It's Different in Vegas

[Edgy MD]

Thursday night, the Las Vegas 51s won 20-6. Twenty runs, of course, represents a week for the Mets these days. A good week.

Kirk Niewenhuis homered twice in that game, and once last night (against a rehabbing Jake Peavy!), giving him six homers in nine games since returning to Las Vegas. Six homers! That represents a year for him in Flushing. A good year.

Dillon gee threw three scoreless innings. Not everything is different, though, as he got run up for six runs in the fourth.

[Edgy MD]

Currently Sucking Up Space on the Vegas Disable List
Starting Pitcher Tyler Pill
Relief Pitcher Jack Leathersich
Shortstop Matt Reynolds (elbow)
Centefielder Darrell Ceciliani
Leftfielder Kyle Johnson

Don't agitate for any of those guys.

[Edgy MD]

Not only did Matt Bowman pitch the game of his career (two-hit, complete-game shutout) as mentioned in the Zobrist thread, but Brooks Conrad did something remarkable as well:

[list:204bl8dz][*:204bl8dz]In the second, inning, he doubled.[/*:m:204bl8dz]
[*:204bl8dz]In the fourth, he hit a solo homer to right.[/*:m:204bl8dz]
[*:204bl8dz]In the bottom of the sixth, he hit an RBI triple to right.[/*:m:204bl8dz]
[*:204bl8dz]In the eighth, he came up needing just a single to complete the cycle, and seemingly had it when he Baltimore chopped a hard shot over the first baseman. But he had the moral courage to say "nitz to history," and instead dug for second without hesitation.[/*:m:204bl8dz][/list:u:204bl8dz]

Cycle shmycle. In a 4-0 game, he was pretty much a one-man wrecking crew.

[Farmer Ted]

Dillon Gee has to follow that gem tonight. Poor guy.

[Edgy MD]

Vic Black gave up three in the ninth last night to blow a 4�2 lead, giving up two walks and four hits. Vegas falls out of first place for the first time in what seems like a very long time.

Looking more and more like Vic Black won't be able to get is act together in time to be of much help to the 2015 Mets.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Sounds like he's ready for a call-up!

[Edgy MD]

The Vegans re-take first with a resounding 8�3 win over the all-round excellent Omaha Storm Chasers, as the red hot (previously, anyhow) El Paso Chihuahuas fall 7�0 to the Memphis Redbirds. Travis Tajeiron wasn't about to let Yoenis Cespedes grab all the headlines, and so he hit three homers of his own, his 21st through 23rd on the season. He's officially a candidate for PCLMVP, even though Wally sometimes bats him eighth.

Darin Gorski gets the win with one inning each of scoreless relief from Zach Thornton, Alex Torres, and Chasen Bradford, any one of whom might be a Met by the time you wake this morning.

[Edgy MD]

Dillon Gee fans 10 in six innings, but allows three runs (two earned). Las Vegas enters the bottom of the eighth tied at three before Dario Alvarez and Zach Thornton conspire to cough up two, and Las Vegas loses to Round Rock.

The win shaves a full game of their lead, whittling it to a game and a half over El Paso, who won. Magic number sits at eight, with the 51s hosting El Paso for a four-game set in the penultimate series of the season. This is where it all gets real.

Travis Tajeiron's homer puts him within two of league leader Adam Duvall, who has split time between Sacramento and Louisville.

[Edgy MD]

Vegas and Paso tied 2-2 after six. Cody Satterwhite on in relief of Darin Gorski. Matt Reynolds has a homer, his sixth.

[Edgy MD]

It's the same in Vegas, only moreso, as a solid game is blown up by the bullpen in the ninth. This time proved fatal, however, as the 51s entered the ninth up 5-3 and Scott Rice and John Church conspired to throw the game back to El Paso, giving up three runs, and ultimately, the victory.

Some associate Rice and Church with weddings. Wally Backman is going to associate them with lost pennants, as the setback closes the Las Vegas lead in the PCL Southern Division to a half a game (!!). Logan Verrett, on loan from the big league club, opposes El Paso's Jason Lane, still grinding it out at the age of 38 to the tune of a 5.71 ERA. You may remember Jason from such films as Young Power-Hitting Astros Outfielder and 35-Year-Old Washout Turns to Pitching. He's only appeared in three big-league games since 2007.

Almost makes you want to root for him. Almost.

[Benjamin Grimm]

The fortunes of the Mets are far more important than those of the 51s, but I hope that Wally's team isn't too adversely affected by September call-ups.

[Edgy MD]

Wally Backman's 51s tied 1-1 with Jami Quirk's Chihuahuas. Travis Tajeiron has his 25th homer.

A win would cut the magic number from 6 to 4 with five games left on the schedule after this. Unfortunately, two of these will be against these same Chihuahuas.

[MFS62]

Las Vegas lost in extra innings.
They're now 1/2 game behind the dreaded Chihuahuas. (It feels funny typing that)

Going down to the wire.

Later

[Edgy MD]

That's what I get for going to sleep.

[Edgy MD]

Chihuahuas kicking some Vegas butt tonight. It's 7-1 after 6 innings with the lone run coming on a Nimmo solo shot. First place in jeopardy.