Hand, Boyd lift 51s past Salt Lake
With the New York Mets making trades and moves throughout the month prompting a number of call ups, Jayce Boyd has found his name penciled into the 51s’ lineup more and more.
He’s been making the most of his opportunity.
A night after his home run broke open a tie game, Boyd finished the day 3-for-3 with four RBIs as Las Vegas beat Salt Lake 8-4 on Sunday night at Cashman Field.
“He’s getting to play more often. We’re down position players, don’t have too many options off the bench and (I) keep trying to rotate guys, have him DH and playing him in left kind of helps him get some at-bats,” manager Pedro Lopez said. “I’m really glad that he’s swinging the bat the way he is. He’s always been known for being a good hitter and he’s taking advantage of every opportunity that he gets.”
Boyd began the night by driving in two runs in the first inning with single to right that scored Phillip Evans and Travis Snider.
After a Jeff McNeil sacrifice fly an inning later drove in another run and Salt Lake (64-64) struck back for two more in the top of the third, Boyd responded with a two-run home run, giving Las Vegas (51-77) a 5-2 lead in the third.
He added a walk and single later in the game.
With 10 games remaining in the August, Boyd already has more plate appearances this month than he did in April, May or June.
“I feel like just getting some consistent at-bats, you can start working on some stuff and getting a better feel,” Boyd said Saturday. “You’re not really searching on a couple a day basis between at-bats. I think getting consistent at-bats is definitely helpful and that’s for anyone playing.”
After Boyd’s home run in the third inning, the Bees got to within one run with a Ramon Flores two-run home run off starter Donovan Hand.
Hand gave up four runs in his five-inning effort, picking up the win in the process.
“The two-run homer in the fifth kind of leaves you with a bad taste in your mouth but I missed out over the plate, it was up. It wasn’t a terrible pitch but I was trying to go up anyways. The wind blew it out, two runs later. But kept the lead and take a win in Vegas,” Hand said.
After Flores’ home run, Las Vegas responded with two more runs, one on a Travis Taijeron RBI double and the other on a Victor Cruzado bases-loaded walk.
Taijeron also homered in the seventh inning, his 24th of the season.
The win was the 51s’ second straight and fifth in their last six games for a team that has been playing better in the month of August. Even though they are out of contention, they have played a role in the playoff race. The Las Vegas win pushed Salt Lake, which came into town in first place, into a tie with El Paso.
“The atmosphere is a little more relaxed and it is fun,” Hand said of playing spoiler. “We’ve played pretty much since the All-Star break starting in August first-place teams or first and second-place teams and it’s been kind of fun to beat up on them a little bit. They beat up on us early and now we kind of return the favor.”
Up next
Who: Salt Lake Bees at Las Vegas 51s
When: 7:05 p.m. Monday
Where: Cashman Field
Starters: John Lamb (4-2, 6.14 ERA) vs. Wilfredo Boscan (4-11, 5.30 ERA)
Next five
Tuesday: Salt Lake at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Wednesday: Off
Thursday: Reno at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Friday: Reno at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday: Reno at Las Vegas, 7:05 p.m.
Contact Betsy Helfand at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow @BetsyHelfand on Twitter.
