Syracuse drops series opener to hot-hitting Buffalo, 9-3

Buffalo, NY –The Syracuse Mets fell to the Buffalo Bisons, 9-3, in Tuesday night’s series opener at Sahlen Field on a chilly mid-May night. The Mets are now 3-4 on their 12-game road trip.

After three scoreless innings to start the game, Buffalo (21-16) got on the board via some extra-base power in the fourth. A groundout started the frame, followed by Otto Lopez tripling down the right-field line and soon trotting home when the next batter, Cullen Large, golfed a two-run home run over the left-field fence to put Buffalo up, 2-0. It was the first homer of the season for the 26-year-old.

The Bisons put the game out of reach with five more runs in the bottom of the fifth. The home team sent nine batters to the plate in the inning, coupling four hits with two pivotal errors to make it a 7-0 advantage. The biggest blow of the frame was a two-run double from Lopez, who had an excellent night at the plate. The 23-year-old had two extra-base hits (a double and a triple) with two runs scored and two runs driven in. Samad Taylor and Gabriel Moreno also drove in runs in the fifth inning.

Buffalo tacked on another run in the sixth and made it 8-0 when Gabriel Moreno doubled home Cavan Biggio. Moreno, the top prospect in the Blue Jays system, was nearly unstoppable on Tuesday night. The catcher went 4-for-5 with two doubles, a stolen base, a run scored, and two runs driven in.

Bisons starting pitcher Casey Lawrence was given ample run support, but the starter for Buffalo didn’t really need it. The right-hander twirled an absolute gem, allowing just one run on four hits in seven innings with nine strikeouts. Lawrence attacked the strike zone, throwing 55 strikes on 77 pitches with zero walks. The 34-year-old now has a 2.55 ERA in six starts this season, including 33 strikeouts in 35 and one-third innings of work.

To the Mets credit, they did not quit at the plate late in the game with the lopsided score. Syracuse (13-23) scored in the seventh when Daniel Palka singled with one out, moved to third on a Travis Blankenhorn double, and scored on an RBI groundout by Nick Meyer to make it an 8-1 game.

Then, in the eighth, Nick Plummer smacked a two-run home run with two outs to make it 8-3 Buffalo. Plummer now has six home runs in 21 Triple-A games this season. The former first-round pick has hits in four straight games, going 6-for-17 (a .353 batting average) during that time with two home runs and eight runs driven in.

The Bisons completed the game’s scoring in the eighth on an RBI double from Nathan Lukes for a 9-3 lead. Buffalo brought the thunder at the plate on Tuesday night, rapping out 12 hits, including seven extra-base knocks.

Syracuse continues its six-game series at the Buffalo Bisons with a Wednesday night matchup set for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch. Right-hander Connor Grey is set to start for the Mets, opposed by left-hander Nick Allgeyer for the Bisons.