Mike McGann of nybaseballcentral.com was kind enough to write on Thursday evening while I drove home down the 99 from Modesto to Visalia. 

 

            On one of your wilder New York baseball days, the Mets won in 10, only to see them outdone by St. Lucie, which won in 13 innings. 

            And of course, both of those efforts were wildly outdone by Brooklyn, which managed to lose in a mere 26 innings to Oneonta in a rare, mid-week day game at KeySpan.

            Meanwhile, trade rumors began to swirl in earnest — targeting a certain AAA outfielder–  Lastings Milledge – coveted  by many fans and other GMs. Just when it couldn’t get any wackier, whispers of a possible megadeal between the Yankees and Phillies began to trickle out, although enough denials were in place to make fans wonder what the heck is going on with just 10 days until the trade deadline.

 

Stars of the Day:

AAA: Edgardo Alfonzo/Chris Basak

AA: Chase Lambin/Ambio Concepcion

A+: Edgar Alfonzo/Haj Turay

A: Jose Castro/Hector Pellot

SSA: - Jon Schemmel

R (APP): David Wabick

R (GCL): - Ben Saylor

 

 

 

Norfolk (AAA - International League)

@ Indianapolis 5, Norfolk 4

 

            The Tides’ two-run rally in the ninth fell just short as Indianapolis held on to win for the second night in a row. 

            The Indians got to Norfolk starter Willie Collazo (2-2) early and finally chased him in the fifth — having given up five runs, he left the Tides in a 5-2 hole. While Tim LaVigne and Orlando Roman shut down Indy, the Tides couldn’t get anything going until the ninth. Edgardo Alfonzo had a pair of hits, including a double and an RBI, while Chris Basak had three hits and an RBI.

 

Binghamton (AA - Eastern League)

Binghamton 7, @Portland 4

 

Ambi Concepcion and Carlos Gomez continued their red-hot hitting (and Gomez extended his hit streak to 13 games) as Binghamton got extra offensive help from an old friend, Chase Lambin, as the B-Mets thrashed first-place Portland.

            Lambin, sent down to make room for Edgardo Alfonzo, after never finding his stroke at AAA Norfolk, doubled and homered to drive in a pair of runs, while Gomez, with three hits, and Concepcion, with four, spent nearly the whole night on base. Miguel Perez, (4-4) who was shaky at times, got the win. Henry Owens collected the save.

 

 

St. Lucie (A+ - Florida State League)

@ St. Lucie 4, Lakeland 3

 

            Jamar Hill’s 13th inning RBI base hit ended a long, hot marathon at Tradition Field.

            The Mets almost wasted a strong start by Blake Eager, who allowed only 3 runs in six innings of work. St. Lucie, despite having runners on all night, leaving nine on base, was stymied after Eager left with a 3-2 lead and runners on in the seventh. Joe Serfass blew the lead, but managed to stop the bleeding quickly and Marcelo Perez and Edgar Alfonzo (4-4), who got the win, kept Lakeland off the scoreboard for the rest of the game. 

            Mike Carp continued his hot hitting with two hits, including a double and red-hot Corey Coles had three hits to raise his average to .337.

 

 

Hagerstown (A – South Atlantic League)

Hagerstown 8, @ Lexington 3

 

            Jose Castro had three hits and an RBI, while Hector Pellot had a pair of hits and an RBI to pace the Suns to their second straight win over Lexington.

            Hagerstown was able to overcome a shaky start by Jeramy Simmons, who surrendered three runs in 4.1 innings of work, but was bailed out by the excellent bullpen work of Brandon Nall (2-4) who got the win, German Marte and Jim Wladyka.

 

 

 

Brooklyn (SSA – New York Penn League)

Oneonta 6, @ Brooklyn 1

 

            It was the longest game in New York-Penn League history — 26 innings — and one that ended badly for the Cyclones when outfielder Mark Wright was forced to take the mound for Brooklyn. 

            Wright, a University of Mississippi product, who had not pitched since his high school days, couldn’t get Deik Scram out with two outs in the top of the 26th. Scram, 0-for-11 in the game up to that point, singled in a pair of runs that unloosed a flood of five runs in the inning.

            Brooklyn’s offensive woes continued in the game, wasting a great start by Eric Brown, who scattered five hits and one run in his seven innings of work. The Cyclones, paced by Jon Schemmel’s four hits, managed just 14 hits in 26 innings and were shut out for the final 25 innings of the game.

 

 

Kingsport Mets (R – Appalachian League)

Johnson City 8, @ Kingsport 5

 

            Starter Greg Mullens struggled and was hurt by shaky defense as Kingsport dropped a contest to Johnson City. Mullens (4-1), who had pitched well in his first four starts for the K-Mets, allowed seven runs in four innings of work.

            David Wabick was the lone Kingsport player with one than one hit, slashing two singles and walking twice.

 

 

 

 

GCL Mets (R – Gulf Coast League)

GBL Nationals 3, GCL Mets 3 (Susp.)

 

            Rain claimed this contest in the sixth inning day game, although the rain cleared out in time for their Class A cousins to play some 300 yards away.

            The only news of note in the game is that rehabbing Matt Durkin got hit pretty hard again, allowing three runs, two earned, in three innings of work. Ben Saylor and Joaquin Rodriguez had two hits each to pace the Mets attack.