The Mets’ affiliates played just three games on Sunday, as Syracuse’s game was canceled due to rain. A day after each of the affiliates won, it was another successful day where two of the Mets’ three minor league teams won their games on Sunday. Only Binghamton couldn’t secure a win, losing by just one run.
Two of the performances of note on Sunday were by two of the Mets’ top prospects in Ryan Clifford and Colin Houck. Between the two of them, they recorded five runs and six walks in their respective games. They haven’t had the kind of offensive start to the season that they would hope for, but as of late they’re starting to see the ball much better at the plate and that continued Sunday.
Triple-A
The Syracuse Mets (10-9) had their game with the Charlotte Knights (8-12) canceled due to rain. The game will not be made up, as the Mets and Knights don’t play again for the remainder of the first half of the season.
Double-A
Reading Fightin Phils (6-9) 5, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (6-8) 4
- SS Jett Williams: 1-for-4, 2B (3), RBI (2), 2 R, BB
- LF Rhylan Thomas: 2-for-5, RBI (6), K
- C Kevin Parada: 1-for-3, RBI (5), BB
- 1B Jose Peroza: 1-for-2, RBI (6), 2 BB, K
The Rumble Ponies had a chance to win the series against the Fightin Phils, heading into Sunday’s game ahead in the series 3-2. They came close as they held an early 3-1 lead, but two late runs by Reading gave them the lead which would hold to secure a series tie. Reading actually scored first with a run in the second inning, but that didn’t last long as Binghamton tacked on three in the third. Jett Williams hit his third double of the year to drive in a batter, while Rhylan Thomas and Jose Peroza also recorded RBIs in the inning.
Kevin Parada, Photos by Bronson Harris of Binghamton Rumble Ponies
The game was quickly tied back up in the next half inning, but again the Rumble Ponies rallied to retake the lead, this time on a Kevin Parada single. The Rumble Ponies couldn’t hold their one-run lead, as the Fightin Phils added two in the seventh and held on from there.
- RHP Max Kranick: 3 1/3 IP, ER (2 R), 3 H, BB, 2 K
- RHP Carlos Guzman: 2/3 IP, 0 ER (1 R), H, BB, K
- RHP Blade Tidwell (L, 1-2): 4 IP, ER (2 R), 2 H, BB, 3 K
- RHP Paul Gervase: 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, 3 K
The pitching staff were victims of some poor defense in this game, as they only allowed two earned runs while the other three were unearned. Blade Tidwell didn’t start but went four innings. He pitched well but recorded the loss, allowing just one earned run over those four innings. His ERA now sits at 1.84 on the season. Paul Gervase also pitched well out of the pen, allowing one baserunner and recording all of his outs via the strikeout.
High-A
Brooklyn Cyclones (7-8) 5, Jersey Shore BlueClaws (8-7) 2
- LF Ryan Clifford: 0-for-1, 3 R, 4 BB, K
- RF Stanley Consuegra: 2-for-3, RBI (5), R, 2 BB, K
- 1B Nick Lorusso: 1-for-1, RBI (4), 3 BB
A simple look at the box score will show you that the Cyclones won this game on good plate discipline and a lack of control from the Jersey Shore pitching staff. Three batters walked at least twice and two walked more than three times. In total, Brooklyn batters were walked 11 times while recording just four hits. Only one of the team’s five runs was driven in on a hit, while the other four were brought in on either a sacrifice fly (twice) or a passed ball (twice).
Ryan Clifford walked a whopping four times in five plate appearances, raising his season on-base percentage to .415 despite a .240 batting average. He currently has the second-highest batting average on the Cyclones behind Nick Lorusso (.256), which is a testament to how hard offense has been to come by for Brooklyn. Still, the team will take wins where they can get them, and they grabbed one on Sunday.
- RHP Brandon Sproat: 3 IP, ER, 3 H, BB, 2 K
- RHP Ben Simon (W, 2-1): 3 IP, ER, 2 H, 2 BB, 2 K
- RHP Josh Hejka (H, 1): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K
- RHP Jeffrey Colon (H,1): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, 0 K
- RHP Joshua Cornielly (S, 2): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 0 BB, K
Brandon Sproat, Photo by Ed Delany of Mets Minors
In addition to poor Jersey Shore pitching, the Cyclones were able to win due to strong pitching of their own. Brandon Sproat pitched well in three innings, and his ERA sits at 1.86 on the year. Ben Simon followed him out of the bullpen and pitched three innings of his own, recording the win. The final innings of the game were as easy as they can get, as Josh Hejka, Jeffrey Colon, and Joshua Cornielly combined for three hitless innings, allowing just one baserunner in that span.
Low-A
Tampa Tarpons (4-11) 4, St. Lucie Mets (7-8) 8
- SS Colin Houck: 1-for-2, 3B (2), RBI (5), 2 R, 2 BB
- DH J.D. Martinez: 2-for-3, 2B (1), RBI (1), 2 R, K
- 1B Vincent Perozo: 1-for-4, 2 RBI (8)
- CF Sebastian Castro: 2-for-3, R, K
- 2B Donovan Antonia: 1-for-4, 2B (1), RBI (2), R
This game was arguably over from the start, as the Mets scored all eight of their runs in the first two innings. They started off with three runs in the first inning and added five more in the second inning. That gave them an extremely comfortable 8-0 lead, and even though they were shut out for the rest of the game, St. Lucie still won the game easily. Tampa added four runs, including two in the ninth, but they never truly threatened to win this game.
Colin Houck, Photo by Ed Delany of Mets Minors
The top two in the Mets’ lineup, Colin Houck and J.D. Martinez, were really impressive as they combined for three hits (two for extra bases) and four runs. Of course, Martinez won’t be able to mash with Low-A forever. The big league club has plans to transfer his rehab assignment to Triple-A before he hopefully makes his Mets major league debut later in the week. Houck impressed hitting in front of him, however, as he hit a triple and drew two walks.
The rest of the lineup did a good job driving Houck and Martinez in. While the final six offensive innings were quiet for St. Lucie, the lineup did more than enough in the first two innings.
- RHP Kade Morris: 3 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 3 BB, 2 K
- LHP Franklin Gomez: 2 1/3 IP, 2 ER, 2 H, 3 BB, 3 K
- RHP Juan Arnaud (W, 1-0): 1 2/3 IP, 0 ER, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K
- RHP Jimmy Loper: 2 IP, 2 ER, 3 H, 0 BB, K
The pitching staff was up and down, but Kade Morris started things off with three hitless innings. He walked three which is never ideal, but he didn’t allow any runs to come across. His ERA for the season now sits at 1.42. He also struck out two batters in his performance. Franklin Gomez followed Morris out of the bullpen and had a rougher go of it. He allowed six men to reach base (three walks, two hits, one hit-by-pitch) and allowed two runs to come across. A positive note from his outing is that he struck out more than one batter an inning, recording three over his 2 1/3 innings of work.
Juan Arnaud quieted down the Tarpons’ offense with 1 2/3 scoreless innings, and he was rewarded with his first win of the season. He has now thrown 4 1/3 scoreless innings to begin the season, but his 1.62 WHIP suggests that might change soon. Jimmy Loper was called on to pitch the final two innings, and like Gomez he had a bumpy outing. He also allowed two runs on three hits and recorded one strikeout. Considering the size of the Mets’ lead, the pitching staff could afford to give up a few runs and so the outings by Gomez and Loper didn’t come back to bite the team.
