Mediocre May is still better than awful April

If April was a thunderstorm of poor play for the Las Vegas 51s, then May was only scattered downpours. If the 51s want to make anything of this season, however, they have to start making it rain on the opposition.
The 51s finished April with a 6-14 record, and are still in last place as June begins. However, two four-game losing streaks bookended May; between them, the team went 13-9 and showed amazing resiliency, coming from behind to win several times.
Most importantly, the talent level rose considerably in May, with Travis Snider, Fabio Castro and David Purcey coming aboard and incumbents such as J.P. Arencibia, Buck Coats and Brad Mills playing up to their potential.

GAME(S) OF THE MONTH
51s Today unfortunately missed the end of the last homestand due to some travel plans that couldn't be changed, and therefore was not in attendance for a pair of games that will certainly go down as the most exciting pair of back-to-back pressure performances by the 51s offense this season.
On May 23, Las Vegas went into the ninth inning trailing the Oklahoma City RedHawks 5-2. In walks imposing 6-4 sidearmer (and fellow blogger) Beau Vaughan from the Oklahoma City bullpen. Vaughan was obviously wondering who his next interview was going to be, because he gave up two singles and a walk to load the bases before getting yanked for hard-throwing righty Brian Gordon.
The hits kept coming however, as Kevin Howard and Coats sandwiched singles around a Randy Ruiz pinch-hit popout to make it 5-4. WIth one out and the bases still loaded, Howie Clark stepped in and ripped a double that scored two runs and gave the 51s a 6-5 walkoff win.
Apparently, that comeback wasn't hard enough, though.
The next night, the 51s sleepwalked into the ninth inning behind 5-0 to OKC's Tommy Hunter, a pitcher who had given up nine earned runs in his previous start. Hunter stayed out for the ninth in an attempt at the complete-game shutout, but an error by third baseman Esteban German started the avalanche. Hunter was gone after loading the bases while only getting one out, ceding the mound to former big-leaguer Elizardo Ramirez.
Ramirez faced a tough situation, bases loaded with only one out, but don't forget that he had a five-run lead at this point. He could allow all his inherited runners to score and still be up 5-3, which is exactly what he did. In fact, after two singles and a Brett Harper pinch-hit double, he had allowed the lead to evaporate to just one run. After an intentional walk to Coats, Clark, the previous night's hero, strode to the plate with the bases loaded and still just one out.
Clark drove a fly ball to the outfield for the second out of the inning, driving in the tying run and ensuring at least extra innings. With runners on first and second and two outs now, it seemed the RedHawks might finally end the inning. The only man to record an out in the night before's rally, Randy Ruiz, was coming up.
But the 51s didn't want to see extra innings on this night. Ruiz singled to left and pinch-runner Jonathan Diaz sprinted around third to score the winning run in an improbable comeback.
So, to recap: The 51s won two consecutive games by a 6-5 score with ninth-inning rallies. In these two games, the 51s scored two runs in the sixteen innings labeled 1 through 8 and 10 combined runs in the two ninth innings. The Redhawks pitching staff recorded a 1.13 ERA for the first eight innings of these two games and a 90.00 ERA in the ninth.
As espn.com's Jayson Stark would say, you can't make this stuff up.

HITTER(S) OF THE MONTH
J.P. Arencibia and Buck Coats: One month into the season, the 51s were struggling to get anybody on base at the top of the order and their top prospect, catcher Arencibia, far left, had yet to hit a home run and was barely topping .200.
But their offensive woes seemed to disappear once Coats, near left, was plopped atop the lineup. He's sparked the team from the leadoff spot and given manager Mike Basso's team a chance to score some runs.
"It's impressive how far he's come ... in learning what it takes to be a leadoff hitter," Basso told 51s Today during the last homestand.
As for Arencibia, he found his stroke in May and hit eight home runs, which takes a lot of the pressure off of Ruiz and Harper to perform every night in order for the 51s to generate power.

PITCHER OF THE MONTH
Fabio Castro: The slight, young Dominican prospect made his first start for the 51s on the last day of April, giving up three runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Once the calendar turned, he was ready to go.
Castro did not allow a run in his first three May starts and had a scoreless streak that topped 24 innings. Even though he spent almost a month in AA to start the season, Castro has the second-most wins as a starter on the club and begins June with a 2-1 record and a sparkling 2.30 ERA.
He could be the next pitcher to get the call when the Blue Jays need another starter, but in the meantime, Fabio Castro is the 51s' new ace.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR IN JUNE
The Travis Snider show: The Blue Jays' top prospect wasn't happy about being sent down from the big leagues to get some at-bats in AAA and get his stroke back. He has played eight games so far for Las Vegas and is only 8-for-31 with one extra-base hit, a double. But now that he's gotten his feet wet, he could be primed for a huge month.
Basso has been hitting Snider fifth, behind Ruiz and Harper, which is the same spot in the batting order that Arencibia used to get back on track in May. If the top of the order -- Coats, Clark, Ruiz and Harper -- can continue to get on base and produce, Snider will have a chance to put up big numbers.

Brad Mills' first win: Mills must have Social Distortion on repeat in his iPod: "If it wasn't for bad luck, I wouldn't have no luck at all" is his motto right now.
In ten starts so far this season, Mills has given up more than three runs only once, and that came in his last start May 27 against New Orleans. Before that start, he had a sub-4.00 ERA but was still 0-5, and now he's 0-6 despite a 4.21 ERA, which is low for a pitcher who starts half his games at Cashman Field.
In his four May starts leading up to being blown out by New Orleans, Mills had gone at least six innings every time and given up three runs or less, which is considered a quality start in the majors. If he continues to pitch like that, he will finally be rewarded with a W this month.

Some home runs, maybe? Las Vegas has been scoring its run the old-fashioned way this year, and by old-fashioned, I mean "Ty Cobb era." Very few home runs (only 38 in 51 games) means that they have to manufacture runs by getting the top of the order on, moving them over and then getting clutch RBI singles and doubles to drive them home.
But those clutch hits haven't always arrived, and runners have been stranded in scoring position far too often for the offense to be successful. The only way to make up for these lapses in situational hitting is by knocking a few pitches out of the park at other times, which the 51s haven't been doing.
But the 51s will play 20 games this month against Portland, Tacoma and Colorado Springs, three of the top six teams in the Pacific Coast League in home runs allowed. That stretch starts this week, when temperatures should be in the 80s and 90s and the wind will be blowing at Cashman Field for eight games against Portland and Tacoma, who are sitting at the bottom of the PCL's Pacific North division.

If the 51s are going to make a run at a playoff spot this season, they have to make up a lot of ground this month. They only have 16 games at home during the month and the longest homestand, an eight-game run, begins tonight. So get out to Cashman Field while it still matters.