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| Ronny Mauricio hit his 20th home run of the season on Friday night (Herm Card - herm4444@gmail.com). |
Syracuse, NY – After rain washed away Friday night’s game, the Syracuse Mets and Columbus Clippers made up for it with a power exhibition on Saturday night. The two teams combined for seven home runs in the ballgame with the Clippers eventually winning, 9-4, on a sunny Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Columbus has now won the last two games in the series after Syracuse won the first two games.
The slugging prowess for Columbus (53-63, 20-22) started early on. The Clippers hit back-to-back solo shots in the top of the first to race out to a 2-0 lead. José Tena began the quick flurry with a blast over the right-field fence followed by a Johnathan Rodriguez home run over the left-field fence to make it 2-0 just like that. Rodriguez also homered in Tuesday night’s game.
Syracuse (48-68, 25-17) got a run back in the bottom of the second, a rare run scored in the game that wasn’t via the long ball. After the first two batters went down in order, José Peraza doubled to keep the inning alive followed by a Brandon McIlwain RBI single that plated Peraza to make it a 2-1 ballgame. McIlwain has now reached base safely in 13 of his first 14 games at the Triple-A level after joining the Syracuse Mets earlier this month.
In the top of the third, Tena slugged his second home run in as many at-bats to jolt the Clippers up to a 3-1 lead. The 22-year-old Tena had yet to hit a homer in his first four games at the Triple-A level. He has made both his Triple-A and Major League debuts in this month of August.
That lead for Columbus wouldn’t last long. Syracuse roared in front in the bottom of the fifth with three runs of their own via some powerful swings. After a Wyatt Young single to start the inning, Ronny Mauricio smashed a game-tying, two-run shot over the right-field fence to make it a 3-3 game in a flash. With the home run, Mauricio joined the 20/20 club for the second consecutive season. The 22-year-old now has 20 homers and 21 stolen bases in 107 games this season. Mauricio had 26 home runs and 20 stolen bases in 123 games with Double-A Binghamton last season. Luke Ritter finished the flurry in the bottom of the fifth with a booming drive that cleared the wall in left-center field for a go-ahead solo homer that made it a 4-3 lead for the home team. Ritter now has 25 home runs between Binghamton and Syracuse this season, which leads all Mets minor leaguers in home runs.
Unfortunately for Syracuse, it would prove to be the Clippers night beyond that point. Columbus scored the next six runs in the game to take the lead for good. Entering the sixth inning down 4-3, it took exactly two batters for the Clippers to tie the game. Angel Martínez doubled to start the frame, followed by a single from Tena to tie the game up, 4-4. Tena would finish the game 4-for-5 at the plate with two home runs, two singles, three runs driven in, and three runs scored.
In the seventh, Columbus took the lead for good when George Valera hit a solo home run leading off the inning to make it a 5-4 game.
The Clippers provided the knockout punch in the top of the eighth, scoring four times on four hits to make it a 9-4 contest. The inning was highlighted by yet another Valera home run, this one of the two-run variety. The 22-year-old Valera, widely considered one of the best prospects in the Cleveland Guardians minor-league system, has hit two home runs in each of the last two games.
The Columbus bullpen sealed the deal from there as Syracuse didn’t score in their final four trips to the plate. In fact, the final 16 Mets batters of the game did not get a hit and the Mets had just one baserunner in the final three innings of the contest. Syracuse has had just two total hits in the sixth through ninth innings in each of the last two games.
Syracuse wraps up the five-game series against the Columbus Clippers on Sunday afternoon. The fifth game of the series is slated for a 1:05 p.m. start time with right-hander Mike Vasil scheduled to start for the Mets against right-hander Hunter Gaddis for the Clippers.
Brandon McIlwain puts us on the board in the second! He’s now reached base in 13 of 14 games in AAA 👏 pic.twitter.com/Wb8mRlGiF9
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 19, 2023
Ronny Mauricio enters the 20/20 club with this game-tying 💣 pic.twitter.com/UfpLAqRUHL
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 19, 2023
They call him Luke Ritter, The Hitter, for a reason. Luke hits his 11th HR for the @SyracuseMets, his 25th overall for the year. #Mets #LGM #MetsTwitter @ernestdove @MiLBMetsMadness @bkfan09 @WexlerRules @ImAriBeRKO @bronxfanatic pic.twitter.com/qqkr6OJ0QV
— Mets News and Links (@JohnFromAlbany) August 20, 2023
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