Mets Minor League Roundup 5/21: T.J Chism saves it for St.Lucie

Mets Minor League Roundup 5/21:

Class AAA - IOWA 6, LAS VEGAS 5: Las Vegas fell behind 5-0 before rallying to tie the game in the sixth. Iowa scored in the bottom of the inning and held on. Zach Lutz and Brian Bixler had two RBIs each for Las Vegas. Starter D.J. Mitchell gave up five runs in four innings. Reliever Gonzalez Germen got tagged with the loss after allowing one run in one inning. Box.

Class AA - NEW BRITAIN 9, BINGHAMTON 3:The Binghamton Mets pounded out 13 hits and walked eight times, but mustered just three runs in a 9-3 loss to the New Britain Rock Cats on Tuesday night at New Britain Stadium. The B-Mets bounced into three double plays, had two runners nabbed on the bases and stranded a season-high 13 runners. Cesar Puello blistered an 0-2 pitch to center field for his team-leading sixth home run of the season. The Rock Cats took their shot in the third against B-Met starter Jacob DeGrom. New Britain grabbed the lead by plating three runs on five hits. DeGrom (1-5) was tagged for seven runs on eight hits and four walks over 4-2/3 innings. Box.

Class A - CHARLESTON 2, SAVANNAH 0:: The Charleston RiverDogs took a pitchers' duel 2-0 from the Savannah Sand Gnats on Tuesday night. The RiverDogs scored the game's first run in the top of the first inning off Gnats LHP Steven Matz. Matz fanned nine in his six innings, setting a new season-high, and tying a career-high.The Gnats did not get a runner to third base until the eighth inning, but stranded runners at third in the eighth and ninth inning and the tying run at second base in the ninth. Box.

Class A - ST. LUCIE 5, DUNEDIN 3: T.J. Rivera had a go-ahead RBI single in the fifth and the Mets held off the host Dunedin Blue Jays 5-3 in the second game of the series on Tuesday. Alex Panteliodis earned his first victory on the season and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits over 5 2/3 innings while recording four strikeouts and walking two. T.J. Chism pitched a scoreless ninth for his fourth save. Travis Taijeron had two hits, including an RBI double in a two-run sixth. Aderlin Rodriguez had an RBI single and Dustin Lawley added an RBI groundout to pace the Mets offense. Box.

Recap: Game 43 - Reds (4) at Mets (0) - Mets get shut out, No Leake in Reds Pitching

Final	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	R	H	E
Cincinnati (28-18)«	3	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	7	0
N.Y. Mets (17-26)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	3	1

W: M. Leake (4-2) L: J. Niese (3-5) HR: CIN - D. Mesoraco (2)   NYM - None

Recap:

Mike Leake held New York's floundering offense to just three hits over seven innings of work, and the Cincinnati Reds shut out the Mets, 4-0, on Tuesday to take the second test of a three-game set.

The Reds managed only seven hits, but took advantage of a two-out error by Mets third baseman David Wright to score two of their three first-inning runs.

That's all the support Leake (4-2) needed to notch his third straight victory and fourth in five games. The righty struck out four and set down nine of the last 10 New York batters he faced.

Devin Mesoraco forced a run in with a bases-loaded walk then hit a solo homer in the ninth to help the Reds to their ninth win in 11 games.

After a lengthy first inning, Jonathon Niese (3-5) settled in and went on to record a season-best seven strikeouts, but couldn't get any help from a feeble lineup which has produced a combined eight hits in the last two games.

The Mets have won just two of their last 12 contests at Citi Field, where they have scored less than three runs in nine straight. Lucas Duda and John Buck each doubled and were stranded in scoring position.

Niese managed to toss six innings after a frustrating start. He retired the first two batters he faced but then needed 41 more pitches to get through the opening frame.

Joey Votto and Jay Bruce each worked walks around a single from Brandon Phillips, and Cincinnati sent Todd Frazier to the plate with the bases loaded.

Frazier hit a hard but playable ball toward third, but Wright let the ball go through the wickets and the miscue allowed two runs to score.

An infield single from Donald Lutz reloaded the bases, but after Niese walked Mesoraco to make it 3-0 Reds, he bounced back from the 48-pitch frame to retire 16 of the last 19 batters he faced without giving up another run.

"He really pitched well after the first inning," said Mets manager Terry Collins. "He started making pitches and throwing strikes."

Leake didn't give the Mets many opportunities to score, but his toughest test came in the fourth after issuing a walk to Duda and surrendering a two-out double to Buck.

That brought up the struggling Ike Davis, who grounded out softly to first to end the threat. New York's first base man is hitless in his last 24 chances with runners in scoring position and mired in a 1-for-36 slump overall.

Reds relievers Sam LeCure and Logan Ondrusek pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth inning, respectively, and Mesoraco delivered a solo blast in the Reds' final turn at-bat.

Game Notes

New York has lost nine of its last 12 games overall ... Mets reliever Scott Rice made his major league-leading 27th appearance out of the bullpen, tossing a scoreless eighth ... The Reds have won 11 of their last 15 road games ... Votto went 1-for-3 to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.

Box Score:

Tonight's Mets Starting Lineup vs Reds - Game 43

Tonight's Mets Starting Lineup vs Reds - Game 43

1. Daniel Murphy-2B
2. Mike Baxter-RF
3. David Wright-3B
4. Lucas Duda-LF
5. Rick Ankiel-CF
6. John Buck-C
7. Ike Davis-1B
8. Ruben Tejada-SS
9. Jonathan Niese-LHP

Preview: Game 43 - Reds at Mets - Leake vs Niese

Cincinnati Reds (27-18) at New York Mets (17-25)													7:10 PM ET
	Season				Rd/Hm		Last Start						Last 3 App
STARTERS	GS	REC	ERA	AIP	REC	ERA	DATE	OPP	DEC	IP	H	ER	REC	IP	ERA
M. Leake (R)	8	3-2	3.72	6.0	2-1	4.22	5/15	@MIA	W	6.2	9	0	2-1	19.1	2.79
J. Niese (L)	9	3-4	5.40	5.2	1-2	4.50	5/16	@STL	W	7.1	6	2	1-2	15.2	9.77

Preview:

Lefty Jonathon Niese tries for two straight victories after a prolonged losing skid on Tuesday night when the New York Mets host the Cincinnati Reds in the second of three games between the teams at Citi Field.

Niese, a 13-game winner in 30 starts last season, opened 2013 with two wins in three starts before a five-start stretch that saw him go 0-4 and his earned run average jump by more than two full runs between April 18 and May 11.

He gave up eight runs in a 4 1/3-inning start against Pittsburgh to close the skid, then broke through for a 5-2 defeat of the St. Louis Cardinals on May 16.

The 26-year-old Ohio native has won once in four career starts against his home-state team, allowing 16 runs on 30 hits in 25 2/3 innings.

Niese is 1-2 in five home starts in 2013.

The Reds reply with righty Mike Leake, who goes for a second straight win and a third in four starts this month.

The Californian, a first-round pick in 2009, was 1-2 in five starts through the end of April, then opened May with a 5 2/3-inning outing that yielded a 6-5 win over the Chicago Cubs on May 3.

He went seven innings in a 7-2 loss to Atlanta five days later, but rebounded again with 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 4-0 defeat of the Miami Marlins in his last start on May 15.

Mets Minor League Roundup 5/20: Logan Verrett K's 10 in B-Mets Win

Mets Minor League Roundup 5/20:

Class AAA - LAS VEGAS VS. IOWA RAINED OUT: Rafael Montero's Triple-A debut got rained out on Monday night.

Class AA - BINGHAMTON 6, NEW BRITAIN 3: The Binghamton Mets racked up eleven hits, including five for extra-bases, and starter Logan Verrett matched a career-high with ten strikeouts in a 6-3 win over the New Britain Rock Cats. The B-Mets earned their seventh win in eight games and moved into a tie for first in the Eastern Division. Binghamton wasted little time starting the action. Cesar Puello put Binghamton on the board by smoking an RBI double to the right-field alley and Allan Dykstra followed by blasting a 2-1 pitch to right for his third homer. Danny Muno stroked a two-out single to center in the second and Josh Rodriguez gave Binghamton a four-run lead by zipping a run-scoring double. Verrett struck out nine through five innings and allowed only one run on a solo homer. Verrett stumbled in the sixth and allowed two runs on four hits. Adam Kolarek posted two scoreless innings of relief and Jeff Walters earned his league-leading 12th save of the season. Box.

Class A - DUNEDIN 4, ST. LUCIE 3: After rallying to tie the game in the ninth, St. Lucie lost in a walk-off. Travis Taijeron, Cam Maron and T.J. Rivera had RBIs for St. Lucie. Starter Matthew Bowman gave up two runs over seven innings. Reliever Randy Fontanez gave up a run in 1/3 innings for the loss. Box.

Class A - SAVANNAH 5, CHARLESTON 2: The Savannah Sand Gnats defeated the Charleston Riverdogs 5-2 to take first place away from the ‘Dogs. Gabriel Ynoa nearly was in complete control over six innings to improve to 5-2 with a 3.55 ERA. Ynoa shut out the ‘Dogs over six innings, striking out seven and allowing just two hits and two walks. It was the fifth time in his last six starts that he finished the sixth inning.Box.