Top prospects spark 51s to win over Round Rock
Right now, when Michael Conforto comes to the plate, good things seem to follow.
Before the game, he said simply he thought he was finding a lot of holes and hitting the ball hard.
Thursday, it was the same story as a fly ball he hit in the first inning dropped in left for a double, plating Brandon Nimmo and giving the 51s (59-67) a lead they wouldn’t relinquish on their way to an 8-6 win over the Round Rock Express at Cashman Field.
Conforto finished the day with a pair of hits and is now 10-for-14 in the series.
Ahead of him in the lineup, Nimmo finished 2-for-5 and Gavin Cecchini 2-for-4, potentially giving fans a glimpse of what to expect from the three first-rounders in the future. Nimmo was the 13th overall pick in 2011, Cecchini the 12th pick in 2012 and Conforto the 10th pick in 2014.
“It’s not very often you can say that you have three No. 1 picks hitting first second and third, so it’s nice to have those types of players in the lineup, especially when you can put them back-to-back-to-back,” manager Wally Backman said. “There’s a reason each one of those individuals was a No. 1 pick. They show different signs at different times why they were a No. 1 pick.”
They all showed those signs Thursday, combining for half of the team’s 12 hits.
Eric Campbell, Johnny Monell and Matt Reynolds combined for the other six, each adding two apiece in the victory.
The 51s did the bulk of their damage in the second inning, scoring five runs as seven of the first eight batters in the frame reached base.
Nimmo, Campbell and Monell all had RBI hits in the inning to stake starter Darin Gorski to a 6-0 lead. But that lead quickly shrunk as Gorski gave up two runs in the third and three more in the fourth to make it a one-run game.
“I thought our offense was solid again,” Backman said. “Our offense has been consistent all year. Our starting pitching has been the issue, especially since the all-star break.”
Though Gorski did give up those five runs, the 51s never trailed in the game.
For the third straight night, a 51s reliever had an eventful ninth inning. This time it was Jim Henderson, who put two runners on. But unlike the last two nights, he was able to get out of the jam by inducing a pop up and striking out Alex Burg swinging to end the game.
“I crossed my fingers tonight,” Backman said. “I think we’ve gone through a bad streak and I believe it’s over with. I think all teams have some sort of bad streak. It’s how fast you come out of it. It’s taken us a long time so hopefully it’s a learning curve for some of these players.”
Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand.
Up next
Who: Round Rock Express at Las Vegas 51s
When: 7:05 p.m. Friday
Where: Cashman Field
Starters: Chi Chi Gonzalez (7-8, 4.93 ERA) vs. Duane Below (5-11, 5.33 ERA)
Next five
Saturday: Las Vegas at Tacoma, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: Las Vegas at Tacoma, 1:35 p.m.
Monday: Las Vegas at Tacoma, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday: Las Vegas at Tacoma, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday: Salt Lake at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Update
Starter Gabriel Ynoa was optioned from the Mets to Las Vegas on Thursday. In addition, pitcher Kevin McGowan was assignedto Las Vegas from Double-A Binghamton, Kyle Johnson was placed on the disabled list, and Logan Verrett was placed on the temporarily inactive list.
