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Jammers-Muckdogs Recap
Jamestown drops their second in a row with a tough 4-1 loss to Batavia. Bats weren’t all that quiet with 10 hits, but the only run came via a solo homer from Jesus Solorzano. Ran themselves out of a few innings and couldn’t string enough hits together.
The good: Everything, sort of. 10 hits is nothing to be unhappy about. Del Orbe was solid enough for six innings and Manzueta threw three pretty good innings as well. The problem was nothing was great, all just OK.
The bad: 0-for-7 with RISP. Left nine on. Two guys got caught stealing. The little things killed Jamestown tonight.
Game was over when: Jamestown had a leadoff double in the eighth from Yeison Hernandez for the heart of the order trailing just 3-1. Rosa struck out, Juengel struck out and Nola grounded out weakly. Batavia added insurance in the ninth, but it didn’t really matter. A two-out rally in the ninth was alright, but still needed more fireworks to become dangerous.
HITTERS
Anthony Gomez C — 1-for for the DH. Not a whole lot to talk about here.
Yeison Hernandez C+ — Leadoff double in the eighth in desperate need of a rally was huge. The 3-4-5 hitters going down so easily wasn’t.
Viosergy Rosa D — 0-for-4 with 2 strikeouts.
Matt Juengel B — Juengel was 2-for-4 but struck out in a big spot in the eighth. Also had a throwing error in the 9th, but that didn’t cost Jamestown.
Austin Nola C+ — I thought Nola would break out of it, but his 1-for-4 day kept his average at .115. I might give him a day off tomorrow to relax.
Jesus Solorzano B+ — Homered for Jamestown’s only run. Also made a nice running catch down the line.
Kentrell Dewitt C- — 0-for-3 and was hit by a pitch.
Jose Behar A- — I like Behar a lot. He went 2-for-4 and threw a runner out.
Juancito Martinez —
PITCHERS
Ramon Del Orbe B- — Not a bad day from Del Orbe but dropped down a peg or two when he couldn’t get out of the sixth. There were runners on the corners with nobody out, but after Behar threw a runner out and a soft grounder to Nola with the infield in suddenly had Del Orbe practically out of a jam. But after getting up 0-2, a wild pitch allowed Garrett Wittels to score. Tough cap to his night. Had retired 11 of 12 at one point.
Jheyson Manzueta B- — Was rudely welcomed to the game with back-to-back singles on the first two pitches he threw. But he struck out the next two before getting out of it with a fly ball. Threw a great eighth and had two down in the ninth before serving up a fastball that was crushed by Gary Apelian to give Batavia an insurance run. Probably a B+ if not for the homerun. Would have been three scoreless innings.
Jammers-Muckdogs Lineups
Game No. 7 for the Jammers. They host Batavia looking to get back over .500 and erase last night’s loss.
JAMESTOWN
1. Anthony Gomez — DH
2. Yeison Hernandez — 2B
3. Viosergy Rosa — 1B
4. Matt Juengel — 3B
5. Austin Nola — SS
6. Jesus Solorzano — RF
7. Kentrell Dewitt — LF
8. Jose Behar — C
9. Juancito Martinez — CF
SP — Ramon Del Orbe
BATAVIA
1. Anthony Melchionda — SS
2. Garrett Wittels — 2B
3. Jacob Wilson — 3B
4. Roberto Reyes — RF
5. David Bergin — 1B
6. Jesus Montero — C
7. Kolby Byrd — DH
8. Gary Apelian — LF
9. Steve Ramos — CF
SP — Ben Freeman
Jammers-Muckdogs Lineups
JAMESTOWN
1. CF Juancito Martinez
2. LF Kentrell Dewitt
3. 1B Felix Munoz
4. 3B Matt Juengel
5. DH Austin Nola
6. RF Jesus Solorzano
7. SS Rony Peralta
8. 21 C Sharif Othman
9. 2B Yefri Perez
SP — Helpi Reyes
BATAVIA
1. SS Anthony Melchionda
2. 2B Breyvic Valera
3. 3B Jacob Wilson
4. RF Roberto Reyes
5. 1B David Bergin
6. 3B David Washington
7. C Jonathan Keener
8. LF Gary Apelian
9. 1B Steve Ramos
SP — Tim Cooney
Quick thoughts: Nice to see Kentrell Dewitt back in the lineup after sitting out the last three. Spot starts for Peralta, Othman and Perez. Not too much of a surprise for any of them. However, the glaring omission has to be Anthony Gomez who’s been playing really well.
Breaking down the roster: hitting edition
I did this much earlier in the year (before the year even started actually) for the pitchers. But, now that we’ve had a look at these guys for almost a full week, let’s take a close look at how Angel Espada plans on using his 15 hitters this season.
CATCHERS
Jose Behar — He’s been the main guy behind the plate, catching three of five games with a day off in between each start. That leads me to believe he won’t play tonight. He’s 4-for-12 with a pair of doubles but I think his usage primarily because of his defense. He’s got a good arm and does well defensively. Behar was a 30th round pick last year.
Sharif Othman — Didn’t get a chance to see him, but Othman has started one game and went 1-for-3 with a walk. I think he’s the odd man out, especially with the immediate damage Brian Dice is doing with the bat. Othman was a 32nd round pick last year.
Brian Dice — Undrafted out of Lenoir-Rhyne University, Dice received just seven at bats last year. He’s quickly made a name for himself this year, going 3-for-4 in his first start before drilling a homerun in his second start. As is the case with this level, if you keep hitting, you’ll keep playing.
Michael Vaughn — He’s on the 7-day DL. Can’t be activated until Monday but Jamestown’s lineup is full, they’d need to make a roster move to activate him.
INFIELDERS
Viosergy Rosa (1B) — A 29th round pick in 2010, Rosa spent some time in Jamestown last year, but hit just .210 in 41 games. He’s got a pretty good eye at the plate and is 5-for-17 in four starts, but appears to be getting pushed for playing time by Felix Munoz. I like Rosa. I would imagine he’ll be in the lineup everyday (especially against righties) either at first or DH-ing.
Felix Munoz (1B) — Munoz was signed out of the Dominican Republic late in 2008 and is playing well in his first season above rookie ball. The 20-year-old first baseman is 5-for-10 and while he looked like primarily a backup, if he keeps getting multi-hit games in starts, he’ll be playing a lot. Minor complaint (and I mean minor, more of a note) — all five hits are singles.
Anthony Gomez (2B) — The sixth round pick out of Vanderbilt looks like a player. Gomez is batting .313/.400/.438 in four games and has four RBI. He’s started the last three games at second while hitting first or second and I can’t imagine that changing anytime soon with the way he’s been playing.
Yefri Perez (2B/SS) — He started the second game and went 0-for-4. He also played here last year and batted .198. It’s tough because Perez batted .290 and .319 in two stints at GCL in 2010 and 2011, respectively, but has struggled to get consistent playing time. With the logjam in the middle infield, that doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon.
Rony Peralta (2B/SS) — Peralta started a game and pinch ran, but doesn’t appear to have a great chance of cracking the starting lineup on a regular basis. Again, Jamestown has a bunch of middle infielders and Peralta looks like the last choice. He struggled between Jupiter and Jamestown last year, but the Marlins clearly like his speed.
Pedro Mendoza (2B/SS) — 7-day DL, but the same thing as Vaughn goes for the 21-year-old middle infielder. Jamestown would need to make a roster move to activate him and there’s quite the logjam in the infield. Mendoza did hit .252 in 31 games for Jamestown last year and did OK at Greensboro.
Yeison Hernandez (2B/SS) — Another middle infielder, Hernandez seems to be the third option up the middle. He’s started at short twice and second once, and also got a DH spot. Still just 19 years old, Hernandez has already spent time at Jupiter this year and he’s doing alright down here at Jamestown batting .263. Have to imagine he’ll play every three or four days out of five.
Austin Nola (SS/3B) — Nola, a fifth round pick this year, can do a little bit of everything on the infield but has been relegated to the left side so far. He’s started all five games but is off to a slow start, batting just .100 (2-for-20). Has walked three times, though. He’ll be fine.
Matt Juengel (3B) — He’s another rookie doing alright through five games with three starts. He’s batting .286, but probably has more power than he’s showing. The optimal lineup probably has him at third everyday.
OUTFIELDERS
Kentrell Dewitt (LF) — Dewitt, just 21, spent a majority of 2011 with Jamestown but struggled, hitting just .200. He’s started well, 4-for-7 with three doubles, but hasn’t played in the last three games. I’m awaiting word to see if he’s hurt (which he must be) and how long it is. Dewitt was in the starting lineup for the third game before getting scratched late.
Jesus Solorzano (OF) — He’s been the utility man out there, going from right to center to left in his first three games. He’s played all three in left with Dewitt out. He’s been the only player besides Nola to play every game and if Dewitt’s out for a longer time, that will have to keep up. He’s batting .200 (4-for-20) with a pair of doubles.
Juancito Martinez (CF) — Played in 4/5 games with every single one of them in center. He appears to have the job locked down for the time being. He’s been terrific so far, 6-for-15 with a stolen base.
Cameron Flynn (RF) — The rookie 23rd round pick out of Kentucky has had a rough go at it so far in his first week of pro ball. He’s 2-for-17 with a couple of walks and a RBI. He was at the top of the lineup early, which shows you what they think of his potential. If Dewitt’s out, the chances for him to break out of it will keep coming.
Jammers win 7-5, move to 3-2
I’ll recap this quick because there’s a lot I want to hit on today.
Jamestown won 7-5 thanks to another barrage of hits and a solid enough of a performance from the bullpen. The Jammers are over .500 for the first time this season and seem to really have their offense moving.
The good: The bats keep moving. 12 more hits Friday night and everybody in the lineup had one except for Cameron Flynn. Felix Munoz was the star with three hits and is now 5-for-10 on the season. Angel Espada has an interesting dilemma over at first with Munoz and Viosergy Rosa both hitting well.
The bad: Have I mentioned the starting pitching before? We knew Friday would be no different but it’s so hard to rely on your bullpen for 21 outs. Saturday will be interesting to see how long Helpi Reyes goes in his second start.
The game was over when: Batavia had cut the lead to 6-5 and had the tying run on third base with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh. Jheyson Manzueta got a groundout and strikeout before giving way to lefty specialist Frankie Reed to get the final out of the inning. Jamestown tacked on another run and Batavia never put together another rally.
All Is Good — Through 4 Games
First of all, we’re four games in, so there’s not too much to be said here about this season yet. But there are actually some positive signs out there, and frankly, not so many negative ones. Sure, 2-2 is nothing to brag about — or to even be overly confident about going forward — but the Jammers have the feel of a contender if four games mean anything.
What I’ve liked:
• Jamestown is fourth in the NYPL in batting average at .264, which actually feels low in regard to how they’ve been hitting. A few regulars are struggling like Austin Nola and Jesus Solorano, but everyone else is hitting. In order, they’ve had 7, 9, 10 and 13 hits in their respective games this year. That will get the job done in this league. Last year, Jamestown hit .246
• They’re also third in ERA at 2.89 and third in WHIP at 1.15. Let’s just put it this way: if both of those stats stay somewhat in that area, Jamestown will be one of the best teams in the league. Again, it’s four games. But, Jamestown — which hasn’t had a starter enter the fifth inning — has shown they have a remarkably good bullpen with plenty of arms that can get outs. Now the question is do they have the starters to go longer than a few innings.
What concerns me:
• The starting pitching. Jamestown is the only team in the league not to have their starting pitcher start the fifth inning. Through four games, 21 starters in this league have gone at least five innings and another five have at least started the fifth. None of them are Jammers. I’m sure it’s a Marlins/Jammers thing since it’s early in the season and there a lot of arms down here, but I’m not so sure that can keep up.
• Of their 39 hits, only 10 of them are extra base hits and only one was a four-bagger. Again, it’s early, but Jamestown is seventh in slugging. This isn’t too big of a concern if they can keep hitting for a high average because this team does have some speed and Angel Espada has shown how much he likes to play small either via the sacrifice or the hit-and-run.
Why it doesn’t matter yet:
It’s four games. They play 76 — weather permitting. But these are some trends to keep an eye on. Does the bullpen need to get 15 or more outs every night? Can this team hit for power? We’ll see.
Coming up on Jampacked blog:
• Our next live game (via Twitter) is Sunday against Batavia at 4:05 p.m.
• Saturday: Breaking down the roster — hitters.
• Sunday morning pitching report.
• Every Sunday night will be a weekly recap around the NYPL. June 24 will be the first look.
Game 4 Recap
Well, that’s enough of Mahoning Valley for one month. The Jammers first four games (of 12) with the Scrappers ended in a 2-2 tie, but Thursday night was more of the same as the Jammers pounded out hits and received another stellar outing from the bullpen to win comfortably 6-2.
The good: Well a lot, which tends to happen in a 4-run win. Jake Esch was great in relief. He threw four innings, allowed just one hit and a walk while striking out four. And no runs as the Jammers kept adding to their lead.
Also, Jamestown had 13 hits. Five guys had multi-hit nights including Cameron Flynn who had been struggling mightily in the leadoff spot. He went 2-for-4 hitting eighth. Viosergy Rosa, Anthony Gomez, Yeison Hernandez and Jesus Solorzano also had two hits a piece. Everyone in the lineup had a hit except Austin Nola, who did at least draw a walk.
Sean Donatello also threw three solid innings, allowing just a run in the ninth, en route to grabbing an endurance save.
The bad: Nola. Only him and Solorzano have started every game, but Nola is just 1-for-17. It’s way too early to be concerned about the kid, though. Ryan Newell only went two innings and I just don’t understand the pitching patterns for the Jammers. If they only wanted two innings out of Newell, but were willing to go four with Esch, why not start Esch? Even Donatello threw three. Who knows, but the Jammers combined to throw a five hitter.
Game was over when: Esch struck out Hunter Jones to end the sixth. Jamestown had just tacked on another run in the top half of the inning to make it 5-1 and the Scrappers had runners on the corners for one of their better hitters in Jones. The strikeout ended the inning. Brian Dice hit a homerun to start the seventh and it was all over except the crying.
Next up: Back up the 90 come the Jammers. They’ll play Batavia at 7:05 p.m. at Dwyer before returning home for two against the Muckdogs on the weekend.
Jammers-Scrappers Lineups
Game No. 4
Today’s lineups.
JAMESTOWN
1. Anthony Gomez, 2B — .222
2. Yeison Hernandez, DH — .100
3. Viosergy Rosa, 1B — .286
4. Matt Juengel, 3B — .333
5. Austin Nola, SS — .077
6. Brian Dice, C — .750
7. Jesus Solorzano, LF — .083
8. Cameron Flynn, RF — .000
9. Juancito Martinez, CF — .444
SP — Ryan Newell
MAHONING VALLEY
1. Jose Ramirez, 2B
2. Aaron Siliga, CF
3. Charlie Valerio, 1B
4. Mitch Nilsson, DH
5. Hunter Jones, LF
6. Erik Gonzalez, 3B
7. Juan Romero, RF
8. Jeremy Lucas, C
9. Jairo Kelly, SS
SP — Ryan Merritt
Pitching Report: June 21
As I outlined in our all-new Usage Chart, only three pitchers haven’t been used yet in the Jammers first three games this season. Matt Milroy and Drew Steckenrider were both relievers in college last year, so I’d assume Ryan Newell (7th round pick out of Shorter University) will start either tonight or tomorrow.
But, if they don’t go to a 4-man rotation (and I don’t know why they would) the smart money would be on Steckenrider (8th round pick out of Tennessee) being the other starter. Milroy appears to strictly be a one inning guy.
The Jammers used five pitchers Monday, four Tuesday and five Wednesday. Of the starters, only Del Orbe and Hope have gone into the fourth with neither going into the fifth. Bryan Berglund and Miguel Fermin each threw twice on Monday and Wednesday.
What to expect Thursday:
For whatever reason, Jamestown appears settled on not pushing starters too much in their first start. So whoever starts today and tomorrow won’t go more than four innings. As was the case with Reyes on Monday, if either falters, they’ll probably only go three.
So who will we see today? I’ll say Newell will start. I would expect Beau Wright, Jake Esch and Matt Milroy will get work as well. A save situation will likely call for Nick Wittgren. I think we’d all like to see Jheyson Manzueta again and I wouldn’t rule him out for tonight, either. Certainly some combination of those five will work the last five or six innings tonight.
What to expect Friday:
Again, I have no idea who is going to start, but I’ll say Steckenrider. If any of those five I mentioned for Thursday don’t throw (and someone assuredly won’t), they’ll definitely get work Friday. On top of that, Sean Donatello could be in line for an inning or two. I don’t think we’ll see Fermin either day. He’s looked great but two innings Monday, day off Tuesday and two more innings Wednesday deserves at least two days off. Expect him Saturday.
What to expect Saturday:
Back to Opening Day starter Helpi Reyes. Who I think would be stretched out to five innings. After that, who knows at this point.
Jammers fall in extra innings
No full recap tonight from me since I didn’t see or listen to the game, but here are a few quick notes from the box score.
The good: The pitching was solid again tonight, including another tremendous performance from the bullpen. Miguel Fermin tossed two hitless innings, which means the 27-year-old catcher-turned-pitcher has allowed just one hit and one walk in four innings. Frankie Reed also threw two scoreless innings. Meanwhile, the bats turned out 10 hits with two each from Viosergy Rosa, Matt Juengel and Jose Behar and a team-high three from Juancito Martinez. But…
The bad: They were all singles except one double from Behar. And as the Jammers spread out their hits, they went a combined 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position and left 12 runners on base. Also, top of the order Cameron Flynn (0-for-6) and Anthony Gomez (0-for-4) went o-f0r-10.
Game was over when: Last play of the game again. Bryan Berglund walked Juan Romero with the bases loaded for the ever-exciting walk-off walk in the bottom of the 11th.
Next up: Jammers finish off their four game set with Mahoning Valley with another road game tomorrow at 7:05 p.m.
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