Mets Minors Recap: Oswalt Dominates, Woods-Richardson Struggles

Syracuse (21-15) 2, Columbus (20-15) 0  Box Score

• Carlos Gomez CF: 1-for-3, RBI, .274/.336/.479
• Dilson Herrera 2B: 1-for-2, R, HR, RBI, K, HBP .229/.333/.458
• Gregor Blanco LF: 1-for-4, R, 2B, K, .240/.327/.385

The Mets didn’t have much offense in Sunday’s game, scoring just two runs and only recording seven hits. Herrera got Syracuse on the board with a solo home run in the fifth inning. Herrera would leave the game after being hit by a pitch in the seventh inning. Gomez would add to the lead with a RBI single that brought home Blanco in the eighth inning. Gomez remains incredibly hot and is now hitting .394/.462/.848 through nine May games.

• RHP Corey Oswalt (W, 4-0, 2.28 ERA) 6.0 IP, H, BB, 8 K
• RHP Tim Peterson (1-3, 2.30 ERA) 2.0 IP, 2 K
• RHP Arquimedes Caminero (S, 0-0, 3.21 ERA) 1.0 IP, BB

Oswalt was almost flawless in his start as he did not allow a base runner until the fifth inning and only gave up his first hit with two outs in the sixth inning. Oswalt’s only issue was that he ran a fairly high pitch count and was removed after the sixth inning after throwing 93 pitches. His 8 strikeouts are a season high and this is the first time this year he did not allow a run to score. Peterson and Caminero combined to throw three hitless innings out of the bullpen to preserve the one-hit shutout.

Binghamton (19-12) vs. New Hampshire (16-18) 

Bingamton’s game against the Fisher Cats was postponed due to inclement weather. The game will be made up as part of a doubleheader on Aug. 13.

Rome (16-19) 11, Columbia (11-24) 0  Box Score

• Ronny Mauricio SS: 1-for-3, BB, K, .266/.316/.306
• Chase Chambers DH: 1-for-2, BB, K, .263/.326/.342
• Yoel Romero RF: 1-for-3, .167/.259/.167

It was another brutal game for the league-worst Fireflies offense as the team combined for only three hits in the shutout. Mauricio reached base twice and has walked three times in the last two games (a small sample, but still a good sign for a guy who had walked just four times in the first 29 games of the season), but he is still hitting just .212/.297/.212 so far in May. Hopefully many of the top prospect position players on the Fireflies begin to adjust to the league soon.

• RHP Simeon Woods-Richardson (L, 0-5, 6.56 ERA) 3.1 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, 2 BB, K
• RHP Bryce Hutchinson (1-1, 3.22 ERA) 2.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, ER, K
• RHP Ezequiel Zabaleta (0-0, 2.25 ERA) 1.0 IP

Woods-Richardson struggled mightily for his third straight start and has now allowed 15 earned runs over his last 8.2 innings after allowing just two in his first 14.2. At just 18 years old, assuming he’s healthy, it seems likely that the league has just adjusted to Woods-Richardson a bit. Some growing pains are certainly to be expected and there is probably no major reason for concern at the moment. Hutchinson has transitioned back to the bullpen after making one start the previous week. Zabaleta has found great success in the Columbia bullpen and now has an 18:1 K:BB ratio in 16.0 innings pitched.