Mets offense goes silent in 5-1 loss to Knights on Friday night

Charlotte, NC – The Syracuse Mets lost their third straight game for the first time this season with a 5-1 loss to the Charlotte Knights on Friday night at Truist Field. With the loss, Syracuse has dropped three of the first four games this week to Charlotte in the six-game series.

Syracuse (9-9) jumped on top first for the second straight night, this time in the top of the second inning. Trayce Thompson led off the frame with a solo home run over the wall in left-center field that hit the video board 422 feet from home plate. Thompson now has four homers and two doubles as part of seven total hits over his last six games.

Meanwhile Mets starting pitcher Luis Moreno shut down the Knights through the first two innings retiring all six batters he faced in those frames. The third inning was less successful though.

Charlotte (8-11) finally got to Moreno in the bottom of the third. Carlos Perez doubled, and Angelo Castellano walked to put runners at first and third base to begin the frame. After Brett Phillips struck out, Moreno hit Zach Remillard with a pitch to load the bases. Then, Rafael Ortega worked a bases-loaded walk to bring home Perez from third, tying the game up, 1-1. Danny Mendick followed with a two-run double down the left-field line, scoring Castellano and Remillard to put Charlotte in front, 3-1. An Oscar Colás sacrifice fly out to center field scored Ortega from third to cap off the four-run inning as the Knights took a 4-1 advantage.

From there, the Knights pitching staff shut down the Mets’ offense. John Brebbia started the game for Charlotte on a Major League rehab assignment from the Chicago White Sox, pitching a scoreless first inning. Then, Johan Dominguez pitched four and two-thirds innings of one-run baseball. Prelander Berroa, Fraser Ellard, and Arron McGarity followed Dominguez, combining to toss three and one-third frames of scoreless baseball while allowing just one hit.

Charlotte added an insurance run in the seventh from a familiar name. With one out and nobody on base, Mendick launched a home run over the left-field wall to make it a 5-1 game. This series, Mendick is 7-for-14 with four homers, two doubles, and six RBIs. The Rochester native has a home run in each of the four games so far this week against Syracuse.

The Mets and Knights continue their six-game series on Saturday with the fifth game. Right-hander Mike Vasil is slated to start on the mound for Syracuse opposite Charlotte left-hander Jared Shuster. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.