Syracuse drops series finale to Buffalo, 2-0, on Sunday afternoon 

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets wrapped up a frustrating week on Sunday afternoon, dropping the series finale, 2-0, to the Buffalo Bisons on a sunny day at NBT Bank Stadium. The Mets lost all three games they played against the Bisons this weekend, scoring just two runs in the process and lost five games during the six-game series.

Buffalo (59-51) scored twice early in the ballgame, plating single runs in the first and second innings. In the top of the first, the Bisons scored quickly after two outs to start the frame. Gabriel Moreno doubled and then scored on Zack Collins’s two-out single into left field for a 1-0 Buffalo lead. Moreno, considered one of the best prospects in Minor League Baseball, was making his return to the lineup on Sunday afternoon. He had not played since August 5th.

In the top of the second, the Bisons did damage again with two outs. Chavez Young singled and promptly swiped his way up to second base, putting himself in scoring position with two outs. Then, he created a run all on his own. As he stole third, the throw from the catcher Patrick Mazeika sailed wildly into left field, allowing Young to get up and run the final 90 feet home on the throwing error for a 2-0 Bisons edge. Young has now stolen 20 bases this season in 21 attempts.

From there, David Peterson settled into a solid shorter start for the Mets. By the end of his four-inning outing, the left-hander had struck out seven batters while walking just two. While Peterson did allow eight hits, they all came with two outs, and he stranded seven total runners on base in his four innings of work.

After Peterson started the show, the bullpen backed him up with five brilliant innings of their own. José Rodriguez, Stephen Nogosek, and Bryce Montes de Oca worked the second half of the game in scoreless fashion, allowing just four hits and three walks while striking out five batters. Rodriguez did the bulk of the work, tossing three of the scoreless frames with no walks and three strikeouts.

Despite the strong pitching work from Syracuse (48-63) all afternoon long, the work from Buffalo’s pitching staff was better. The Bisons shut out the Mets on six hits, as Shaun Anderson, Nick Allgeyer, Kyle Johnston, Brandon Eisert, Vinny Nittoli, and Matt Gage held Syracuse off the scoreboard on Sunday afternoon. The Mets mustered up just two baserunners in the final three innings of the game.

The offensive frustration for Syracuse was multi-layered over the weekend. Despite scoring just two runs in the three games, the home team certainly had its chances. The Mets left 24 runners on base in the three weekend games. Syracuse also had 21 combined hits in the three games.

Some positives: Brett Baty had another two-hit game, his third in his first week in Triple-A. Baty finished his first week 8-for-23 at the plate with the Syracuse Mets. Nick Plummer smacked a single in the sixth, extending his hitting streak to a team-best 11 games. The Mets also have had at least six hits in each of their last 10 games.

Syracuse now hits the road all next week for a six-game series against the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago White Sox, the Charlotte Knights. Tuesday night’s game is slated to start at 6:35 p.m.