Ynoa cruises as 51s beat Rainiers

Gabriel Ynoa wasn’t supposed to start Monday.

But pressed into duty a day early after Robert Gsellman was called up by the Mets, Ynoa turned in arguably his best start of the year.

Ynoa didn’t give up a run in eight innings while leading the 51s to a 5-2 victory over the Tacoma Rainiers at Cheney Stadium.

He was quick and economical throughout his outing, which was his first start since being sent back down to Triple-A from the Mets — where he worked strictly out of the bullpen — on Aug. 18.

“I thought this was one of his best starts since what we’ve seen early in the year,” manager Wally Backman said. “He commanded the strike zone, stayed in front of hitters, got early contact when he needed it. I thought he pitched a very good ball game.”

After giving up two hits to begin the first, he didn’t allow another until the eighth inning.

In between, the 51s (61-69) scored all their runs.

Five players — Brandon Nimmo, Michael Conforto, Eric Campbell, Kevin Plawecki and Matt Reynolds — finished the game with two hits apiece.

The 51s started their scoring in the second inning with a Travis Taijeron two-run home run.

They scored again in the sixth on a Plawecki RBI single and twice more in the eighth on a Conforto home run and a wild pitch.

“I think one of the biggest hits in the game was probably the two-out hit by Plawecki,” Backman said. “It gave us a little cushion, gave Ynoa a little bit of a cushion and he was able to finish pitching the way he pitched.”

After Ynoa’s exit, Josh Edgin ran into problems in the ninth inning, allowing a couple of runs on three singles and a walk prompting Backman to turn to Paul Sewald to retire the last batter of the game.

Though Ynoa had been cruising through his eight innings, Backman said there was no way he would have returned for the ninth.

Originally, the plan was for him to only throw five or six innings because he had thrown a 32-pitch side the day before as he wasn’t scheduled to start.

But since Ynoa was cruising, he was extended a bit longer.

“I don’t think that we really pushed him because I think the eight innings of work that he had (were) relatively easy for him,” Backman said. “I think he went into the eighth inning with only 70 something pitches.”

Ynoa finished with 96 in his outing as he picked up his 11th win of the season.

“I’d say that was our best start of the year,” Backman said.

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

Up next

■ Who: Las Vegas 51s at Tacoma Rainiers

■ When: 7:05 p.m. Tuesday

■ Where: Cheney Stadium, Tacoma, Washington

■ Starters: Darin Gorski (4-3, 6.93 ERA) vs. Taijuan Walker (1-0, 3.60 ERA)

Next five

■ Wednesday: Salt Lake at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

■ Thursday: Salt Lake at Las Vegas, doubleheader, 5:05 p.m.

■ Friday: Salt Lake at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

■ Saturday: Salt Lake at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.

■ Sunday: Off

Update

The New York Mets called up starting pitcher Robert Gsellman on Monday after Steven Matz landed on the disabled list. Gsellman, one of the Mets’ top pitching prospects, was 1-5 with a 5.73 ERA in nine starts with Las Vegas, but he has pitched much better than his record and ERA indicate, especially recently.

In addition, third baseman T.J. Rivera will be recalled by the Mets on Tuesday when they put second baseman Neil Walker on the paternity list.