New York Mets Minor League Report: Bullpen Failures Up And Down The System

[Tom Gatto]

Thursday was a rough day for relief pitching across the New York Mets' minor-league system. Three different affiliates blew leads late in games, with two of them blowing saves in the ninth inning.  

Syracuse led by a run after seven innings, only to give up two in the eighth and one in the ninth for a 7-5 loss to Worcester. A two-run homer off Nate Lavender in the eighth put the Woo Sox in front.

Binghamton suffered a worse collapse. The Rumble Ponies led Chesapeake by two going into the top of the ninth after taking the lead in the bottom of the eighth, but Douglas Orellana allowed a grand slam and a solo homer back to back while failing to get an out. Binghamton lost, 8-4.

St. Lucie tossed away a ninth-inning lead against Tampa. Throwing errors by Chase Meggers and Elian Pena, sandwiched around a run-scoring double, saddled Zack Mack with a blown save in an eventual 7-5 Mets loss. 

Brooklyn didn't collapse; it just fell behind early and couldn't catch up. The Cyclones allowed runs in seven of their eight defensive innings and lost to Frederick, 9-4.

The complex teams had no such issues. DSL Mets Orange routed the DSL Marlins, 11-2, in a game shortened to five innings. Oscar Pena drove in four runs and Cesar Acosta drove in three. DSL Mets Blue lost to DSL Colorado, 5-3, in six innings. Royner Bravo and Michalle Mercedes each had two hits. The FCL Mets edged the FCL Nationals, 3-2, in eight innings. Yovanny Rodriguez drove in the winning run with a double, scoring Wyatt Vincent The bullpen threw four scoreless innings.

Mets Transactions

• New York Mets signed free agent 1B Christopher Morel to a minor league contract.

Syracuse's Three Home Runs Go To Waste

The offense started fast in this game. Jorge Polanco and M.J. Melendez hit solo home runs in the first to give the Mets a 2-1 lead. Polanco, still on rehab from New York, was back in the lineup as the DH after sitting Wednesday.

The Mets fell behind in the third, but Hayden Senger got the lead back for them in the fifth with a three-run homer. It was Senger's eighth homer of the season, extending his career high, His previous best was five. 

The score remained 5-3 through six. Matt Turner gave up a run in the seventh to make it 5-4. Lavender served up the go-ahead homer in the eighth. Ryan Lambert allowed an insurance homer in the ninth.

Jonah Tong started and went the first five innings. He allowed three runs, all earned, on four hits, walked two, struck out three, and allowed a pair of home runs on 78 pitches (47 strikes). 

Luis Robert Jr. took a big step in his rehab, playing nine innings in center field. He went 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts. Ryan Clifford, who was chosen this week to represent the organization in the MLB All-Star Futures Game, went 0-for-4 with three punchouts.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Luis Robert Jr.	4	0	0	0	0	2
Jorge Polanco	2	1	1	1	1	0
Christopher Morel	1	0	0	0	0	1
Jihwan Bae	3	0	0	0	1	1
MJ Melendez	3	1	1	1	1	2
Ryan Clifford	4	0	0	0	0	3
Jared Oliva	4	1	1	0	0	1
Vidal Bruján	3	1	0	0	1	0
Hayden Senger	3	1	1	3	0	2
Zack Short	4	0	0	0	0	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jonah Tong	5	4	3	3	2	3	2
Matt Turner	1	1	1	1	1	2	0
Nate Lavender	2	2	2	2	2	0	1
Ryan Lambert	1	1	1	1	1	0	1

Binghamton Rally Negated In Ninth

The Rumble Ponies were in line for a win despite being shut out for the first seven innings. Kevin Parada delivered an RBI single and Vincent Perozo followed with a three-run home run in the eighth to put them up, 4-2. Orellana then had his meltdown. Saul Garcia replaced him and allowed Chesapeake's final run. 

Channing Austin started and went the first 2 2/3 innings, allowing a run on three hits, with no walks and three strikeouts. Rehabbing right-hander Dedniel Núñez worked a scoreless fourth. He allowed a hit and struck out one. Max Green was excellent in long relief, striking out seven over four innings while allowing a run on four hits.

Parada had two of the Rumble Ponies' four hits. The 2022 first-round pick is back in Binghamton after being demoted from Syracuse this week. 

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Chris Suero	4	1	0	0	0	1
Nick Lorusso	3	1	0	0	1	2
Kevin Parada	4	1	2	1	0	1
Vincent Perozo	4	1	1	3	0	1
Wyatt Young	4	0	0	0	0	2
Jaylen Palmer	4	0	0	0	0	4
Kevin Villavicencio	4	0	0	0	0	2
Nick Lucky	4	0	1	0	0	1
Nick Roselli	2	0	0	0	1	0

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Channing Austin	2 2/3	3	1	1	0	3	0
Garrett Stratton	0 1/3	0	0	0	0	0	0
Dedniel Núñez	1	1	0	0	0	1	0
Max Green	4	4	1	1	1	7	0
Douglas Orellana	0	4	5	5	1	0	2
Saul Garcia	1	2	1	1	0	2	0

Cyclones Get Close, Then Falter  

The Cyclones scored all their runs in the fifth inning after falling behind, 5-0. Corey Collins doubled home John Bay, Jamari Baylor singled in Collins, and Yohairo Cuevas singled home Daiverson Gutierrez and Baylor to make a 5-4 game. Frederick responded with four consecutive runs to pull away. The Keys scored in every inning but the seventh.

Jose Chirinos started and took the loss. He struck out seven over 3 2/3 innings, but he also was tagged for five runs, four earned, on seven hits and two walks. He allowed a home run.

Brooklyn managed just six hits in the game. Collins and Yonatan Henriquez each had two. The Cyclones' winning streak ended at five.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Yonatan Henriquez	5	0	2	0	0	0
John Bay	2	1	0	0	2	1
Corey Collins	4	1	2	1	0	1
Daiverson Gutierrez	2	1	0	0	2	1
Jamari Baylor	4	1	1	1	0	1
Yohairo Cuevas	3	0	1	2	1	0
Colin Houck	4	0	0	0	0	1
Trace Willhoite	4	0	0	0	0	1
Sam Biller	4	0	0	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Jose Chirinos	3 2/3	7	5	4	2	7	1
Cristofer Gomez	1 1/3	1	1	1	1	2	0
Hunter Hodges	1	1	1	1	0	2	1
Bryce Jenkins	1	0	0	0	0	1	0
Hoss Brewer	1	2	2	2	1	0	0

St. Lucie Lets Late Lead Slips Away

The Mets finally scored in the series after a pair of shutout losses, but the pitching and defense denied them a win. They have now lost seven in a row overall.

Simon Juan put the Mets up, 3-2, in the fourth with a two-run homer. Tampa tied the game in the top of the fifth. St. Lucie retook the lead in the bottom of the frame on back-to-back RBI doubles by Trey Snyder and Antonio Jimenez.

Joel Lara ;struck out seven in four innings of bulk relief, but he also allowed two runs and three hits while walking two. Miguel Mejias followed him and struck out four over two hitless innings. Juan and Snyder each had two hits.

Elian Peña ended the Mets' scoring drought in the first when he stole third and then came around to score on a throwing error by Tampa's catcher.

Player	AB	R	H	RBI	BB	K
Elian Peña	4	1	1	0	0	2
Trey Snyder	4	1	2	1	0	1
Antonio Jimenez	4	0	1	1	0	1
Julio Zayas	4	1	2	0	0	1
Branny De Oleo	4	0	0	0	0	2
Simon Juan	4	1	2	2	0	1
Chase Meggers	4	0	0	0	0	1
Jeremy Rodriguez	3	1	1	0	1	0
Taylor Darden	4	0	0	0	0	1

Player	IP	H	R	ER	BB	K	HR
Luis R. Rodriguez	0 2/3	0	2	0	1	2	0
Joe Scarborough	1 1/3	3	0	0	0	1	0
Joel Lara	4	3	2	2	2	7	0
Miguel Mejias	2	0	0	0	0	4	0
Zack Mack	1	3	3	2	0	3	0

Top-20 Prospect Performance

1. Carson Benge: DNP
2. A.J. Ewing: DNP
3. Jonah Tong: 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 K, 2 HR
4. Elian Pena: 1-for-4, 2 K
5. Jack Wenninger: DNP
6. Ryan Clifford: 0-for-4, 3 K
7. Jacob Reimer: DNP
8. Nick Morabito: DNP
9. Mitch Voit: DNP
10. Jonathan Santucci: DNP
11. Chris Suero: 0-for-4, 1 K
12. Zach Thornton: DNP
13. Wandy Asigen: DNP
14. Will Watson: DNP
15. Eli Serrano III: DNP
16. Randy Guzman: DNP
17. Ryan Lambert: 1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 0 K, 1 HR
18. Dylan Ross: DNP
19. Antonio Jimenez: 1-for-4, 2B, 1 K
20. R.J. Gordon: DNP

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