Allentown, PA – The Syracuse Mets snapped a three-game losing streak on Friday night, roaring out to an early lead and never looking back on their way to a 6-3 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on a warm, summer evening at Coca-Cola Park. Francisco Álvarez homered for the second time in three games, and Connor Grey pitched six innings of one-run baseball en route to the win.
Syracuse (46-57) started its scoring early on Friday night, plating one run right away in the top of the first when Daniel Palka blasted a pitch over the right-field wall. It was Palka’s 18th home run of the season.
The Mets really gave themselves some distance in the third inning. Deven Marrero led off the inning with a walk, promptly moving up to second base on a sacrifice bunt from Terrance Gore. Nick Plummer brought home Marrero with a one-out double, his fourth hit in the last two games, giving the Mets a 2-0 advantage. That brought Francisco Álvarez to the plate, and the 20-year-old phenom did not disappoint. Álvarez pounded an offering way beyond the left-field fence, a two-run shot that made it 4-0 Syracuse in a flash.
Buoyed by early run support, Grey flourished on the mound. Syracuse’s starter tossed one of his best outings of the season, allowing just one run in six innings on two hits with three walks and three strikeouts. Grey took a no-hitter into the fifth inning, befuddling IronPigs batters with a well-placed fastball and a sharp, biting curveball.
Lehigh Valley (57-46) did scratch across a run off of Grey in the bottom of the fifth inning. Josh Ockimey doubled leading off the frame, breaking up Grey’s no-hitter in the process. After a Chris Sharpe fly out, Rafael Marchan chopped a single up the middle that scored Ockimey and made it a 4-1 game. That would be the only run to come home against Grey, who induced a double-play ball to end the fifth and worked a 1-2-3 sixth to complete his outstanding start.
In the seventh, Lehigh Valley got a bit closer again on a solo home run from Jorge Bonifacio that made it a 4-2 game.
However, in the top of the eighth, Syracuse found the insurance it would sorely need with two runs that made it a 6-2 advantage. After a Plummer groundout to start the inning, Álvarez was hit by a pitch, and Palka singled to put two runners on base with one out. Travis Blankenhorn then came to the plate and did damage one more time, lining a single into right-center field to score Álvarez and move Palka up to third as the Mets took a 5-2 edge. Blankenhorn has hits in 42 of his last 52 games since May 12th, batting .340 during that time with 17 doubles. Nick Dini followed it up with another single to plate Palka and make it a 6-2 game.
It remained a 6-2 game into the bottom of the ninth when things got interesting very quickly. Michel Otañez struck out the first two batters he faced and then induced a groundball to third base that looked like it would end the game. However, JT Riddle made an error to extend the game. Otañez promptly walked the next three batters, bringing home a run, making it 6-3 and keeping the bases loaded with two outs. Rob Zastryzny was summoned from the bullpen to finally end the game and earn his first save of the season. Zastryzny did just that, striking out Will Toffey to hand Syracuse its first win of the series.
BRIDGEWATER, NJ – The Binghamton Rumble Ponies (11-19, 39-60) swept both games of a doubleheader Friday against the Somerset Patriots (16-13, 60-39) at TD Bank Ballpark, taking the first four games of the series. They defeated Somerset 11-8 in the continuation of Friday’s suspended game and doubled up the Patriots 10-5 in game two for their first sweep of a doubleheader this season. Binghamton is on a four-game winning streak, matching their season high.
Game Two: Rumble Ponies 10, Patriots 5 (7)
The Rumble Ponies were propelled by a seven-run sixth inning, as with the bases loaded they drew three walks, had one hitter hit by a pitch, with another run scored via a wild pitch. Down 4-3 entering the frame, Brett Baty hit an RBI single to right to tie the game and Luke Ritter hit a go-ahead single into center field that put Binghamton on top 5-4.
In the top of the fourth, Ronny Mauricio hit a mammoth three-run blast to right center field to give the Ponies a 3-1 lead. Mauricio now has twenty home runs on the year to go along with 65 RBI.
Antonio Santos (6-3) picked up the win pitching two scoreless innings in relief allowing one run with one walk and six strikeouts.
Game One: Rumble Ponies 11, Patriots 8
In a game that began Thursday night, the Rumble Ponies continued the suspended game on Friday afternoon and held on for the victory. Heading into Friday, the Rumble Ponies had already hit five home runs, including a pair of two-run homers from Brett Baty over the first two innings, his 17th and 18th of the year. Binghamton scored seven runs in the second inning, with Matt O’Neill also hitting a three-run homer and Brandon McIlwain belting a two-run shot to left. Luke Ritter added a solo home run to center to begin the third.
Tony Dibrell (1-0) made his 2022 Binghamton debut beginning the third inning and pitched three scoreless frames, allowing just two hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
POSTGAME NOTES: Brett Baty was named the July MiLB Player of the Month for the Eastern League…Ritter has driven in a run in four straight games…the Rumble Ponies had a seven-run inning in both games, which is a season high…Ritter has driven in a run in four straight games.
Brooklyn, NY (August 5, 2022) – Runs were at a premium on Friday night at Maimonides Park as three Cyclones pitchers combined to shutout the Winston-Salem Dash by the score of 2-0. Keyshawn Askew made his Cyclones debut tossing 4.1 shutout frames, allowing three hits and striking out six. Offensively, Jose Peroza reached base three times and had an RBI to pace the Brooklyn bats.
Brooklyn’s offense came early on, as the ‘Clones jumped on top in the bottom of the second inning. Stanley Consuegra jump-started the rally with a one-out triple into the right-center field gap and Jose Peroza followed with a double into left-center field to score the game’s first run.
In the bottom of the third the lead would grow to 2-0. Three walks loaded the bases with one out for Nic Gaddis, who hit a ground ball to shortstop for a fielder’s choice but Gaddis was able to beat out the relay throw on an attempted double play to allow a run to score and extend Brooklyn’s lead.
That would be all the offense as David Griffin (2-0), who returned to Brooklyn from Binghamton earlier in the day, picked up where Askew left off – including wiggling out of a bases loaded one-out jam when he took over for the southpaw in the fifth – and tossed 3.2 shutout frames out of the bullpen to collect the win.
PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (August 5, 2022) – The St. Lucie Mets recorded their biggest comeback win of the season, rallying from a 6-0 deficit to defeat the Daytona Tortugas 8-7 in 10 innings on Friday at Clover Park.
With two outs in the bottom of the 10th inning the Mets had Raul Beracierta on third base and Omar De Los Santos on first base. As De Los Santos stole second base, catcher Wilfred Astudillo faked a throw to second, then tried to surprise Raul Beracierta by throwing back to third base. However, Astudillo’s throw was wild down the left field line and Beracierta trotted home to score the winning run on the error.
Mets reliever Trey McLoughlin pitched a scoreless eighth, ninth and 10th to get the win. The Tortugas advanced their free runner Wendell Marrero from second base to third base with no outs in the top of the 10th but McLoughlin got a foul pop out, ground out and strikeout to keep Marrero from scoring.
Beracierta crushed a game-tying two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth inning to make it 7-7. It was his 10th home run of the season.
Daytona scored four runs in the first inning off new Mets pitcher Jordan Geber, who was signed from the MLB Draft League.
The Tortugas scored two more runs in the third inning on a Michel Triana homer and Braylin Minier RBI double to go up 6-0.
William Lugo got the Mets on the board in the third inning with a two-run homer, his 10th of the season.
Ashton Creal knocked his second home run of the game in the fourth inning against Miguel Alfonseca to put the Tortugas up 7-2.
The Mets chipped away over the next couple innings, scoring runs on a Fernando Villalobos RBI single and a Jack-Thomas Wold run-scoring ground out.
Trailing 7-4 entering the eighth, the Mets plated three runs on a RBI ground out and Berarcierta’s two-run shot. Beracierta went 3 for 5.
De Los Santos was 2 for 3 with three walks and three stolen bases. Carlos Dominguez collected his third two-hit game of the month.
3 comments:
Some good offensive performances - hopefully Baty's last Player of the Month in AA. He belongs in AAA, and hopefully is moved there after today. Why not promoted the hot Jose Peroza to AA to replace Baty?
Omar De Los Santos 3 steals getting on base 4 times - boy, if he can dip down on the strikeouts, he could have a real future.
Mauricio power numbers are impressive.
Blankenhorn .340 in his last 52 AAA games, and hits in 42 of them? Dom should at least do that much first if the Mets ever recall him.
To complete the promotion wheel of middle infielders, if Peroza got promoted from Hi A, 20 year old William Lugo, who has been very solid for St Lucie with the bat and in the field since the start of May, should get promoted to Brooklyn.
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