Álvarez homers, but Buffalo outlasts Syracuse, 15-8, in marathon night at NBT Bank Stadium  

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets dropped the opener of their six-game series against the Buffalo Bisons on Tuesday night by a 15-8 final at NBT Bank Stadium. It would prove to be a long night at the ballpark for all involved. The game was delayed by an hour and a half due to weather concerns, followed by a contest that took nearly three and a half hours to complete. The last out of the game was recorded at 11:31 p.m. local time. By the end of the game, the two teams had combined for 23 runs, 27 hits, three errors, and 15 total pitchers.

Once the game finally got going after the delay, Buffalo (70-64) got right to work. The Bisons scored five times in the top of the first to grab a big early lead, highlighted by a two-run double from Rafael Lantigua and a two-run single from Nathan Lukes. Buffalo scored their five runs on four hits plus three walks and sent ten total men to the plate in the frame.

Tylor Megill was making a rehab start for Syracuse (56-80) and was roughed up in the first inning, charged with all five of the runs on three hits plus two walks. Drew Smith, another rehabbing New York Met, came into the game after that and settled the situation down. He did not allow an earned run in an inning of work, surrendering just one hit and one walk while striking out two batters.

In the bottom of the second, the Mets roared right back and tied the game at five. They would send nine men of their own to the plate in the inning, combining five hits with a walk, an RBI groundout, a sacrifice fly, and two errors to notch the five runs that would tie the game. The scoring barrage started with an RBI double from JT Riddle and ended with a solo, moonshot home run from Francisco Álvarez that tied the game, 5-5. Álvarez, widely considered the top prospect in Minor League Baseball, now has seven home runs in 34 Triple-A games.

From there, it was all Bisons, as they unleashed a scoring tidal wave to pull away for good. Buffalo scored the next ten runs in the game, scoring three runs in the fifth, three runs in the sixth, and four final runs in the seventh inning. By the end of the night, they would finish with 15 runs on 14 hits to catapult themselves to a resounding series-opening win.

On a night with so much offense, a certain few players grabbed the spotlight for Buffalo. Davis Schneider reached four times, scored four runs, and drove in two runs. L.J. Talley had three hits, a walk, scored twice, and drove in five runs. Nathan Lukes finished the game 3-for-4 with three runs driven in. In fact, four different Buffalo players (Otto Lopez, Spencer Horwitz, Schneider, Talley) scored at least two runs in the game. Every single Bisons starter reached base at least once, while seven of the nine starters had a hit.

Syracuse got its final three runs on a three-run home run from Dominic Smith in the bottom of the seventh inning. Smith finished the evening 3-for-4 at the plate, reaching base four total times with another walk in the ninth. Despite the loss, the Mets had plenty of great news to share at the plate. All but one starter reached base at least once. Even the one player who didn’t reach base, Michael Perez, managed to drive in a run via an RBI groundout. Seven different players scored runs. Eight different players had hits, including three individuals with multi-hit games. In addition to Smith’s three-hit night, Jake Mangum went 3-for-4 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored. Álvarez also went 2-for-5, tacking on a single in the ninth inning.

Syracuse continues its final six-game home series of the season against the Buffalo Bisons on Wednesday night. The second game in the series is set for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday evening. Max Scherzer, the three-time Cy Young Award winner, is expected to make a rehab start for the Mets.