Brian Bannister stifled the Indians in Indianapolis Tuesday and in the process made a very convincing argument that he’s healthy and deserves a look should the Mets need a spot start this weekend.  The only problem is that were he to take Pedro’s place on Saturday he’d be throwing on just three days rest.  That would put Bannister, recovering from a hamstring injury, one he’s aggravated already, at a greater risk of reinjuring himself.  I don’t love that idea, but I like it more than pushing a wounded Pedro out there, or promoting Oliver Perez who was effective Monday night for the first time as a Met farmhand. 

            Nice Philip Humber story from MinorLeaguedugout.com, a site I’d never seen before.  Mostly the story covers well-traveled ground, but has a nice line about his change-up from St. Lucie Pitching Coach Ricky Bones. Bones claims Humber can throw his changeup “in any count, in any situation.” 

            Anderson Garcia, who the Mets had to put on waivers to clear space on the 40 man, was claimed by the Orioles and sent to AA Bowie so he might see his former team in relief this week.

 

Stars of the Day:

AAA: **Brian Bannister**/Chris Basak

AA: Chase Lambin

A+: Jose Coronado & Jesus Flores & Caleb Stewart.

A: Nick Evans & Sean Henry

SSA: The Six All-Stars

R (APP): Steven Holquin/Emmanuel Garcia
R (GCL):

 

Norfolk (AAA - International League)

Norfolk 1, @ Indianapolis 0

 

            Hi, I’m Brian Bannister, and I’d like to go back to the big leagues now: 8 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 7 K.   Sixty of Bannister’s 85 pitches were strikes and only one Indian reached second.  Heath Bell put runners at the corners in the ninth, but struck out a pair for his 11th AAA save of the year. 

            Chris Basak’s solo HR in the fifth inning was the Tides only hit of the day.

            Evan MacLane throws in the 2 PM start Wednesday. 

 

Binghamton (AA - Eastern League)

Bowie 9, @ Binghamton 4

 

            Chase Lambin drilled a pair of HR and drove home three runs to move his line to .300/.417/.643 in 21 games with the B-Mets, but it wasn’t enough to keep the Mets from their sixth straight loss.  Carlos Gomez (.284/.349/.421) continued his incredible second half with a 2-4 night that included a double and a walk. 

            The Baysox touched starter Miguel Pinago for six runs, all on HR in his five innings.  Matt Lindstrom worked a perfect eighth with two strikouts. 

            The Mets are now in third place, and a game out of the wild card spot. 

            Philip Humber throws Wednesday night for the B-Mets. 

 

St. Lucie (A+ - Florida State League)

Clearwater 8, @ St. Lucie 5

 

            Clearwater raced out to a 4-0 lead through three and then led 8-2 going into the bottom of the ninth, when the Mets offense struck for three runs to make the score respectable. 

            Four different Mets hitters had two hit nights, while Mike Carp was 1-4 with a two run bomb in the ninth.  Shortstop Jose Coronado, DH Caleb Stewart and catcher Jesus Flores were each 2-4 with a double. 

            The Threshers thrashed Blake Eager for four runs in six innings of work. 

 

Hagerstown (A – South Atlantic League)

@ Lakewood 7, Hagerstown 5

 

            The Suns began a 13-day, 13 game road trip by kicking a few balls leading to a four run first inning for the Blueclaws.  Bobby Parnell didn’t allow another run in his five innings of work, but still took his 10th loss of the year.

            Sean Henry’s 3-run double in the top of the fifth brought Hagerstown within a run, but Lakewood answered with three more in the bottom of the sixth.  Nick Evans, who was 2-3 with a double and a walk, had two of the Suns three hits, alongside Henry’s double. 

 

Brooklyn (SSA – New York Penn League)

Brooklyn

 

 

            Off for the NYP League All-Star Break. 

            Congratulations again to the Cyclones six All-Stars: RHP Eric Brown, RHP Jacob Ruckle, RHP Jeremy Mizeli, C Jason Jacobs, INF Luis Rivera  and OF Dustin Martin. 

 

Kingsport Mets (R – Appalachian League)

Kingsport 2, @ Danville 3

 

            Steven Holquin, the Mets 30th round pick in this year’s draft, out of Portville (CA) CC (That’s down in the central valley, near me.)  had a nice start, allowing two runs on five hits in six innings.  He struck out one and walked two. 

            Emmanuel Garcia was 3-5 with a double from the top of the order and Alejandro Zuaznabar was 2-3 with a walk.  Kingsport drew six walks as a team in this one. 

           

GCL Mets (R – Gulf Coast League)

GCL Dodgers 17, @ GCL Mets 4