of on Sunday afternoon. They scored two runs on a couple of walks and singles in the first inning and were held to just two singles for the remainder of the game.

  • RHP Luis Moreno (2-1, 6.85 ERA) 2.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, ER, K
  • RHP Kyle Wilson (L, 0-1, 6.00 ERA) 3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, K
  • RHP Sammy Tavarez (1-1, 3.86 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K

After a fantastic 2022 season, Moreno has struggled mightily in 2023. He has given up five or more runs in three of his six starts and gave up a couple of runs (although one was unearned) in just two innings of work on Sunday.

The bullpen was not any better, as each of the three relievers gave up multiple runs.

Tavarez had one of the worst outings of his career, tying his career with three earned runs given up in a single outing. For the season, his 13.89 K/9 and 12.34 BB/9 are both unusually high for any pitcher, although the high walk rate is more concerning than the strikeout rate is promising.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (9-14) 3, Aberdeen IronBirds (10-15) 0  Box Score

The Cyclones did not have a ton of offense on Sunday afternoon, recording just seven hits for the entire game, but their hits were well-timed. After being held without a run for the first six innings of the game, Gil broke the scoreless tie with a two-run home run in the seventh, and Ramirez would add another insurance run later in the inning with a single. Parada is hitting .304/.333/.652 so far in May.

Stuart impressed yet again in his abbreviated start. By tossing two scoreless innings, Stuart has now given up two runs or fewer in each of his first five starts of the season. He has also struck out an impressive 30 batters in just 20 2/3 innings pitched.

Geber piggybacked Stuart and was able to finish the last seven innings of the game without allowing a run. Geber has allowed one run or fewer in four of his five appearances this season.

Low-A: Jupiter Hammerheads (16-10) 5, St. Lucie Mets (6-20) 3 (Game 1) Box Score

The Mets’ offensive success was concentrated at the top of the lineup in the first game of Sunday’s doubleheader. Five of the team’s seven hits came from the top three hitters in the lineup.

Lara drove home all of the Mets’ runs for the game with his three-run home run in the third inning. The home run left his bat at 104.6 MPH and travelled 397 feet. Lara has two home runs in just six games since making his full-season debut last week.

Ovalles averaged 92.1 MPH on his fastball and recorded an average spin rate of 2456 RPM on the pitch. Lancellotti topped out at 94.8 MPH with his fastball. Gursky had a 56% whiff rate against all of his pitches.

Low-A: St. Lucie Mets (7-20) 3, Jupiter Hammerheads (16-11) 1 (Game 2) Box Score

Campos’ big 101.4 MPH, 378-foot double in the fourth inning brought home two runs and gave the Mets a lead that they would not relinquish for the rest of the game. Campos struggled mightily in April but has shown signs of life in May. He is hitting .294/.368/.647 so far this month.

In addition to his big home run in the first game of the series, Lara also hit two balls with exit velocities over 99 MPH in this game, although both were caught deep in the outfield.

Ventura pitched just one inning in this start but did sit in the mid-90s and topped out at 96.1 MPH with his fastball. The pitch had an average spin rate of 2450 RPM. Orellana struggled a bit with his control and had a high pitch count due to 25 foul balls against him out of 84 pitches but was able to limit the damage against him to just a single run.

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Written by Daniel Muras

I fell in love with the Mets during the 2006 playoff run and became obsessed with the Mets minor league system while looking for a brighter future during the 2009-2014 era. I hope to provide interesting analysis of the minors and am excited to have the opportunity to write for MMO and MMN.

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