The Mets’ minor league affiliates struggled on Sunday as each team lost. Among the highlights were Calvin Ziegler (High-A) and Jonah Tong (Low-A) pitching phenomenally, recording 20 strikeouts in 8 1/3 shutout innings between the two.

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (4-4) 2, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (4-4) 7

Box Score

• DH Ben Gamel: 2-for-4, R, HR (2), RBI, 2K
• 3B Luke Ritter: 1-for-4, R, HR (1), RBI, K
• C Tomás Nido: 2-for-3, K
• 2B Luisangel Acuña: 1-for-4, K, SB (1)

The Mets and RailRiders played a closer game than the score would make it seem, with a three-run eighth inning by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre putting the game out of reach late. The game was scoreless for the first three innings before the RailRiders added three runs in the fourth off of Jon Duplantier. Syracuse quickly responded with back-to-back homers from Ben Gamel and Luke Ritter in the top of the fifth. That was all the RailRiders would allow, though, as Syracuse’s offense was shut down the rest of the way.

The game would remain 3-2 until the seventh inning when the RailRiders scored on a wild pitch, and the three runs they scored in the eighth gave Syracuse a five-run deficit to erase in the final inning. Syracuse didn’t score and it dropped the team down to .500 through eight games played.

• RHP Hunter Parsons: 2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 BB, 4 K
• RHP Jon Duplantier (L, 0-1): 1 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K
• RHP Carlos Guzman: 2 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 1 BB, 2 K
• RHP Shintaro Fujinami: 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP Grant Hartwig: 2/3 IP, 3 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K
• C Matt O’Neill: 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K

Yes, you read that right. Matt O’Neill, a catcher on the Triple-A roster, finished the pitching for Syracuse on a day where a few pitchers put together forgettable performances. Parsons and Guzman pitched really well, combining for 4 2/3 hitless and scoring innings. Outside of them, though, Duplantier, Fujinami, and Hartwig surrendered seven runs, with Duplantier officially tabbed with the loss. The pitching didn’t get it done, but neither did the offense as Syracuse’s series with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre comes to a disappointing close.

Double-A

New Hampshire Fisher Cats (2-1) 8, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (1-2) 4

Box Score

• SS Jett Williams: 2-for-4, R, SB (2), 2K
• RF Alex Ramírez: 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (1), RBI, SB (4), 2K
• 3B Jeremiah Jackson: 0-for-3, BB, R
• 1B Jose Peroza: 0-for-3, RBI, 3 K

Despite the lack of offense in this game from Binghamton, the Rumble Ponies actually jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the first inning. Jett Williams and Alex Ramírez both singled and pulled off a double steal to put runners on second and third with one out. A wild pitch scored Williams and advanced Ramírez to third, before a walk and hit-by-pitch loaded the bases. A second wild pitch scored Ramírez before another walk and a sacrifice fly gave Binghamton their third run of the inning.

New Hampshire pitcher Adam Macko settled down after the dreadful first inning, and the only other run that would be scored by Binghamton came on an Alex Ramírez opposite field homer in the eighth inning. That was the first home run of the year for Ramírez, who has played really well in the Rumble Ponies’ first three games of the year. He currently has five hits, including the home run, and four stolen bases in just 11 at-bats.

• RHP Luis Moreno (L, 0-1): 3 2/3 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 1 BB, 4 K
• RHP Andre Scrubb: 1 1/3 IP, 1 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Cameron Foster: 2 1/3 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 1 K
• RHP Trey McLoughlin: 1 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 3 K

Unfortunately for the Rumble Ponies, the Fisher Cats’ offense was able to overcome the early deficit and take the lead in the fourth inning. Luis Moreno had locked it down for the first three innings, but it all unraveled in the fourth when he allowed four runs. Andre Scrubb replaced him and allowed another run. Cameron Foster struggled as well, allowing three runs in the eighth inning to put the Rumble Ponies in a late five-run hole.

Trey McLoughlin closed it out with an impressive performance, but it was an ugly day for the pitching staff as well as the offense, which only recorded four hits all game despite three runs and two hits in the first inning. Binghamton’s series with New Hampshire ends after just three games, but the two teams will meet again in two weeks for a typical six-game series.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (0-3) 0, Wilmington Blue Rocks (3-0) 1

Box Score

• RF Stanley Consuegra: 2-for-4, K
• C Drake Osborn: 1-for-3, BB
• LF Ryan Clifford: 0-for-4, 2 K

The Brooklyn Cyclones remain winless after three games, having been swept by the Wilmington Blue Rocks. The bad news is that the offense has been putrid, scoring just three runs in three games. The good news is the pitching staff has performed well, allowing eight runs in three games. The staff continued to pitch well in Sunday’s game, allowing just one unearned run which was the ghost runner in the bottom of the tenth inning.

The highlight of the game was Calvin Ziegler, who pitched four perfect innings and struck out nine batters. Ziegler’s fastball was up to 96 miles-per-hour and at one point he had struck out eight batters in a row. Ziegler was a 2021 second-round draft pick who pitched just one inning in 2023 after battling several injuries. If he can stay healthy, he has incredible potential which he demonstrated in his 2024 debut. A 60-grade fastball and curveball highlight his impressive repertoire.

The rest of the staff behind Ziegler pitched really well, striking out nine in 5 2/3 scoreless innings. Joshua Cornielly was the unlucky man to draw the loss in extra innings despite not allowing an earned run. Nine times out of ten, Brooklyn wins this game. The offense just hasn’t woken up through three games.

• RHP Calvin Ziegler: 4 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 9 K
• RHP Josh Hejka: 2/3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K
• RHP Dakota Hawkins: 3 IP, 1 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 4 K
• RHP Joshua Cornielly (L, 0-1): 2 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 4 K

The Brooklyn offense recorded just five hits, all singles, with Stanley Consuegra being the only man to record multiple hits. Ryan Clifford, one of the Mets’ top prospects, struggled in the leadoff spot going 0-for-4 with two strikeouts. It’s still early, but the signs from the Brooklyn offense haven’t been encouraging.

Low-A

Daytona Tortugas (2-1) 2, St. Lucie Mets (1-2) 0

Box Score

• 3B Colin Houck: 1-for-4, 2 K
• 1B Ronald Hernandez: 2-for-4
• 2B Diego Mosquera: 2-for-3

If you can’t already tell, the theme of Sunday’s minor league games was a severe lack of offense (six combined runs in four games between the four affiliates). However, like Brooklyn, St. Lucie got a brilliant pitching performance out of prospect Jonah Tong. Tong is a starter, but he came into the game from the bullpen after two outs from rehabbing pitcher Max Kranick. Tong then put together an outing in which he struck out 11 batters over 4 1/3 scoreless innings. That means 11 of the 13 outs he recorded were via the strikeout.

Tong’s curveball was especially impressive, as he recorded a 53% Called Strike + Whiff rate (CSW%) and consistently had 66-68 inches of drop. Like Ziegler in Brooklyn, though, he got no run support and was taken out during a scoreless game.

The St. Lucie Mets recorded six hits, also all singles, and four of them came from Ronald Hernandez and Diego Mosquera. Other top prospects on the offensive side of things were Colin Houck, who went 1-for-4 with two strikeouts, and Nick Morabito who led off and went 0-for-4 with three strikeouts.

• RHP Max Kranick: 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 1 BB, 1 K
• RHP Jonah Tong: 4 1/3 IP, 0 ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 11 K
• RHP Austin Troesser (L, 0-1): 3 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, 3 BB, 2 K
• RHP Brett Banks: 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K

The scoreless game lasted into the seventh inning when Austin Troesser, a 2023 fourth round pick, allowed an RBI single to put the first run of the game on the board. Brett Banks surrendered the second and final run of the game in the ninth, allowing a solo home run. The 2-0 score would hold as the final score of the game, giving St. Lucie a series loss to the Daytona Tortugas.