Twins blank Mets
  
By Allen LaMountain
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
alamountain@starhq.com

   In a league where consistency is, at best, inconsistent, Elizabethton Twins hurler Scott Tyler is beginning to find some of that elusive quality.
   Tyler carried a no-hitter into the sixth frame before Derran Watts singled cleanly up the middle, but Tyler and the Twins bullpen did their jobs to the utmost on Thursday night, as 'Betsy blanked the Kingsport Mets 8-0 at Joe O'Brien Field.
   Tyler, whose size alone is imposing, at 6'5", 225 pounds, decided to simply challenge the top hitting team in the Appalachian League with his 90 mph fastball and let the chips fall where they may.
   "I'd say I threw 85 percent fastballs," said Tyler. "I had some movement with the fastball and I got my curve over for strikes. I have been working on my delivery with Shelly and I found a delivery that works for me."
   Tyler walked the first batter he faced on four pitches, but quickly settled down to retire 13 consecutive Mets batters until Brendan Mannix worked Tyler for a two-out walk in the fifth.
   Tyler struck out five and walked two while lowering his earned run average to 4.13, and raised his record to 3-1 on the season as Betsy improved to 10-12 on the season.
   Twins first baseman Dusty Gomon staked Tyler to a one-run lead in the second frame as Gomon crushed his seventh round-tripper of the season.
   Gomon's leadoff blast went over the scoreboard in right-centerfield and was not slowed in the least by the strong wind blowing in from centerfield.
   Gomon's homer was his third in two nights and his seven total homers now leads the Appy League.
   "That's surprising, I didn't know that," said Gomon, who was genuinely surprised to hear that he was atop the league's home-run leaders. "I'm just here to play. With the way the wind was gusting I'm surprised it went out, but it was big to get a win after the way we played last night.
   On Wednesday night the Mets ripped into Twins pitching to the tune of 15 runs on 16 hits, but on Thursday three Tyler and two Twins relievers held Kingsport to one lonely single.
   "That's the difference," said Mets manager Joey Cora. "Last night we pitched, they didn't and tonight they pitched and we didn't. Consistency is what we are trying to teach at this level. When you find consistency you move up."
   With the Twins clinging to a slim two-run lead, 'Betsy exploded for five runs in the seventh against Mets reliever Domingo Morban. Edgardo LeBron led off the frame with a single and Sam Taylor then doubled to left and Trent Oeltjen walked to load the bases with no outs.
   Garrett Guzman delivered an RBI single and Gomon then cleaned the basepaths with a single to center for two more RBI, and when Roberto Solano's throw back to the infield went wide of the cutoff man Guzman came around to score as well.
   Ryan Smith came in to relieve Tyler in the seventh and he pitched two strong innings, allowing no runs on no hits. Smith fanned two and walked one before giving way to Pat Neshak who put the Mets down in order in the ninth.
   E-Twins notes: Gomon's hot hitting has seen him raise his batting average to .347, and with 32 hits he is among the league leaders in that department as well. Gomon is also the team leader in RBI with 22, which puts him no worse than third in the league.