Disappointed in the big club?  Enjoy excellent Memorial Day performances by Dan Murphy and Michael Antonini for Binghamton and Savannah. 

            This Marty Noble story on Mets.com says Pedro Martinez will throw for St. Lucie on Wednesday and then join the big club on Tuesday, June 3rd, on Claudio Vargas’ day to throw.  If it were up to me, I’d keep Vargas in the rotation while sending Mike Pelfrey down to New Orleans to find a slider he can use in major league games.  Remember that Vargas is out of options, and thus can’t be sent down to the minors, which is why the Brewers released him in the first place.  Of course, Pedro would have to survive his outing in St. Lucie and be ready to go. 

            In totally unrelated news, Scott Kazmir struck out ten batters in seven dominant innings powering the Rays to baseball’s best record. 

 

 

Stars of the Day:

AAA: Valentino Pascucci & Michel Abreu & Anderson Machado/Brian Stokes

AA: **Dan Murphy** & Caleb Stewart

A+: Off

A: *Michael Antonini*/Casey Craig & Richard Pena & Greg Veloz

 

New Orleans (AAA – Pacific Coast League)

@ New Orleans Zephyrs (25-25, -2.5) 8, Albuquerque Isotopes (24-26) 2

 

            The Zs needed just three swings to score their eight runs in sweeping the Isotopes at home for the first time.  RF Valentino Pascucci provided the first big swing, swatting a bases loaded double in the third.  1B Michel Abreu drilled a three run double of his own in the eighth.  3B Anderson Machado lifted his second homer of the year for the third big rip of the game.  Abreu was 2-4 with his 3 RBI and Machado was 2-3 with a walk. 

            Brian Stokes (5-5, 4.82) was effective over six innings, fanning six and walking one.  Stokes gave up two runs on four hits. 

 

 

Binghamton (AA - Eastern League)

Reading Phillies (21-27) 8, @ Binghamton Mets (24-25, -9.0) 7

 

            Oh man.  Dan Murphy (.332/.379/.518) was 3-4 with three homers and five RBI and the B-Mets still lost.  Oh, and Caleb Stewart was 2-5 with a bomb of his own, so Binghamton went yard four times and still lost.

            In part, the B-Mets lost because they didn’t field well.  Manny Garcia committed an error on the game’s first play that led to two unearned runs for Reading.  Murphy couldn’t get a force at second to get Jon Niese out of the third inning, leading to another unearned tally.  It was Murphy’s 11th error of the year.  Niese allowed five runs, two earned in five innings.  Robert Ford’s game story on B-Mets.com reports that seven of the hits Niese gave up were infield singles.  Niese whiffed seven and gave up just one walk. 

            So given all of that, the Mets took a 6-5 lead into the ninth inning, and turned the ball over to Eddie Kunz who promptly loaded the bases before issuing a walk to force home the game-tying run.  A two-run double later, and Kunz had his first blown save of the year.  In 22.1 innings, Kunz has struck out 19 while walking 14.  That’s not good enough. 

            Binghamton begins a ten-game roadie Tuesday. 

 

St. Lucie (A+ - Florida State League)

St. Lucie Mets

 

            Off. The Mets host Vero Beach for three games this week.

 

Savannah (A – South Atlantic League)

Savannah Sand Gnats (22-29, -12.5) 7, @ Greenville Drive (26-26) 0

 

            Casey Craig’s two run homer in the first was enough for Michael Antonini.  The 21-year-old southpaw was awesome over seven shutout frames, fanning seven and walking one while yielding just four hits.  In 30.2 innings in five May starts, Antonini has fanned 26 while walking just four without giving up a long ball on his way to a 1.76 ERA in the month. 

            Craig (.378/.454/.585 in 82 AB) was 2-4 with a double and a homer.  CF Richard Pena was 3-5 from the 2-hole.  2B Greg Veloz extended his hit streak to six games with a pair of doubles. 

 

 

Toby Hyde has written Toby’s Mets Minor League Report since 2004.  Please pass this along to friends, family, co-workers, and Mets fans of all types.  To subscribe to the email newsletter, sign up here: http://groups.google.com/group/mets-minors?hl=en.  Archives are available at http://metsminors.metsblog.com.