Buffalo Bisons (37-32, 5 GB)
-Despite being five games over .500 the Bisons are still five games out of the division with three teams in front of them. Buffalo is still teetering on that edge of either catching up to the lead back or falling back to their I-90 foes in Rochester and Syracuse who are at least 4 1/2 games behind Buffalo entering today.
-The team is in a must-win situation today after losing the first three of their four-game set against division leading Pawtucket. It’s also a must win since the next eight games are on a long road trip to Norfolk and Durham over the next eight days before returning home on June 26. The offense and the pitching has been weak in the Pawtucket series as the team has been outscored 21-8 through three games.
-Taking a hard luck loss on Thursday was Matt Harvey who pitched seven innings while allowing three runs, he also struck out double digits for the second time in his last six starts. Meanwhile Jenrry Mejia has pitched 17 innings thus far and has a 1.06 ERA, he will likely be up by the time the Yankees roll into town on Friday if not sooner with Elvin Ramirez being shipped back to Buffalo.
Binghamton Mets (31-33, 6 GB)
-Things aren’t looking too hot right now for Binghamton who are six games out of first places with three teams ahead of them. The task is similar to that of Buffalo but the difference is most of Binghamton’s players will soon be departing for AAA soon once the short-season and rookie leagues get going, we’ve already seen Matt den Dekker sent up, and I’m sure Zack Wheeler has his suitcase ready to go as well.
-The team went 2-4 this week as they look to earn a series victory in their rubber game against Altoona today at 1 p.m. The team will have an off day tomorrow before having a home-and-home double header on Tuesday, the B-Mets will complete a suspended game as the home team in Akron at 6 p.m. before the regularly scheduled road game against the Aeros set to begin at 7 p.m.
St. Lucie Mets (48-17, Clinched Playoff Berth)
-The Florida State League All Star Game was last night as the South Division (which includes St. Lucie) defeated the North Division by a score of 6-3. The star of the show offensively was Mets’ 3rd baseman Wilmer Flores who went 3-for-4 at the plate with three runs driven in. Outfielder and starter Cory Vaughn along with second string catcher Blake Forsythe both went 1-for-2 in limited all star game action. Richard Lucas went 0-for-3 and Wilfredo Tovar went 0-for-2 as well in the game.
-On the mound in the game Chase Hutchingson pitched a 1-2-3 third inning, while Cory Mazzoni allowed a run in the fourth but struck out a pair. Adam Kolarek pitched a scoreless sixth inning and also struck out a pair of North All Stars. The St. Lucie squad reconvenes on Tuesday when they travel to Bradenton to begin the second half of the season before the playoffs which they are already in.
Savannah Sand Gnats (40-26, 5 GB)
-The Gnats will be unable to finish with a first-half crown while holding onto second place in the South Atlantic League’s south division. If the Gnats finish in first place or in second place behind Asheville during the second half of the season then Savannah will make the playoffs during the 2012 season. The squad finishes the first half of the season today with a game against the Rome Braves before coming back from the All Star Game on Thursday.
-This past week Savannah had a crazy schedule with rainouts, cancellations and double headers as they tried to squeeze in their remaining first half games. The original six-game series (three home, three road) with Charleston turned into a four-game set with two completed games in Charleston while the third was completed in Savannah, before Savannah got one home game on Wednesday. The team is looking to polish off the Braves with a four-game sweet today.
Brooklyn Cyclones
-The Cyclones start up tomorrow evening when they host Staten Island at 7 p.m. The Mets’ second pick in the 2012 draft Kevin Plawecki a catcher from Purdue will be playing for the team this year according to Mets’ General Manager Sandy Alderson after both Plawecki and first round pick Gavin Cecchini took batting practice at Citi Field on Friday. Cecchini will be reporting to Kingsport who starts their season on Tuesday.
