Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets were held to just three hits as the Buffalo Bisons pulled away for a 4-1 victory on Friday night at Sahlen Field.
Syracuse (34-33) struck first in the top of the third inning. Kevin Parada singled and Jackson Cluff followed by reaching on a fielder’s choice before stealing second base. With two outs, Nick Morabito lined an RBI single to right field, scoring Cluff and giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.
Buffalo (31-36) answered in the fourth. Jonatan Clase singled and stole second before Je’Von Ward brought him home with an RBI single, tying the game, 1-1.
The game remained deadlocked into the seventh as both pitching staffs traded scoreless frames. Yonny Hernández doubled with two outs in the seventh, but Syracuse could not push across the go-ahead run. Hernández's double was the Mets' only base runner from the fourth to the ninth.
The Bisons broke through in the bottom of the seventh. Ryan McCarty doubled and Carlos Mendoza walked before Sean Keys lined an RBI double to right field, putting Buffalo in front, 2-1. Later in the inning, Eloy Jiménez added an RBI single to extend the advantage to 3-1.
Buffalo added an insurance run in the eighth when Carlos Mendoza lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, stretching the lead to 4-1.
On the mound, Jack Weisenburger turned in another solid outing for Syracuse. The right-hander allowed one run over four innings while striking out four. Jefry Yan followed with a scoreless fifth inning with three strikeouts in his Syracuse debut, and Nate Lavender struck out two in a scoreless sixth, but allowed two runs in the seventh. Ben Simon and Adbert Alzolay tossed the final two innings without allowing a run. The Syracuse pitching staff combined for 10 strikeouts in the loss.
Syracuse continues its series against Buffalo on Saturday afternoon at Sahlen Field. LHP Zach Thornton is slated to start for the Mets against RHP Grant Rogers. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.