Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets split a doubleheader with the Buffalo Bisons on Sunday at NBT Bank Stadium, falling 6-4 in game one before bouncing back with a 1-0 victory in game two.
In the opener, Buffalo (25-26) struck early behind the bat of R.J. Schreck. After a solo home run in the first inning put the Bisons ahead, Schreck connected again in the third with a three-run blast, extending Buffalo’s lead to 4-0.
Syracuse (27-23) answered in the bottom of the third. Kevin Parada singled and later scored on an RBI base hit by Jared Young, trimming the deficit to 4-1.
The Mets continued to chip away in the fourth. Ryan Clifford doubled and Eric Wagaman walked before Jihwan Bae reached on a fielder’s choice and an error that brought home a run. Soon after, Cristian Pache lifted a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 4-3.
Buffalo added insurance in the sixth inning. After a walk and an error put runners on, Willie MacIver delivered a sacrifice fly and Je'Von Ward added an RBI single, stretching the Bisons lead to 6-3.
Syracuse got one back in the bottom of the sixth when Clifford crushed a solo home run to right field, his ninth of the season, but the Mets could not complete the comeback and dropped game one, 6-4.
In game one, Jack Wenninger started and was tabbed with the loss. The Mets No. 5 prospect pitched 5.1 IP, allowed 5 H, 6 R, 5 ER, 2 BB and recorded 5 K. At the conclusion of the doubleheader, Wenninger is the International League leader in ERA (2.20) and AVG (.181).
In game two, pitching dominated throughout the nightcap. Syracuse broke through in the bottom of the fourth inning when Clifford launched his second home run of the day, a solo shot to right field, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Clifford’s blast was his 10th home run of the season, becoming the first Mets minor leaguer to eclipse 10 or more homers on the year.
Buffalo threatened in the sixth after Jonatan Clase walked and advanced to third on a balk and a groundout, but Nate Lavender stranded the tying run by striking out RJ Schreck and getting Charles McAdoo to ground out.
On the mound, the Syracuse pitching staff was outstanding in game two, which was a bullpen game. Joey Gerber started and tossed two scoreless innings before Danis Correa worked a clean third and fourth. Ryan Lambert struck out the side in the fifth, Nate Lavender escaped trouble in the sixth, and Anderson Severino finished off the shutout in the seventh. Severino earned his fifth save of the season, the most of any Mets minor leaguer and tied for third in the IL.
Clifford led the Syracuse offense on the day, finishing with two home runs and two RBIs across both games.
Syracuse opens a six-game series at Rochester on Monday. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.