Double-A call-up Herron sharp in 51s’ victory
Before the game began, the 51s had already had a busy Thursday, making a total of nine roster moves with four guys going up, three coming in from Double-A Binghamton and two coming off the disabled list.
One of those roster moves was bringing up Tyler Herron from Binghamton. Though Herron had been hit hard at the lower level, the righty gave up just two runs on three hits in 6 2/3 innings in a 5-2 victory over El Paso.
“I thought he did a real nice job going back and forth,” manager Wally Backman said. “He pitched to contact and I thought he pitched a nice game. He kept us in the game and gave us a chance to win.”
Herron got some run support before he even stepped foot on the mound, as Eric Campbell hit a two-run shot to give Las Vegas (67-73) an early lead that it would never relinquish.
After giving back a run in the next inning on a Patrick Kivlehan solo homer and a single to the next batter, Herron didn’t allow another hit until the seventh inning when Carlos Asuaje tagged him for a solo shot of his own.
In the meantime, Las Vegas scored three more runs in the fifth on an Eric Campbell sacrifice fly, an El Paso fielding error — which plated Brandon Nimmo — and a T.J. Rivera double.
Nimmo turned his fourth consecutive multi-hit night to bring his league-leading batting average up to .355 and also scored two runs in the victory.
“Him and T.J. are kind of still fighting for a batting title and Brandon’s really taken advantage the last couple days the way he’s swinging the bat so he’s got himself a comfortable lead but it could change in one game,” Backman said. “He’s still got to keep fighting.”
As a team, too, Backman was pleased with the way the 51s fought Thursday, a day after officially being knocked out of the division race by the Chihuahuas.
“I just thought they came out today and played good solid baseball. They played hard. They showed that they want to win. They’re not just cashing it in with only four games to go now,” Backman said. “They’re still playing hard. Those are the things that we talked about the other day and they showed that that was true just with the way that they went abut their business tonight.”
WORTH NOTING
Gavin Cecchini played second base for the first time in his professional career on Thursday, coming shortly after the Mets announced that second baseman Neil Walker would undergo season-ending back surgery.
Backman, a former shortstop turned second baseman himself, said he and Kevin Morgan, the Mets’ director of player development, had been working with Cecchini at second over the past few weeks.
As the 51s head into their last series of the season, Backman said Cecchini would be back at second at least twice.
“Gavin was outstanding at second base,” Backman said. “He turned a double play, was a little high throw. He had a couple ground balls that he had that he handled very easily. It looked very natural to him playing second base.”
Betsy Helfand can be reached at bhelfand@reviewjournal.com. Follow on Twitter: @BetsyHelfand
Up next
Who: Las Vegas 51s at Salt Lake Bees
When: 5:35 p.m. Friday
Where: Smith’s Ballpark, Salt Lake City
Starters: 51s TBD vs. Kyle McGowin (6-12, 6.28 ERA)
Next three
Saturday: Las Vegas at Salt Lake, 6:05 p.m.
Sunday: Las Vegas at Salt Lake, 6:05 p.m.
Monday: Las Vegas at Salt Lake, 12:05 p.m.
Update
The 51s made a host of roster moves Thursday. As expected, utility player Ty Kelly, pitcher Gabriel Ynoa, outfielder MichaelConforto and catcher Kevin Plawecki were recalled by the New York Mets. Pitchers Ricky Knapp and Tyler Herron and catcherXorge Carrillo were assigned to Las Vegas from Double-A Binghamton. Also, outfielder Kyle Johnson and catcher Jeff Glennwere activated from the disabled list.
