Buffalo pitching befuddles Syracuse as Mets drop 3-1 decision on Friday Night 

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets were frustrated by excellent Buffalo Bisons pitching on Friday night as the road team gave up just one run to the Mets on their way to a 3-1 win on a comfortable, mid-70s night at NBT Bank Stadium. The Bisons have now won three out of the first four games in the six-game series.

Buffalo (57-51) got right to it on Friday night, plating two runs on three hits in the top of the second. After Vinny Capra lined out to start the inning, L.J. Talley tripled to the wall in right-center field to put a runner on third with one out. Logan Warmoth then came to the plate and brought home Talley on an infield single for a 1-0 lead. Warmoth would come home himself later in the inning when Nick Podkul’s single moved him to third and Stevie Berman’s sacrifice fly to deep right field allowed Warmoth to trot home with the game’s second run and a 2-0 Buffalo advantage.

The Bisons scored again in the top of the fifth inning. Eric Stamets was hit by a pitch to start the frame, ran all the way to third on an Otto Lopez double, and then scored on an RBI groundout from Nathan Lukes that made it 3-0 Buffalo.

That would just about end the day for José Butto who overall had a solid debut in Triple-A. The 24-year-old allowed three runs in five innings on five hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Butto had spent the entire season previously with Double-A Binghamton, recording a 4.00 ERA in 20 appearances (18 starts) with 108 strikeouts in just over 92 innings pitched.

While Buffalo scratched across their three early runs, their rehabbing Big League starter was mowing down the Mets. Ross Stripling tossed five scoreless innings on just 65 pitches, throwing 49 strikes with three hits allowed and three strikeouts. Stripling retired the final seven batters he faced in order.

From there, it became a battle of the bullpens. To Syracuse’s (48-61) credit, the Mets’ relievers did an outstanding job keeping the Mets in the ballgame. Trey Cobb, Stephen Nogosek, and Alex Claudio combined to throw four scoreless innings, allowing just one hit while striking out six. Claudio tossed two scoreless innings himself with three swinging strikeouts.

On the other side, Buffalo’s bullpen navigated choppy waters to lock down a win for the Bisons. Eric Yardley, Julian Merryweather, Vinny Nittoli, and Matt Gage combined to work the final four innings of the game, allowing one run while stranding seven Syracuse baserunners to earn the third win of the week for Buffalo.

The eighth and ninth innings proved to be the best chance for the Mets to rally back late in the game. They entered the bottom of the eighth down, 3-0, but looked primed to cut into that lead when Terrance Gore singled to start the inning. Brett Baty flied out, but it was deep enough to center field to allow Gore to sprint up to second base. Then, Francisco Álvarez came to the plate and did damage, smashing a single into left-center field to score Gore easily and trim the Syracuse deficit to two, 3-1. From there, Syracuse continued to threaten in the bottom of the eighth. Daniel Palka doubled to the base of the left-field wall, advancing Álvarez to third and putting two runners in scoring position with one out. However, consecutive strikeouts from Mark Vientos and Nick Plummer after that fizzled the inning out with just one run coming across home plate.

In the bottom of the ninth, Syracuse mounted a rally again. After two straight outs to start the inning, JT Riddle singled, and Gore walked to put two runners on base. That brought Baty to the plate with a chance to be a hero. However, it wasn’t to be, as Matt Gage fanned Baty to end the game and secure Buffalo’s win over Syracuse.

Syracuse is home all week for a six-game series against the Buffalo Bisons. Saturday night’s game is slated to start at 6:35 p.m. Left-hander Mike Montgomery is scheduled to start the game for the Mets, opposite Casey Lawrence for the Bisons.