Allentown, PA – The Syracuse Mets were rendered nearly silent at the plate on Wednesday night as truly excellent pitching from the Lehigh Valley IronPigs led the way to a 6-1 victory for the home team on a warm Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs have now won the first two games of the week-long, six-game series.
Lehigh Valley (56-45) exploded out of the box in the bottom of the first inning, plating four runs on three hits plus two pivotal walks. All four of the tallies came with two outs. Jean Segura and Donny Sands walked earlier in the inning, followed by a Nick Maton single that loaded up the bases with one out, but all three were still stuck on base with two outs in the frame. Then, Justin Williams came to the plate and the fun began in earnest for the IronPigs. The 26-year-old outfielder lined a single into right field, plating Segura and Sands and making it a 2-0 game in a flash. Maton advanced to third base on the play and scored on a passed ball for a 3-0 Lehigh Valley lead. Chris Sharpe then singled into right field and scored Williams from second base for a 4-0 advantage.
The IronPigs scored another pair of runs in the bottom of the fifth. Johan Camargo walked, and Sands singled to kickstart the inning, followed by a Maton walk to load up the bases with nobody out. Dalton Guthrie then doubled off the wall in left-center field, scoring Camargo and Sands and making it 6-0 IronPigs just like that.
It was plenty of run support for Michael Plassmeyer, who quite frankly didn’t need it. The left-handed starter for Lehigh Valley twirled an absolute gem on Wednesday night, utilizing a wicked breaking ball and a well-placed fastball to befuddle Mets batters. Plassmeyer took a perfect game into the sixth inning, retiring the first 15 batters he faced in order. By the end of his outing, Plassmeyer had allowed just one run in seven brilliant innings on four hits, no walks, and a career-high 11 strikeouts. Plassmeyer had his perfect game broken up in the top of the sixth inning when Travis Blankenhorn led off the inning with a double, but the Mets left him stranded.
Syracuse (45-56) finally got on the board in the seventh inning. Francisco Álvarez, the top prospect in Minor League Baseball, led off and left the crowd at Coca-Cola Park shaking their hands in wonder. On the first pitch of the frame, Álvarez launched a ball over the left-field fence and literally out of the stadium. The 20-year-old phenom now has four home runs in 18 Triple-A games. Álvarez also extended his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 12 games with his prodigious blast in the top of the seventh.
From there, however, the Mets would not score again as the IronPigs locked up their second straight win to start the series. Syracuse finished the game 0-for-6 with runners in scoring position. The Mets are 3-for-15 with runners in scoring position in the first two games of the series.
BRIDGEWATER, NJ – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies picked up a second win over the Somerset Patriots in less than 24 hours with a 6-2 victory at TD Bank Ballpark on Wednesday morning. Jesus Vargas (1-8) was dominant in relief, allowing just one hit over six innings with no walks and four strikeouts.
Binghamton (9-19, 37-60) got on the board first in the third inning as with the bases loaded and one out Nick Meyer grounded into an RBI fielder’s choice. The next batter Brett Baty reached on an error on a ground ball to the right side in which he beat out the throw to first.
In the sixth, Baty again reached on an error, Ronny Mauricio singled, and Luke Ritter hit an RBI single to left to score Baty and make it 3-0.
The Rumble Ponies tacked on insurance with three runs in the ninth. Baty drove home a run on an RBI single to right center to score Wyatt Young and make it 4-0. After a passed ball scored Nick Meyer, Mauricio lined a single to left to score Baty and make it 6-0. Mauricio finished 2-5 with an RBI for his fourth straight multi-hit game.
Rumble Ponies starter Alex Valverde pitched two scoreless innings before Vargas came in to begin the third. At one point, Vargas retired 11 batters in a row. Somerset (16-12, 60-37) starter Randy Vasquez (0-4) allowed three runs, none earned, over five in the loss.
Postgame Notes: Wyatt Young has three straight multi-hit games…Baty reached base four times…The Rumble Ponies are now 5-3 against the Patriots in the Double-A Subway Series this year.
Brooklyn, NY (August 3, 2022) – It was a day to forget for the Cyclones as they fell to the Winston-Salem Dash on Wednesday afternoon by the score of 8-0. Brooklyn managed just two hits – both by Jose Peroza – while Tyler Osik hit for the cycle.
Oscar Rojas made the emergency start for the Cyclones after Brooklyn’s scheduled starter, RHP Carson Seymour, was traded to the San Francisco Giants on Tuesday as part of the deal to acquire Daren Ruf. Rojas tossed 3.0 shutout frames in spot duty, but LHP Cam Opp (1-3) did not far so well.
The southpaw allowed six runs on six hits, including a pair of home runs, over his 1.2 innings on the mound. Justin Courtney tossed a season-high 3.1 innings in relief as well, allowing a pair of runs on a two run home run from Keegan Fish to cap the scoring in the top of the eighth.
Offensively for Brooklyn, Jose Peroza was the lone batter to collect a base and the ‘Clones struck out 13 times to give them 25 ks in two games against Winston-Salem.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (August 3, 2022) – For the second straight game, the St. Lucie Mets put together a big eighth inning to beat the Daytona Tortugas 5-1 on Wednesday at Clover Park.
With the game tied 1-1 entering the bottom of the eighth, the Mets scored four runs against reliever Brett Lockwood. The rally started immediately, as Brady Smith crunched a leadoff double into the left field corner. Omar De Los Santos followed with a go-ahead RBI single to make it 2-1.
The Mets loaded the bases with one out later in the inning and pinch hitter Karell Paz, in his first game for St. Lucie, smashed a bases clearing triple to plate three more runs for a 5-1 lead.
The offensive run support resulted in the first Single-A victory for Mets No. 10 prospect Joel Diaz (1-1). Diaz pitched shutout ball over the final six innings. He gave up just one single and one walk. Diaz struck out six and retired 18 of the 20 batters he faced.
Mets starter Calvin Ziegler, pitching in his first game in nearly two months, walked three batters and allowed one unearned run in the first inning. He struck out the final batter faced before being lifted for Josh Cornielly. Cornielly got the last out of the first to strand the bases loaded, then pitched a scoreless second inning and third inning.
The Mets tied the game 1-1 in the bottom of the third on consecutive two-out hits by William Lugo and Junior Tilien against Daytona starter Javi Rivera.
Rivera pitched well, holding the Mets to one run and two hits over five innings. He walked one and struck out six.
The Mets are now 12-1 at Clover Park vs. the Tortugas and 18-4 overall against Daytona.
Wow..."Francisco Álvarez, the top prospect in Minor League Baseball, led off and left the crowd at Coca-Cola Park shaking their hands in wonder. On the first pitch of the frame, Álvarez launched a ball over the left-field fence and literally out of the stadium. The 20-year-old phenom now has four home runs in 18 Triple-A games. Álvarez also extended his hitting streak to seven games and his on-base streak to 12 games with his prodigious blast in the top of the seventh."
ReplyDeleteWyatt Young, Maurcio and Baty are scorching.