box score
Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets rode outstanding pitching all night long to their third win in four games so far this week in Buffalo, taking down the Bisons by a 3-2 final at Sahlen Field on Thursday night. The Mets have now won nine of their last 13 games. Remarkably, seven of those wins have come by just one run.
All the run scoring for the Mets came in a quick burst combined between the fourth and fifth innings. Syracuse (35-46) scored three runs in the two innings that would be enough for a victory on this Thursday night in Buffalo.
In the top of fourth, Francisco Álvarez reached to start the inning, drawing a leadoff walk, advanced to second on a wild pitch, and after a Nick Plummer strikeout, Álvarez ran all the way home on a single by Mark Vientos into right field to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. Vientos has had a solid start to the series in Buffalo, going 5-for-16 in the first four games with a pair of runs driven in.
The Mets weren’t done scoring in the fourth inning. The next batter, Khalil Lee, lined a laser-beam double off the wall in right-center field to score Vientos all the way from first for a 2-0 Mets advantage. Lee has had his own solid start to the series, smacking three extra-base hits (two doubles and a home run) in three games with a pair of runs driven in.
In the top of the fifth, Syracuse tackled on its third and final run of the night. Tzu-Wei Lin led off the frame with a bloop double down the left-field line, later advancing to third when Travis Jankowski reached on an error with one out. That brought Álvarez to the plate, who lofted a fly ball deep enough into right field for a sacrifice fly out to plate Lin and make it a 3-0 game. Álvarez, the top prospect in the Mets minor league system, has driven in two runs in his first three games in Triple-A.
Those three runs for Syracuse would prove to be enough on this night, as the Mets pitching staff kept the Bisons off balance all evening long. First, Tim Adleman tossed an excellent start, allowing just two runs on four hits in five and two-thirds innings pitched with no walks and six strikeouts. The only two runs off of Adleman were a pair of Norfolk (42-39) solo home runs. Chavez Young hit a homer in the fifth and Eric Stamets smacked one in the sixth to trim the Syracuse edge one, 3-2. Other than that, Adleman was in command all evening long, and retired 12 of the first 13 batters he faced in the ballgame.
Adleman was relieved from the game in the bottom of the sixth after Donny Jansen doubled with two outs and the Syracuse lead at just 3-2. Joe Zanghi came out of the bullpen and got the final out, starting a string of outstanding relief pitching for the Mets that would last the remainder of the game. Zanghi came back out and tossed a scoreless seventh, followed by a 1-2-3 eighth inning from Alex Claudio.
The game remained 3-2 into the bottom of the ninth, setting the stage for Bryce Montes de Oca to enter the game and earn his second save of the season for Syracuse. It wouldn’t come easy, as Jansen singled to lead off the inning and promptly advanced to second on a wild pitch. All of a sudden, the potential tying run was standing in scoring position with nobody out. On this night, Montes de Oca was up to the task. First, he induced a weak groundout by Stevie Berman that kept Jansen at second base. Next, the right-hander took matters into his own hands, striking out Cullen Large and Young in order to clinch a 3-2 win for the Mets. In the game, the Syracuse bullpen went a combined three and one-third scoreless innings with three hits allowed, no walks, and three strikeouts.
Syracuse returns to action on Friday night in Buffalo with first pitch set for 7:05 pm Right-hander David Griffin is slated to start for the Mets.
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