While the big league Mets fall to the fish, the B-Mets blank the Fisher Cats
Rafael Montero made his second start following a spot start at AAA and did not disappoint, pitching 7 scoreless innings in a 6-0 B-Mets win. One day after an 8-7 loss where minor mistakes made all the difference, the B-Mets defense was in fine form. Aggressive baserunning kept the runs coming, Cesar Puello got the night off after striking out three times the night before, and Alonzo Harris was back in the lineup after a nasty finger injury.
Rafael Montero was the star of the night, and for good reason. His time at AA is clearly coming to an end, with Zack Wheeler’s major league callup likely a major factor. His fastball was holding steady at 92-93 over all 7 innings, with the occasional 94 in the early innings. On top of that, he executed a quick pickoff move for any runners who managed to reach base and was remarkably fast to get in place to back up at third if any runners headed for second. Even with only four strikeouts on the night, his instincts and focus were top notch and kept the Fisher Cats from scoring. They came closest in the 5th, when a pair of singles and a balk put two runners in scoring position with two outs. Montero struck out Kevin Pillar to end the threat. Those would be the last New Hampshire runners in scoring position for the night and that would also end the night for Pillar and Fisher Cats manager Gary Allenson, who were ejected for arguing the strikeout.
You need some offense to win a game though, so it was good that the Mets got all the runs they would need in the first inning on a Cory Vaughn double. They would go on to add at least one run in half of the remaining innings while holding the Fisher Cats scoreless.
Alonzo Harris was back in action after getting the stitches out of his finger, which he shared in full detail on Twitter. Harris was clearly eager to get back out on the field, jumping into a bunt in his first at bat but failing to beat the throw. He would go 0-5 on the night, reaching base only once when a bad throw to first broke up what should have been a double play. Harris was later stranded at second, ending his baserunning for the night. Despite the poor results, his enthusiasm was nice to see.
Richard Lucas and Alonzo Harris pose for photos before the game
Gathering at the dugout railing to watch, um, water bottle stacking?
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