51s fall 8-6 to New Orleans for 7th straight loss

The 51s’ problems continued Sunday as their losing streak hit seven games.

New Orleans rocked starter Duane Below right out of the gate and the 51s fell 8-6 to New Orleans at Cashman Field, prompting manager Wally Backman to hold a meeting after the game.

“I asked players not to worry about what’s happening in the big leagues, worry about what they have to do here for the next 22 games,” Backman said. “Come with the attitude expecting to win every day and at the end of those 22 days or at the end of every day, be able to look yourself in the mirror and say ‘I gave it the effort that needed to be done to try to help this team win,’ and there will be no issues.”

Sunday, the 51s found themselves in a hole early that they were never able to climb out of.

Below gave up hits to four of the first five batters of the game and before the 51s got a chance to bat, they were down by four runs. He then gave up another pair of runs in the second inning and a solo home run in the third inning.

All told, the Zephyrs scored seven runs on 11 hits in Below’s five-inning outing, which was one of his worst of the season.

“We had a rough night tonight. Our starting pitching has not been good of late,” manager Wally Backman said. “The pitching needs to be better.”

The 51s chipped away at that lead, scoring a pair of runs in the fourth, a pair in the sixth and one each in the seventh and eighth, but they never came closer than two runs behind.

Michael Conforto, recently sent down from the Mets, got the 51s on the board with a solo home run in the fourth.

He was bright spot for Las Vegas, finishing the day 3-for-4 with a single, double and homer in his first start since being sent down.

“It’s a little bittersweet being back here, but it was good to get out here today and just play and not have to worry about some of the stuff I had to worry about up there and just kind of do my thing and get my work in,” Conforto said.

Conforto, the Mets’ 2014 first-round pick, had been sent down earlier in the season to help find his swing. This time around, Conforto said he was pressing and swinging at the wrong pitches.

He also wasn’t getting consistent at-bats, which he will now that he’s down in Las Vegas.

“Conforto needs to play every day through the good and the bad,” Backman said. “We’ve talked. We’ve had great conversations between him and I and I know what the kid’s all about. It’s just a matter of relaxing and just playing the game and having fun.”

Sunday was a good start for that, even though the 51s didn’t fare as well.

“It’s definitely not as loud (in the clubhouse) as it was when we were playing well when I was back here,” Conforto said. “We want that win, just to get off this losing streak, that’s for sure. We’ll come out tomorrow and it’ll be a better day, I’m sure.”

Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand