Baty homers twice as Syracuse beats Buffalo, 7-1, on Sunday

Brett Baty acknowledges the Syracuse bullpen after hitting the first of two home runs on Sunday afternoon. (Kylie Richelle)

June 2, 2024

Syracuse, NY – Brett Baty hit two home runs a combined 836 feet, and Joey Lucchesi pitched five scoreless innings en route to a Syracuse Mets 7-1 win over the Buffalo Bisons on Sunday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium. With the victory, the Mets split the six-game series against the

Syracuse, NY – Brett Baty hit two home runs a combined 836 feet, and Joey Lucchesi pitched five scoreless innings en route to a Syracuse Mets 7-1 win over the Buffalo Bisons on Sunday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium. With the victory, the Mets split the six-game series against the Bisons.

Syracuse (34-22) struck first in the bottom of the second inning. With one out, Rhylan Thomas and Carlos Cortes both singled to put runners at first and second base. Yolmer Sanchez followed with a single to center field, scoring Thomas for a 1-0 lead. Cortes moved to third base on the hit and scored on a Joe Hudson RBI groundout for a 2-0 edge.

In the third, the Mets used two powerful swings to extend the lead. First, Baty led off with a 416-foot home run to center field off the batter’s eye to give Syracuse a 3-0 advantage. Two batters later, Luke Ritter crushed an opposite-field homer over the right-field wall to make it a 4-0 ballgame.

Syracuse starting pitcher Joey Lucchesi was awesome. The left-hander pitched five scoreless innings while allowing only one hit and striking out a season-high six batters.

Buffalo (30-27) broke the shutout in the top of the eighth. With one out, Spencer Horwitz hit a solo home run to right field to trim the Syracuse lead to three, 4-1. This is the second consecutive game Horwitz homered in, following up his five-hit day on Saturday.

The Mets ended the game on a high note. In the eighth, Cortes powered a ball more than 400 feet to right field for a solo homer that regained Syracuse’s four-run edge, 5-1. Later in the frame, with two outs and Luisangel Acuña on first, Baty demolished a ball over the Salt City Deck in right field for a two-run home run that went 420 feet, giving the Mets a 7-1 lead.

After an off day on Monday, Syracuse begins a six-game road trip in St. Paul, Minnesota on Tuesday against the St. Paul Saints. Right-hander Blade Tidwell is slated to start on the mound for the Mets. First pitch is at 8:07 p.m. Eastern Time.