New York Mets Minor League Report: Santucci Shines For Binghamton; Mauricio, Guzman Both Go Deep Twice

Jonathan Santucci was really looking forward to his start Saturday for Double-A Binghamton against Portland, because of who his mound opponent would be. Fellow high-level prospect Anthony Eyanson was on the hill for the SeaDogs; Santucci (No. 8 on Grand Central Mets' list of top 20 Mets prospects) said before the game that he grew up wanting to face "the best." Eyanson was good in an abbreviated outing, but Santucci came away with the W.

He threw five scoreless innings, allowing two hits and striking out six, to lead the Rumble Ponies to a 5-0 victory. He wasn't flawless -- there were three walks -- but he was tough, stranding four runners in scoring position. Santucci lowered his season ERA to 3.57 over 90 2/3 innings.

Three relievers combined for four hitless innings of relief to finish the two-hit shutout. Jose Ramos provided the big hit for the Rumble Ponies, a two-run home run in the fifth inning.

Elsewhere in the organization:

Syracuse breezed past Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 8-1. Ronny Mauricio hit two more home runs, Ben Rortvedt homered and drove in four runs, and Robert Stock struck out six over 3 2/3 innings.

Brooklyn lost to Jersey Shore 7-3. Trace Willhoite tied the game in the fourth with a double, but the Cyclones' bullpen faltered.

St. Lucie lost 15-14 to Fort Myers. Randy Guzman homered twice and drove in six runs in the loss.

DSL Mets Blue and DSL Mets Orange squared off, with Orange winning 4-3 on Cleiner Ramirez's two-run, walk-off single in the bottom of the seventh, 

New York Mets Transactions

• New York Mets placed LF Juan Soto on the 10-day injured list. Left calf strain.
• New York Mets recalled 1B Eric Wagaman from Syracuse Mets.

Mauricio Keeps Blasting Away For Syracuse

Mauricio's two dingers gave him four homers in his last four games against the RailRiders. Overall, he has five homers in nine games since being optioned to Syracuse on July 7. 

His first homer put the Mets up 2-0 in the first inning. He brought in Jihwan Bae, who opened the game with a single. The second homer was a bookend solo shot in the ninth.

In between, Ben Rortverdt hit a three-run homer in the third to put the Mets up 5-0 and an RBI single in the fifth for a 7-0 advantage. Those hits came around Ryan Clifford's RBI single in the fifth.

Clifford finished 3-for-5, while Zack Short added two hits and a walk.

Stock allowed two hits and two walks as he continues to rehab from thoracic outlet syndrome surgery. Jonathan Pintaro, Matt Turner, Dedniel Núñez and Dylan Ross combined for 5 1/3 innings of scoreless, two-hit ball.

Binghamton Sharp In Blanking Portland

The Rumble Ponies' hitters gave Santucci some support in the fourth inning. Singles by JT Schwartz and Wyatt Young put runners at first and third, and John Bay singled home Schwartz for a 1-0 lead. In the fifth, Ramos' homer and an RBI single by Young put Binghamton up 4-0. The Rumble Ponies added their final run in the seventh on Nick Lucky's RBI single.

Schwartz, Young and Nick Lorusso each had two hits on the night. 

Garrett Stratton followed Santucci with two innings of relief, striking out three. Zach Peek struck out two in his hitless inning, and Gabriel Rodriguez fanned one as he closed out the victory.

Cyclones Falter After Rallying To Tie

Brooklyn managed only three hits, but, they all drove in runs, and it fought back from an early deficit.

The Cyclones took a 1-0 lead in the first. Yonatan Henriquez walked, D'Andre Smith was hit by a pitch, and Jamari Baylor singled in Henriquez. Jersey Shore answered with three runs in the bottom half against starter Frank Camarillo.

Brooklyn drew even in the fourth on Daiverson Gutierrez's RBI single and Trace Willhoite's RBI double. That would be all for the Cyclones' offense. 

Jersey Shore went ahead for good in the fifth with a solo home run, and then added on with two runs in the sixth and one in the seventh.

Camarillo gave up four hits in his one inning of work. Juan Arnaud was the culprit in the bullpen; he was charged with three runs and five hits over 1 2/3 innings, with a walk, a strikeout and a home run allowed.

Guzman's Big Night Lost In All Those Runs

St. Lucie spent the night trying to erase an eight-run, first-inning deficit. They got very close. 

The Mets went right to work, scoring five runs in the bottom of the first. Antonio Jimenez singled in a run, Guzman lifted a sacrifice fly, Branny De Oleo delivered an RBI single, Simon Juan doubled home De Oleo, and Jimenez scored on a throwing error during a double steal.

Guzman did his best to pick up the St. Lucie pitchers who kept giving up runs. He hit a two-run home run in the fifth to cut the deficit to 11-9 and a three-run shot in the sixth to make it 14-12. Fort Myers added an insurance run in the ninth, and it proved vital as the Mets scored twice in the bottom half on a run-scoring wild pitch and a solo home run by Marco Vargas. 

Mets starter Ethan Lanthier recorded just two outs and was charged with seven of the eight Fort Myers runs in the first. All of them were earned. 

Top-20 Prospect Performance

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

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