Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets finished up a seven-game series in Buffalo in style, taking down the Buffalo Bisons, 4-2, on a sunny Sunday afternoon in western New York. The Mets grabbed five out of the seven games they played in Buffalo this week. Syracuse has won nine of its last 13 games and posted a 21-14 overall record since June 2nd, tied for the most wins and best record in the International League during that span.
Syracuse (37-47) found a way to score without a hit in the top of the first inning. Travis Jankowski led off the game with a walk and stole his way to second base as Nick Plummer struck out for the first out of the frame. Mark Vientos promptly grounded a ball to shortstop that was booted by Jordan Groshans, putting runners on first and third with one out. Daniel Palka then chopped a ball to first that plated Jankowski, giving Palka to RBI and Syracuse an early 1-0 lead.
Buffalo (43-41) tied the game up in the bottom of the third. Kellin Deglan led off with a single and moved up to second on a Spencer Horwitz walk. After Otto Lopez struck out, Groshans slapped a groundball into right-center field that scored Deglan and knotted up the game, 1-1. However, Syracuse starting pitcher Connor Gray managed to wiggle out of the first and third with one out jam for the Mets. Gray induced a groundball double play to the next batter, Danny Jansen keeping the game knotted at one after three innings.
Grey, who grew up less than 90 minutes south of Buffalo in Frewsburg, New York, tossed five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts and just three hits allowed. Gray also stranded four runners on base in his solid starting effort.
In the top of the fourth, Syracuse shot back in front when Palka launched a one-out solo shot over the right-center field. Palka now leads the Mets with 16 home runs this season and has added on 49 RBIs. The 30-year-old had not played since June 30th, as he was celebrating the birth of his child.
In the bottom of the sixth, the teeter-totter swung back to even when Danny Jansen lined a solo home run over the left-field fence with one out to tie the game again, 2-2. It was the first home run of the week for Jansen, who is rehabbing an injury and on a Major League rehab assignment from the Toronto Blue Jays.
In the top of the seventh, the Mets went ahead for good. After a leadoff walk by Nick Dini, Gosuke Katoh put the cherry on top of his swinging sundae of a week. Katoh pounded a pitch over the center field wall, making it a 4-2 Syracuse lead that the Mets would never relinquish. Katoh finished the week 10-for-23 at the plate with four home runs, eight runs driven in, and four different multi-hit games.
The Mets bullpen shut the door from there. Rob Zastryzny stranded two runners on base in a scoreless seventh and Yoan López worked a masterful six-out save. The right-hander allowed just one baserunner in scoreless eighth and ninth innings, striking out five batters in the process. Syracuse’s bullpen has been a nearly impenetrable wall recently. In the last four games, Mets relievers have allowed just two earned runs in 17 innings pitched with an astounding 25 strikeouts.
Syracuse returns home on Tuesday night, kicking off a six-game series against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins. Left-hander Thomas Szapucki is slated to start for the Mets, opposed by left-hander Matthew Kent for the Jumbo Shrimp. First pitch of the series opener is set for 6:35 pm at NBT Bank Stadium.
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