Down by two runs in the ninth inning, Mark Vientos cut the deficit in half with his 22nd home run of the season. This total gives him sole possession of third place on the International League home run leaderboard.
AAA: Charlotte Knights (46-70) 4, Syracuse Mets (50-66) 3 Box Score
- Mark Vientos 3B: 2-for-5, R, 2B, HR, 2 RBI, K, .281/.357/.538
- JT Riddle SS: 2-for-4, R, .275/.302/.458
- Dominic Smith 1B: 1-for-4, R, .284/.376/.461
Vientos had a huge night for Syracuse, and his ninth-inning home run brought the Mets to within a run. That home run was his 22nd of the year, a total which ranks third in the international league. Vientos now has a seven-game hitting streak.
Mark Vientos had two hits tonight including his 22nd home run of the season for Triple-A Syracuse.
OPS at .895 for the season.
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) August 21, 2022
- RHP Jose Rodriguez (1-3, 6.31 ERA) 5.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 3 BB
- RHP Trey Cobb (L, 6-2, 4.87 ERA) 3.0 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, BB, 3 K
Rodriguez was unable to strike out a single batter in a start for the first time since June of 2021. He was still quite effective, however, and did not allow an earned run for the first time in a start this season.
AA: Richmond Flying Squirrels (55-57) 5, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (42-70) 1 Box Score
- Ronny Mauricio SS: 1-for-4, K, .248/.282/.475
- Carlos Cortes LF: 2-for-4, R, .244/.320/.394
- Wyatt Young 2B: 1-for-3, BB, K, .258/.347/.376
The Rumble Ponies scored just one run on seven hits in Saturday’s game. Their lone run scored on a Jeremy Vasquez single in the second inning. Mauricio has five home runs during the month of August but has not drawn a walk since July 29. Young has a 15:17 BB:K ratio and is hitting .315/.471/.481 so far this month.
- RHP Alex Valverde (L, 1-6, 6.23 ERA) 3.2 IP, 5 H, 4 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
- RHP Hunter Parsons (0-2, 5.70 ERA) 2.1 IP, H, 2 BB, K
- RHP Joe Zanghi (1-1,1.83 ERA) 2.0 IP, H, ER
Valverde struggled in his start on Saturday, tossing 72 laborious pitches before being pulled with two outs in the fourth inning. He has particularly struggled with the long ball in recent weeks: he has given up four home runs in his last three starts (11 1/3 innings pitched).
A+: Hudson Valley Renegades (60-52) 5, Brooklyn Cyclones (56-57) 1 Box Score
- Alex Ramirez DH: 2-for-4, .265/.319/.429
- Jose Peroza 2B: 2-for-3, 2B, BB, .247/.337/.377
- Stanley Consuegra RF: 1-for-4, .209/.278/.372
The Cyclones had just five hits in this game; Peroza’s hit was their only extra base hit. Their only run came when JT Schwartz grounded into a double play with the bases loaded in the eighth inning. Ramirez has still been collecting hits at a fairly steady rate, but all other areas of his offense have regressed in August: just two of his 17 hits have gone for extra bases (both doubles), and he has drawn just four walks after drawing double-digit walks in June and July. Consuegra has been even more dreadful offensively in August (hitting .141/.191/.203 for the month), leading him to be dropped to sixth in the lineup. Peroza has a 13:8 BB:K ratio in August and his OPS is north of 1.000 during the month.
- RHP Luis Moreno (L, 1-7, 3.32 ERA) 5.1 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 6 BB, 4 K
- RHP Sammy Tavarez (2-1, 2.88 ERA) 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 3 K
- LHP Daniel Juarez (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 1.0 IP
Moreno had one of the wildest games of his career: he threw just over half of his pitches for strikes (49 of 94) and walked a career-high six batters. After exhibiting great control earlier in the season, Moreno has struggled with walks recently and has walked 11 batters over his last three starts (11 innings). Tavarez, who had been so excellent at generating weak contact this season, gave up his first home run of the year. Juarez pitched a perfect inning in his Brooklyn debut.
A: Lakeland Tigers (55-56) 5, St. Lucie Mets (65-47) 3 Box Score
- Chase Estep 3B: 1-for-4, 2 R, HR, RBI, .290/.421/.548
- Raul Beracierta 1B: 2-for-4, .299/.350/.464
- Blaine McIntosh DH: 1-for-4, K, .310/.429/.345
The Mets had plenty of help from the Lakeland defense in this game – two of St. Lucie’s runs came on a pair of errors – but still fell well short of the five runs needed for the victory. Estep had the only unaided run batted in, which came when he blasted the second home run of his professional career. The home run left his bat at 99.9 MPH and traveled 405 feet.
- RHP Calvin Ziegler (0-3, 3.12 ERA) 2.1 IP, H, R, 3 BB, 2 K
- RHP Benito Garcia (L, 2-2, 4.50 ERA) 2.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 3 K
- RHP Jace Beck (0-1, 1.96 ERA) 3.0 IP, 2 H, ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Ziegler was his standard mix of nearly unhittable and very wild during Saturday’s start. He threw just 19 of 45 pitches for strikes and, even though he didn’t miss many bats, he limited opposing batters to just an 83.4 average exit velocity. His fastball topped out at 94.9 MPH and averaged 92.7 MPH. Beck’s velocity was up a few ticks in his appearance – he topped out at 96.3 MPH and averaged 94.2 MPH on his fastball – and he had a 35% whiff rate for the night.
FCL: FCL Mets (33-20) 5, FCL Nationals (31-22) 1 Box Score
- Jake Mangum CF: 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, .429/.667/.714
- Kevin Parada DH: 0-for-3, RBI, BB, .333/.556/.500
Mangum made his third rehab appearance in return from an injury which has kept him out for over two months. He played the full game in center field.
- RHP Douglas Orellana (W, 3-4, 3.96 ERA) 5.0 IP, H, BB, 8 K
Three Mets pitchers combined to toss a two-hit shutout on Saturday afternoon; they struck out 14 batters over the course of the game. Orellana has given up zero earned runs in five of his last six starts.
DSL: DSL NYY Yankees (29-27) 5, DSL Mets 1 (29-28) 0 Box Score
- Simon Juan CF: 1-for-2, BB, .218/.311/.325
Juan is hitting just .200/.245/.320 in August.
DSL: DSL Pit Gold (42-15) 4, DSL Mets 2 (23-32) 1 Box Score
- Willy Fanas DH: 0-for-2, R, SB, HBP, .255/.327/.298