Syracuse Mets Lose Third Straight Series: Charlotte Series Recap

The Mets AAA affiliate continues to struggle.

The long ball stars in a high scoring week where the Charlotte Knights best the Syracuse Mets in four out of six.

The big-league club always takes priority to the minor league affiliates. This is especially the case for a team like the New York Mets who currently have the second-best record in baseball. While that’s how things should be it is one of the reasons the Mets struggled to secure wins in their series against Charlotte. It was, however, a series where the largest margin of victory was just two runs and that only happened once. A flurry of roster moves headlined by the MLB debut of Brett Baty and scoreless three inning debut from Nate Fisher saw a couple bats and numerous arms swap between the New York Mets and their Triple-A affiliate.

Standings:

1. Durham 66-51
2. Lehigh Valley 64-53 (2.0 GB)
3. Buffalo 62-54 (3.5 GB)
4. Jacksonville 62-55 (4.0 GB)
5. Scranton/WB 61-55 (4.5 GB)
6. Worcester 59-58 (7.0 GB)
7. Norfolk 53-63 (12.5 GB)
8. Rochester 53-64 (13.0 GB)
9. Syracuse 50-67 (16.0 GB)
10. Charlotte 43-68 (19.0 GB)

GB= Games Back

Around the Horn: A Series in Review

Results: 2-4 @ Charlotte

August 16^th: W, 9-8

August 17^th: L, 7-8

August 18^th: W,11-10

August 19^th: L, 11-12

August 20^th: L, 3-4

August 21^st: L, 8-10

Syracuse and the postseason are not likely after a 2-4 record this past week but if the New York Mets can make a run at the World Series then all of that is worth it. Getting guys reps and preparing them to be ready when the MLB club needs them is always a priority. When winning is coming at the major league level consistently then that priority becomes even more important. When the Mets are sending guys like David Peterson back and forth one of the big reasons is so that he and others can get consistent work. This was one of those weeks when the big-league club needed some of the guys that have produced well for Syracuse, but they battled, nonetheless. This series did not bring the number of wins that Syracuse supporters may have wanted but they certainly were not left disappointed. Every single game this series was competitive. Five one run games and the only other was decided by two. Only one game saw less than eight runs be scored as both teams were locked in at the plate. These games did not end up being wins but they were at the very least exciting.

(Game 1) This one is a bit hard to describe but it was a win, nonetheless. It is not hard to describe because the Mets played poorly as they played well enough to win, but because they were scoreless in seven of the nine innings tonight but still managed nine runs. On the flip side Charlotte was consistent. They scored in six different innings. The first run came in the very first inning. Carlos Perez drove in the first run for the Knights on a single to left. The lead would go to 2-0 in the second when Laz Rivera hit a soft liner to right to bring in Zach Remillard. Syracuse answered in a big way in the third. They scored seven runs. A Travis Blankenhorn homer got things started before Vientos hit a two-run big fly of his own. Gosuke Katoh would score a bit later on a Patrick Mazeika double. Mazeika was brought in by Khalil Lee who singled to right. JT Riddle would bring in the seventh and final run of that inning with a double. Perez homered to cut into the deficit in the 4^th and Charlotte scored two more in the 5^th. The Mets got both runs back in the 6^th. Dominic Smith got on with a one-out walk ahead of a Mark Vientos single. Daniel Palka would make it 8-5 with a single to center and Mazeika would hit a single to right to make it 9-5. Mark Payton made it a three-run game with a 7^th inning RBI single. After two runs and the bases loaded it would a lineout to right to end the 8^th and keep Syracuse up by one. Phillip Diehl would pick up the save with one and a third innings pitched. At the plate Vientos stood out with two hits and three RBIs while the designated hitter Mazeika provided two RBIs on three hits.

(Game 2) Coming off a nail biter the Mets were hoping to take that momentum and jump on the Knights. Instead, Charlotte would score first in the 1^st and maintain control for most of the game. Mark Payton homered for the Knights to open the scoring. Dominic Smith would tie it at one when he homered two innings later. Charlotte jumped out to a three-run lead just a half inning later. Carlos Perez drove in the first on a double to left before Adam Haseley homered over the left field wall to make it 4-1. Khalil Lee kept the homers coming with a solo shot in the 5^th. The Knights made it 7-2 in the 6^th before Syracuse tied the game two innings later. Dan Winkler had no answer for the Mets lineup when he came in in the 8^th. Smith singled to start the rally and Vientos followed with one of his own. Palka would double to bring in the first run and Mazeika singled to right to bring in the next two. In a 7-5 ballgame Julio Masquera, Knights interim manager, was ejected. JT Riddle then hit a sac-fly to left bringing in Terrance Gore. The game was tied up on a wild pitch by Andrew Perez. Mark Payton continued the hot hitting and sealed the game in the bottom of the 8^th with another home run. The Mets lineup needed one player to truly standout at the plate to steal this one. Everyone except Jankowski recorded a hit and five different players scored but nobody except Mazeika had double digit RBIs (2). This whole series was a high scoring back and forth. Obviously, most of the blame falls on both pitching staffs but someone needed to match Mark Payton on the Syracuse side to win this one.

(Game 3) The wild stretch of offense for both sides continued as the Mets were able to take a 2-1 series lead. Jose Butto got the start and only went one inning. This was a bit of a tune-up before debuting with the New York Mets. He would not fair quite as well as Baty and Fisher in their first big league appearances. Mike Montgomery got the win for the Mets as he ate up 4 2/3 innings giving up five runs on five hits. This game offensively was carried by the 3-4-5 in the Syracuse order. Three hits for Smith, Vientos and Palka as well as a homer and three or more RBIs for the trio. The scoring started with the Mets in this one. Smith singled to bring in Travis Jankowski and Blankenhorn singled to bring in Francisco Alvarez. Three consecutive runs came for the Knights. Jake Burger brought in one in the first and two homers from Rutherford and Remillard in the 2^nd made it 3-2. Smith and Palka responded with two homers themselves. Smith’s was a three-run screamer out to right and Palka hit a deep fly ball over the centerfield wall to score Vientos. Rutherford would double in the sixth to bring it within three and Craig Dedelow hit a homer for the Knights to make it a one run ball game. The home run derby continued in the 7^th with Mark Vientos and his two-run homer. He also hit an RBI single to score Katoh in the 8^th and Palka singled as well to score Alvarez. It would be four runs between the 8^th and 9^th to make it 11-10, but Diehl was able to stop the bleeding and strikeout Dedelow.

(Game 4) Did I mention that this series was wild? Both teams had a seven-run inning in this one as the Knight edge the Mets 12-11. Syracuse started out up 2-0 in the first. Smith walked with one out before back-to-back singles from Vientos and Palka. Palka drove in a run with his single and then Lee walked. Katoh would bring in the second on a groundout. Starting pitcher Harol González struggled for Syracuse in his second inning of work. He gave up seven runs on seven hits and would only record an out in the 2^nd before being pulled. The big inning was headlined by Lenyn Sosa and his three-run homer. The Knights led 7-2 and Xavier Fernandes made it 8-2 with a RBI single in the bottom of the 3^rd. Khalil Lee brought the Mets back with a solo shot but Micker Adolfo responded with a homer of his own. Another RBI single in the 6^th made it 10-3 and the game seemed over. JT Riddle homered in the 7^th but that feeling returned in the bottom half when Fernandez and Sanchez each hit an RBI double. It was the 8^th when the Mets brought it within one. Smith doubled before Palka walked and Lee was hit by a pitch. Katoh was also hit by a pitch to score a run and Riddle doubled to bring in two more. Jose Colina singled after to drive in Katoh and Riddle. In a three-run ballgame Gore singled and Blankenhorn walked. Smith in his second time up that inning singled and made it 12-10. Vientos brought home another on a force but that would be all for the Mets.

(Game 5) By this series’ standards this was a boring contest. The homers did continue though as another close game yielded only seven combined runs scored this time around. Jose Rodriguez was excellent in his start. Other than a homer and a couple walks he kept the hitters from finding too many barrels and went five strong innings with his two hits. The two runs he did give up were unearned. Syracuse scored the first two runs of this one. Vientos brought in the first with an RBI double to center to bring home Smith. Jankowski hit an RBI single in the 4^th to extend the lead to two runs. Mark Payton hit another homer in the 5^th to tie the ballgame up at two before Adolfo made it 3-2 in the 7^th with a fly ball over the left field wall. Sosa added on with a big fly of his own and the home run derby week went on when Vientos made it the 4-3 in the top of the 9^th with his solo homer. The high scoring would only take a break for one night.

(Game 6) Jordan Yamamoto would face Davis Martin in this one as the Mets were battling for a split. Yamamoto was bested though as he gave up seven hits and six earned runs. He would walk two and strikeout five in his 2 2/3 innings. Martin would make it 5 2/3 holding the Mets to three earned. Dedelow brought in the first run of the game with a single to right and Rivera made it 2-0 on a double to left. Payton singled to bring in Rivera before Sosa doubled to center to bring in two. In the bottom of the third Blake Rutherford stole home to make it 6-0. The next three runs came courtesy of Daniel Palka. He singled to bring in Mark Vientos in the 4^th and homered in the6th to also score Vientos. Katoh would hit a two-run homer in the seventh and Vientos would tie the game with a RBI single. After trailing 6-0 they took the lead with a Katoh single in the 8^th, but Nick Ciuffo responded with a three-run blast and Payton added an inside-the-park home run to make it 10-7. Palka picked up one more run for the Mets with a sac-fly in the 9^th.

Upcoming Series Schedule: Home Vs. Worcester

Tuesday: 6:35 pm EDT

Wednesday: 6:35 pm EDT

Thursday: 6:35 pm EDT

Friday: 6:35 pm EDT

Saturday: 6:35 pm EDT

Sunday: 1:05 pm EDT

Series Standouts: Pitcher of the Week: Jose Rodriguez- 5.0 IP, 2 Hits, 2 Runs (unearned), 3 Walks

Position Player of the Week: Daniel Palka- 12 Hits, 4 Runs, 2 HRs, 10 RBI, 3 Walks

What to Watch this Week:

The Mets welcome the Woo Sox to Syracuse in what should be a fun series. With the playoffs a bit out of reach currently the biggest thing to look for is how a few guys will look coming back from some games with New York. Nate Fisher is someone who really impressed in his debut and should he continue to pitch well with Syracuse this week he could earn himself more time up in the bigs. Jose Buto did not have the same kind of debut and will look to find a grove back in Syracuse. David Peterson has been back and forth between Syracuse and New York since the end of July. He had one strong start against the Braves but has yet to impress since that win. His last three starts have resulted in losses. At the plate keep an eye on the 3-4-5 of Smith, Vientos and Palka. They all swung the battle very well against Charlotte and are poised for another strong series.