; ;

MMN Recap: Álvarez and Vientos Homer

By Steve Sica

June 29, 2022 No comments

Mark Vientos, Photo by James Farrance

On a night Max Scherzer made his second rehab appearance for Binghamton, it was Francisco Álvarez who provided the fireworks with his 18th home run on the season as the Rumble Ponies won in Hartford 7-3.

Meanwhile, in Syracuse, fellow top prospect, Mark Vientos also played long ball to lead Syracuse to a 10-6 win over Lehigh Valley.

AAA: Lehigh Valley (40-34) 6 vs. Syracuse Mets (30-43) 10   BOX SCORE

  • CF Khalil Lee: 2-for-3, 2B, 3 R, RBI, BB, .210/332/.365
  • 1B Mark Vientos: 1-for-4, 2 R, HR (12), 3 RBI, BB, .247/.348/.484
  • LF Travis Blankenhorn: 2-for-3, 2B, R, 3 RBI, BB, .281/.342/.475

The Mets and IronPigs traded blows in this back and forth slug-fest, but it was Syracuse who would come out on top in a 10-6 win. The Mets struck first with Mark Vientos blasting his 12th home run of the season in the first inning. The IronPigs would flex their offensive muscle as well and took a 6-5 lead into the eighth inning. Syracuse would rally back.

A Mark Vientos RBI walk would tie the game up and six, and Travis Blankenhorn would clear the bases with a three-run double. Later in the inning, Patrick Mazeika would drive in an insurance run to give the Mets a 10-6 lead and the eventual win.

  • RHP Connor Grey: 3.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 3 BB, 6 SO, 5.90 ERA
  • RHP Yennsy Díaz: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 6.75 ERA
  • RHP Stephen Nogosek: (W, 2-0) 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.96 ERA

Connor Grey’s June swoon would continue in this one. Despite being given a 3-0 lead after the first inning, Grey would struggle all game and eventually give up the lead by the fourth inning. June has been a disappointing month for Grey, who in May, at one point, had gone three straight starts without giving up a run. Grey is likely eager to turn the calendar from June as over his five starts he has an 0-2 record with an ERA of 9.00.

The Syracuse bullpen would keep the Mets in the game and wouldn’t allow an earned run the rest of the way. Stephen Nogosek, has been red hot since being demoted from New York. In his four appearances out of the bullpen since being sent down, he hasn’t given up a run while striking out 12 in seven total innings. Michel Otanez would come into the game in the ninth and threw a scoreless inning of relief to wrap up the game.

 

AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (29-42) 7 vs. Hartford (44-27) 3   BOX SCORE

Raise your hand if you’ve read this sentence before. Francisco Álvarez hit another home run in this game. That’s because he’s done it ten times in June and now has 18 total home runs on the season. Álvarez, who is in his first season with Double-A, is having his best month to date. On top of his home run numbers, he has driven in 24 runs and has been enjoying his highest month OBP at .379.  His 18th blast of the season gave the Rumble Ponies a 2-0 lead in the third inning in this one.

https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1542292056105689090

The Ponies wouldn’t score again until the 7th inning, when Matt Winaker‘s RBI triple put Binghamton up 4-3 and would give them the lead for good. The Mets would put the game away in the eighth with three more runs thanks to a Hayden Senger two-run double and an RBI single from Wyatt Young as the Rumble Ponies evened up their series in Hartford with a 7-3 win.

  • RHP Max Scherzer: 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 8 SO, 4.50 ERA
  • RHP Josh Hejka: (W, 4-1), 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 4 SO, 3.00 ERA
  • RHP Yeizo Campos: (H, 6), 1 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 3 SO, 4.55 ERA

After having his rehab start pushed back an extra day, Max Scherzer came out firing in this one. He went 3 1/3 innings in his last start, Scherzer would last 4 2/3 innings in this one, strikeout eight, walk only one, and perhaps the biggest takeaway from his start was that he was able to get through 80 pitches. It’s been over a month since Scherzer went down with a high-grade oblique strain and after this game, he’s never looked closer to getting back on a big league diamond.

https://twitter.com/SNY_Mets/status/1542295653144993792

Not to be outdone, the Rumble Ponies bullpen would perhaps look to impress Scherzer as they wouldn’t allow a run through the rest of the game. Josh Hejka would earn the win going 1 1/3 innings and striking out four. Then Yeizo Campos, Antonio Santos, and Dedniel Núñez would toss an inning of scoreless relief a piece and lead the Rumble Ponies to a 7-3 victory.

High-A: Brooklyn Cyclones (33-38) 5 vs. Hudson Valley (36-35) 8   BOX SCORE

This game couldn’t have started any better for the Cyclones in Hudson Valley. The first two batters reached base, and then Nic Gaddis would send them all home when he blasted a three-run home run. However, that’s where the good times ended for Brooklyn. The offense would only score two more runs the rest of the game as the Renegades would pile on eight runs of their own to rally back and win this one 8-5. One of those two runs the Cyclones scored was off the bat of Matt Rudick, who hit his first home run as a Cyclone.

  • RHP Mike Vasil: 3.2 IP, 6 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 7 SO, 5.40 ERA
  • RHP Nolan Clenney: (L, 2-4), 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 5.77 ERA
  • RHP Michael Krauza: 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 0 SO, 0.00 ERA

After going six innings and allowing just one run in his last start, Mike Vasil seemed to be trending up coming into this game. Vasil though would take a tumble in this game as the Renegades rocked Vasil for five runs on six hits as Vasil wouldn’t make it out of the fourth inning. He did have seven strikeouts, but overall it’s been an uphill climb in High-A for him.

Nolan Clenney had an equally rough night out of the bullpen as he would get the loss after he gave up three runs in the seventh inning to Hudson Valley which would be the deciding factor in an 8-5 loss for Brooklyn.

Michael Krauza made his professional baseball debut in the ninth inning of this one. The 24-year-old out of Murrysville, Pennsylvania, would pitch a perfect inning.

Low-A: Jupiter (37-32) 3 vs. St Lucie Mets (41-29) 2, F/5   BOX SCORE

In a game that would eventually be shortened by rain, the Mets came out firing early. In the first inning, Stanley Consuegra would drive in Alex Ramirez. Then, in the second inning, Carlos Dominguez would hit his team-leading 15th home run of the season to give the Mets a 2-0 lead. Over the next three innings though, the Mets bats would go silent as they failed to get on the scoreboard and watched their 2-0 lead turn into a 3-2 deficit. St Lucie wasn’t given the chance to see if they could rally in the later innings as this game was called due to rain and ended as a 3-2 defeat for the Mets.

Joel Diaz was originally penciled in to start this game but was a last-minute scratch and replaced by Christian Scott. Scott would pitch well in five innings and earn a quality start while giving up three runs and striking out six. He was stuck with loss once the rains came and washed this game out after just five innings.

Share the post "MMN Recap: Álvarez and Vientos Homer"

  • Facebook
  • X

Written by Steve Sica

Steve is originally from Central New Jersey and a Met fan since 2000. He became a fan of the Minor League Mets going to Trenton every time the Binghamton Mets came to town. Now living in Arizona and watching Met prospects all around the Fall League. Follow Steve on Twitter: @HatMan92

Back to Top ↑