He complained of a strain on his tricep on the last pitch he threw. He's a young, talented guy. We're very, very concerned about it because he's ... one of those guys we were counting on seeing this summer. You hope his arm bounces back ok.

 Mazzoni had elbow neuritis last April and athroscopic surgery on his knee in August. He also missed a start in late July 2012 with a finger issue.?

18 ? RHP Jeff Walters

Bats/Throws:? Right/Right

Cory Mazzoni left game one after 1.2 innings with a right knee injury. Per Lynn Worthy in the Press & Sun Bulletin:

Mazzoni left the first game after telling Lopez he heard a pop in his knee with one out in the fourth after throwing 1¹?₃?innings. Lopez and trainer Matt Hunter visited the mound, and Mazzoni threw one warm-up pitch before leaving.

Cory Mazzoni: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 10 K. Mazzoni's last five starts: 31.2 innings, 27 H, 18 R, 12 ER, 8 BB, 44 K and a 3.41 ERA. Opponents hitting are hitting .233/.282/.362 against him with a 35% strikeout rate and a 6.3% walk rate. Why has the strikeout rate risen so dramatically? I do not know, yet.

Cesar Puello (1-for-5) slid back to right field, while Darrell Ceciliani (1-for-4) who has been nursing a strained grain returned to play center.

Why messy? The B-Mets scored the go-ahead run on a bases-loaded walk. The Squirrels balked home another run. Binghamton allowed two unearned runs.

Cory Mazzoni: 6 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K. After beginning his professional tenure as an extreme low-strikeout rate guy, Mazzoni is missing bats all of a sudden. In his last four starts, over 24.2 innings, he's fanned 34 and walked six while yielding 15 runs, nine earned on 22 hits. That's a 3.28 ERA, a 33% strikeout rate and a 5.8% walk rate. That's all good stuff. In his first five starts sandwiched around a DL trip, he had a 4.68 ERA and a 18% strikeout rate.

We're a little late finishing up Friday's games; I was out running through this mud on Saturday morning.

There are two things worth discussing in the AA box score: the starting pitching and the relievers.

The facts first:

Cesar Puello hit two more homeruns, a game-tying shot in the sixth inning and a go-ahead blast in the eighth. The 22-year old is now up to .320/.397/.602 in 49 games with 11 doubles, two triples and 12 homers, a new career-high. Up to the second, he's 7th in the EL in batting average, tied for second in HR, third in stolen bases (15), tops in HBP (10), slugging percentage and HR/AB ratio (1 every 15.08 AB). He's homered in four straight games while going 10-for-17 (.588) in that span.

At three hours and 57 minutes, this was the third-longest game in B-Mets' franchise history. According to B-Mets' broadcaster Tim Heiman, it?included, "25 hits, 3 errors, 21 LOB, 30 at-bats w/ RISP, 94 batters, 8 pitchers, 393 pitches, 2 bullpens/benches cleared," AND an inside the park grand slam.

The inside the park slam came in the first off Cory Mazzoni when a Michael Almanzar fly ball in center bounced off the center field wall and away from CF Darrell Ceciliani. Mazzoni's ugly line: 5 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 4 BB, 2 K, 1 HR, 1 HBP.

Little good or interesting happened in game one for the Mets. For the Senators, the Nationals affiliate, 3B Anthony Rendon was 2-for-2 with a homer. Rendon, who will turn 23 in June, is hitting .354/.500/.633 in 23 games in AA. That's what a top hitting prospect is supposed to do in AA.

The B-Mets got off to a quick start in game two, scoring nine runs in their first two turns at bat. The strange thing - the BMets had just two extrabase hits, both doubles, but seven of the nine starters had hits.?Even pitcher Cory Mazzoni (pictured)?was 2-for-3 with two RBI. More importantly, he was effective on the hill in his second start since returning from the disabled list with elbow neuritis: 5.2 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 5 K. After fanning just 16% of batters in AA last year, in 13.2 IP over three starts this year Mazzoni has fanned 14, a rate of 24.6%. It's early yet for Mazzoni, but that's much more like it.

AAA: Las Vegas 51s @ Sacramento RiverCats - ppd by rain?

- Michael Fulmer (torn meniscus): threw one inning and 12 pitches Wednesday in an extended spring training game without any issue. He will proceed on a standard starter's schedule to stretch out his arm to prepare for game action.

- Luis Mateo (elbow): He's resting/rehabbing in Port St Lucie. He left his start on April 15th. The idea is that he will begin throwing in the next week-10 days depending on how his elbow progresses. One scout who saw Mateo in the Florida State League really liked him; he saw him as an above average big league starter - like a #2 level guy.

Prior to game #BMets manager Pedro Lopez said Luis Mateo and Cory Mazzoni would get checked out by doctor in New York on Thursday. #Mets

? Lynn Worthy (@PSBLynn) April 17, 2013The early report of "elbow strain" for Mateo strikes me as a placeholder until the MRI comes back. Mazzoni's initial diagnosis is "elbow neuritis," or, an inflamed nerve. The MRI might reveal why the nerve is inflamed.?

#19 ? RHP Cory MazzoniBats/Throws:?Right/Right

None are likely to make the team's 25-man roster out of camp. None.

Position Players

No.

The closest guy is Juan Centeno who has hit his way out of life as a minor league backup into minor league starter in the last few years. This year, the 22-year old, who is generously listed at 5'9", hit .285/.337/.342 in 79 games for AA Binghamton. While he makes contact (just 43 strikeouts in 79 games) there's little power here to make him more valuable than, say, Thole.

The Bisons had a 3-1 lead in the seventh, but the bullpen could not hold a lead. Sound familiar?

RHP Armando Rodriguez made the spot start for the Bisons after working the vast majority of the year out of the Binghamton bullpen. His line: 4.1 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K. Rodriguez has been on and off the Mets' 40-man roster in the last year and went unclaimed when he was exposed to waivers.

Saturday, Reese Havens, who had missed eight days with a stiff back, returned to the lineup, playing second and hitting second. Havens was 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts. The 25-year old is hitting .232/.365/.370 with 100 strikeouts against 57 walks in 85 games in his third go-round in the Eastern League. He needs to play in 12 of the B-Mets last 16 games, to match his career-high of 97 games set back in 2009 in a season. His season started late while he recovered from injury, and he's missed time during the season with back-stiffness. For the year, he's struck out at a 27% clip. Even while hitting for a little better average (.265/.385/.426) since June 1 he's fanned in 29% of his plate appearances.

Havens, one of three Mets' first round picks in 2008, might still play in the big leagues. However, the chances of him becoming an impact guy, that is league average or better over any significant stretch of time, has dropped to nearly nil.

This was not a fun weekend for our "Find the Flores" game. Wilmer Flores has played second base in each of the last three games while Reese Havens has remained on the bench. Flores (pictured, swinging) did have a good weekend with the stick, picking up three hits both Saturday and Sunday. With knocks in four straight games, he's back up to .292/.337/.433 in 47 games at double-A just past his 21st birthday.

Saturday, Armando Rodriguez made a spot start and was unexceptional: 4 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K.

Lucas Duda was 1-for-4 and played right for the second straight night as a member of the Bisons.

CF Matt den Dekker: 0-for-4 with a strikeout to slip to .201/.229/.414 in 41 games in AAA with 56 strikeouts in 41 games.

All he does is hit homeruns and strikeout. Well that and play a mean centerfield. CF Matt den Dekker: 1-for-4, HR, 3 RBI, 3 K. When you combine his strikeout rate (28.8%) and his HR rate (4.5%) in AAA, it runs to 33.3% of his plate appearances. He's hitting .192/.218/.423 with a .217 BABIP and 32 strikeouts in 24 games.

In case you were concerned, Justin Hampson cleared waivers and is savely back with the Bisons. (Note: savely was originally a typo, but I left it in because Hampson earned a save with a scoreless inning of work Saturday. We'll call Freudian-typo.)

Ruben Tejada was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts while playing all nine innings defensively for the Bisons. This was Tejada's first rehab game since June 5, when he shut himself down with tightness.

Ronny Cedeno was 1-for-4 while playing all innings defensively. In his six rehab games with the Bisons, Cedeno is hitting .200 (5-for-25). This was his first start at second to make way for Tejada after five at shortstop.

St. Lucie is third in the Florida State League in scoring averaging exactly four runs per game on a batting line of .242/.329/.369 in 12 games. The team FSL Mets are third in in walks and tops in stolen bases (17) and stolen base percentage 89% (17 of 19).

The team's pitching leads the FSL in ERA (1.74) and is tied for the fewest walks allowed 27 and 2.24 BB/9.

Cory Mazzoni is just cruising through the Florida State League so far. Monday: 5 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 4 K. His three-start line: 16 IP, 13 H, 4 R, 2 ER, 0 HR, 4 BB, 11 K. I've been told he's sitting in the low 90s, but can reach back for 94 when he needs it.

3B Wilmer Flores picked up a couple of singles, a walk and two stolen bases(?!?). For a little bit of context, he stole just two bases in the entire 2011 season over 133 games. All eight of his hits so far in 2012 have been singles.

Cool recovery story: Sean Ratliff. After taking a foul ball off his face that fractured bone, required multiple surgeries, caused him to miss the 2011 season and threatened his career, Ratliff, played for the first time in 2012. He's 25 now, so while it's very unlikely he'll ever make a difference in the big leagues, it's just a nice story of?perseverance?that he's back on the field.

DH Robbie Shields: 3-for-4 with two doubles. The Mets third round pick in 2009, Shields is now 24, and had a really a good first week in the FSL in 2012 by going 6-for-13 with three doubles and a triple, two walks and no strikeouts. He missed the second half of 2011 in St. Lucie with back problems and when he did play, he hit .269/.338/.388 in 20 games in the FSL.

Sandy Alderson and his assistant Buddy were also paying close attention to the kids.

Some stuff that stood out Thursday.

Acquired: 2^nd rd 2011 (NC State)

Born: 10/19/89 (Evans City, PA)

Kyle Allen gave up seven runs on seven hits in 2 2/3 innings. ?He walked four and struck out four. Allen falls to 5-9 on the season and his ERA jumps to 5.76.

Cory Mazzoni: 1 IP, hit, 0 runs, bb, 2 k.

A Jefry Marte (1-5, RBI) single plated Cesar Puello (2-6, 3 runs, SB(15)) in the top of the 12th with the eventual game-winning run.

Darin Gorski gave up four runs over his six innings of work. He struck out four and walked none. ?This was the fifth straight start in which Gorski (pictured) has given up multiple earned runs.

The Cyclones had a rough weekend series losing two out of three to the Lake Monsters.

Cory Mazzoni, the Mets 2nd round pick, did make his first professional start on Sunday. Mazzoni (pictured), who is working just one inning stints due to an innings limit this season, struck out the side and also hit a batter in his lone inning of work.