Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets had their chances, but could not capitalize in a 6-1 loss at the Buffalo Bisons on Friday night (Box Score). The Mets left eight runners on base, including six combined in the last five innings. Syracuse went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in the game. The Bisons also capitalized themselves with some timely, two-hit hitting that would doom the Mets on this evening.
Buffalo (43-39) got right to work in the bottom of the first, opening up a 3-0 lead in the game's initial inning. Otto Lopez began the frame with a triple, and after a Spencer Horwitz strikeout, trotted home on a Jordan Groshans single. Groshans, one of the top prospects in the Blue Jays system, finished the game 2-for-4 with a double. Later in the inning, Groshans would come home to score himself when Chavez Young blasted a two-out, two-run home run over the centerfield fence to complete the three runs in the first for the Bisons. Young, who turned 25 on Friday night, has hit home runs in each of the last two games.
After a scoreless second inning, Buffalo got back on the scoreboard in a big way in the bottom of the third. With Horwitz and Large on base with two outs, L.J. Talley launched a pitch over the centerfield wall to turn a 3-0 Bisons lead into 6-0 in the blink of an eye. Five of Buffalo's six runs in the game came on home runs with two outs in the inning.
Syracuse (35-47) would get a little life in the top of the fifth inning, when Gosuke Katoh hit a solo home run with two outs to get the Mets on the board. Katoh has had an excellent week at the plate, going a combined 6-for-16 with three home runs and five runs driven in.
From there, the frustration for the Mets would only grow. Syracuse left a combined six runners on base in the game's final five innings, including two runners on base in the seventh and eighth innings. The missed opportunities began in earnest in the sixth, when Francisco Álvarez doubled and Travis Blankenhorn singled leading off the inning to put runners on the corners with nobody out. The potential rally fizzled out from there, as Mark Vientos struck out and Patrick Mazeika grounded into an inning-ending double play.
In the seventh, the Mets were gifted by consecutive Bisons' fielding errors with one out, putting Deven Marrero on second and Katoh on first. However, back-to-back groundouts once again caused Syracuse's potential rally to float away in the summer night air.
The eighth inning brought the last chance for the Mets to climb back in the ballgame. Álvarez and Blankenhorn both were hit by pitches to start the inning, putting runners on first and second with nobody out. Yet, three straight Syracuse batters went down in order, once again leaving multiple runners on base for the Mets. Syracuse went down in order in the ninth, clinching a 6-1 loss at Buffalo.
On a night with a lot of offensive frustration, the positive came once again out of the Mets bullpen. Syracuse relievers Yennsy Diaz, R.J. Alvarez, and Eric Orze combined to work five scoreless innings out of the pen, allowing just two hits while striking out seven batters in the process. The last two nights, the Mets bullpen has worked a combined eight and one-third scoreless frames with 10 strikeouts.
Syracuse returns to action on Saturday night in Buffalo. Left-hander Nate Fisher is slated to start for the Mets, opposed by right-hander Thomas Hatch for the Bisons. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.
Francisco Alvarez goes 1 for 3 Friday Night with a HBP and this 6th inning double. @SyracuseMets falls 6-1. #Mets #LGM #MetsTwitter @ernestdove @BTB_MikeII @MiLBMetsMadness pic.twitter.com/REZRciKj8A
— Mets News and Links (@JohnFromAlbany) July 9, 2022
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