Mets Minor League Report: Clifford Doubles Up On Homers, Brooklyn Tosses Shutout

Ryan Clifford homered in both games of Syracuse's doubleheader, including a solo shot for the nightcap's only run. Danis Correa earned the win, and Anderson Severino closed it out. Tanner Witt fanned four over two innings to anchor Brooklyn's combined three-hit shutout. Jose Ramos and Nick Lorusso hit back-to-back homers in the seventh to lift Binghamton past Richmond. Bryce Conley pitched five scoreless. St. Lucie scored twice in the eighth to beat Palm Beach.

Mets Transactions

• New York Mets sent RHP Craig Kimbrel outright to Syracuse Mets.

Clifford's Two-Hit Effort Comes Up Short In Syracuse Opener

The Syracuse Mets dropped Game 1 of their doubleheader against the visiting Buffalo Bisons by a 6-4 score. Cleanup hitter Ryan Clifford led the offense, going 2-for-3 with a double, his ninth home run of the season, two runs scored, and one RBI. Jared Young added an RBI single in the third inning, and Kevin Parada finished 1-for-3 with a run scored. Jihwan Bae contributed a hit, while Christian Arroyo also reached on a base hit.

Starter Jack Wenninger struggled with the long ball, allowing two homers across 5 1/3 innings. He gave up five hits and six runs, four of them earned, with two walks and five strikeouts. Wenninger fell to 3-2 on the year. Dylan Ross worked 2/3 of an inning of scoreless relief, and A.J. Minter struck out one in a perfect seventh.

Buffalo opened the scoring with a three-run home run in the top of the third to take a 4-0 lead. Syracuse cut into the deficit in the bottom of the fourth. Clifford doubled to start the inning, Eric Wagaman drew a walk, and Bae reached on a fielder's choice that brought Clifford home. A Buffalo throwing error kept the rally going, and Cristian Pache then lifted a sacrifice fly to score Wagaman and make it a 4-3 game. Buffalo answered with two runs in the top of the sixth before Clifford's solo blast in the bottom of the inning capped the scoring.

Clifford's Solo Shot, Five-Arm Shutout Lift Syracuse In Nightcap

The Syracuse Mets answered with a 1-0 win in the nightcap of their doubleheader against the Buffalo Bisons. Ryan Clifford accounted for the only run of the game with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth, his tenth long ball of the season. Clifford finished 1-for-3 with the lone RBI and two strikeouts. Eric Wagaman doubled, and Yonny Hernández added a base hit for the only other Syracuse hits in the seven-inning game.

Five Syracuse pitchers combined on a two-hit shutout. Joey Gerber set the tone with two innings of one-hit ball and one strikeout. Danis Correa picked up the win to improve to 2-0, working two scoreless innings of one-hit relief while walking one and striking out two. Ryan Lambert struck out three of the four batters he faced in his lone frame of work to earn his sixth hold. Nate Lavender added a scoreless inning with a strikeout for his first hold of the year, and Anderson Severino closed it out with a clean seventh for his fifth save.

Clifford's blast accounted for the only offense either side managed all afternoon. Syracuse stranded just two runners on base, and the bullpen combined to issue three walks while striking out eight across the final five innings.

Back-To-Back Seventh-Inning Homers Power Binghamton Past Richmond

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies defeated the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-1 behind back-to-back home runs in the top of the seventh inning. Cleanup hitter Jose Ramos broke a scoreless tie with a solo shot for his seventh home run of the year, and Nick Lorusso followed immediately with his eighth long ball to push the lead to two. Ramos finished 2-for-3 with a walk, an RBI, and one strikeout. Lorusso added a 1-for-4 day with the run and two strikeouts. Marco Vargas doubled, while Eli Serrano III and Vincent Perozo each added singles.

Starter Bryce Conley turned in a strong outing across five scoreless innings. He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out five without surrendering a run. Dan Hammer earned the win to move to 1-0, working 1 2/3 innings of relief in which he allowed one earned run on a hit while striking out two. Brian Metoyer added a perfect inning with two strikeouts for the hold, and Felipe De La Cruz closed the door with 1 1/3 innings to record his first save of the season.

Richmond's only run came on a groundout in the bottom of the seventh, narrowing the margin to one before the Binghamton bullpen slammed the door over the final two innings. The Rumble Ponies struck out 10 times as a team but drew two walks and finished with six hits.

Brooklyn's Bullpen Combines For Three-Hit Shutout Of Hudson Valley

The Brooklyn Cyclones blanked the Hudson Valley Renegades 4-0 in a game called early due to wet conditions. Six Brooklyn pitchers combined for a three-hit shutout. Tanner Witt set the tone with two innings of one-hit work, walking one and striking out four to earn the win and improve to 2-0. Adbert Alzolay, Bryce Jenkins, Juan Arnaud, and Hunter Hodges each tossed a scoreless inning. Gregori Louis struck out three batters in his frame of work, and the bullpen combined for 10 strikeouts on the night.

JT Benson's two-RBI double in the bottom of the second inning provided the early cushion. The rally started with a Daiverson Gutierrez walk and a Yonatan Henriquez fielder's choice that left Henriquez at first. Ronald Hernandez then drew a walk, and Benson followed with a line drive to left field that brought Henriquez and Hernandez home for a 2-0 lead. Brooklyn added a run in the third when Mitch Voit, who had led off the inning with a single, came around to score on a wild pitch. Henriquez tacked on the fourth run with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fifth that scored John Bay, who had doubled to lead off the frame.

Benson finished 1-for-2 with a walk and the two RBIs. Voit, Bay, Henriquez, Ronald Hernandez, and Colin Houck each added a hit, with Bay's coming on a double. The Cyclones drew eight walks as a team. The game was halted in the bottom of the seventh and officially called due to field conditions.

Two-Run Eighth Lifts St. Lucie Past Palm Beach

The St. Lucie Mets held off the Palm Beach Cardinals 5-4 thanks to a pivotal two-run eighth inning. Yohairo Cuevas opened the frame with a double, and after a walk to Jeremy Rodriguez, Branny De Oleo singled Cuevas home. Sam Robertson's forceout later in the inning scored Rodriguez to give St. Lucie a 5-2 cushion. Antonio Jimenez had given the Mets their first run with a third-inning RBI double that scored Elian Peña.

The Mets added two more in the fourth on a Kevin Villavicencio RBI single and a Simon Juan forceout, with both Rodriguez and De Oleo coming around to score after drawing walks. Peña finished 1-for-3 with a walk and a run scored. Jimenez went 1-for-4 with the double and an RBI. De Oleo, Cuevas, Villavicencio, and Robertson each added a hit, with Rodriguez crossing the plate twice on the night despite going hitless and drawing two walks.

Starter Joel Lara worked 2 2/3 scoreless innings, allowing no hits while walking two and striking out three. Justin Armbruester earned the win with 1 1/3 innings of one-hit relief, improving to 1-0. Emilio Obispo struck out seven over 3 1/3 frames, though he surrendered a solo home run in the seventh that pulled Palm Beach within one at the time. Joe Scarborough gave up two runs in the ninth but recorded his second save of the season as the Mets held on.

Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

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