Ex-Met Dillon Gee shuts down 51s
A former Met shut down the future Mets on Wednesday night at Dell Diamond.
Dillon Gee, who pitched for the Mets from 2010-15, tossed six shutout innings for Round Rock as the Express beat the 51s 3-1 in the second game of the four-game set.
Gee gave up just two hits and struck out nine in his outing. In his past two starts, he has given up no runs and just three hits over 13 2/3 innings pitched.
“He pounded the strike zone. He mixed pitches well,” manager Pedro Lopez said. “He got ahead and made hitters chase. I thought he did a good job.”
Gee left with a three-run lead after 51s (19-28) starter Ricky Knapp had given up three runs earlier in the game.
Knapp threw seven innings in his outing giving up just one earned run.
The Express (21-26) started their scoring in second inning on a Preston Beck triple, which drove in Travis Snider.
In the next inning, they scored after an error by third baseman Phillip Evans, which should have been the third out of the inning, allowed Josh Wilson to score.
The next batter, Cesar Puello, singled, driving in one more run.
It was Knapp’s second straight quality outing, as he gave up just one run in six innings in his last start.
“He threw the ball well (and) kept the ball down,” Lopez said. “He made a couple mistakes, but other than that I thought he did a really good job to keep us in the ball game. I thought he deserved a win. It’s just unfortunate that didn’t happen.”
Knapp, who has been relatively unsupported by his offense this season, saw the same thing happen again on Wednesday.
The 51s managed just five hits in the game and their best opportunity to come back from the three-run deficit was in the eighth inning when they had two on and one out.
Brandon Nimmo grounded into a fielder’s choice before Amed Rosario delivered an RBI single to center, driving in Xorge Carrillo. After that, Dominic Smith grounded out to end the threat.
Lopez said he thought the team was too passive at the plate on Wednesday as the team scored just a run for the second time in three nights.
“I wish I knew,” Lopez said of the team’s offensive inconsistencies. “Trust me, it would have been fixed by now.”
After scoring eight runs on Saturday and seven on Sunday, Las Vegas has now scored just five in its past three games — all losses.
“I think it’s more of the same that we’ve been seeing this year. It’s just on and off, on and off,” Lopez said. “We haven’t been able to stay consistent at the plate for whatever reason. Tomorrow’s a new day. Hopefully we have good at-bats tomorrow.”
Up next
Who: 51s at Round Rock Express
When: 5:05 p.m. Thursday
Where: Dell Diamond, Round Rock, Texas
Starters: Sean Gilmartin (1-1, 5.94 ERA), 51s, vs. Anthony Bass (0-0, 3.00 ERA)
Next five
Friday: Las Vegas at Round Rock, 5:05 p.m.
Saturday: El Paso at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Sunday: El Paso at Las Vegas, 12:05 p.m.
Monday: El Paso at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Tuesday: El Paso at Las Vegas, 12:05 p.m.
Update
The New York Mets activated catcher Travis d’Arnaud, who had been rehabbing with Las Vegas, from the disabled list andput starting pitcher Tommy Milone on the DL with a sprained knee. D’Arnaud played in four games for the 51s and went 3-for-13 with two doubles.
For more coverage of the 51s, go to ReviewJournal.com/51s
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
