Saturday, May 21, 2022

Mets seven-run comeback not enough in 12-11 loss to Bisons in 11 innings on Saturday afternoon Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets came back from a seven-run deficit and led by two runs multiple times but lost a wild game against the Buffalo Bisons, 12-11, in eleven innings on Saturday afternoon. The Mets were no-hit through six and two-thirds innings and trailed by seven runs before erupting for nine consecutive runs between the seventh and eighth innings. Despite a 9-7 lead after the top of the eighth inning and an 11-9 lead after the top of the tenth, Buffalo won on a walk-off error in the 11th. The Mets committed four errors on defense in the game while the Bisons committed three errors. Syracuse (14-26) trailed Buffalo, 7-0, entering the top of the seventh inning, and the Mets did not have a hit through the first six innings, but Buffalo brought in reliever Bowden Francis. Mark Vientos worked a one-out walk but was out at second base on a Daniel Palka groundout into a fielder’s choice for the second out of the inning. That’s when Nick Dini gave Syracuse its first hit of the day with a two-run home run over the left-field wall to cut the deficit to five, 7-2. The Mets unfathomably came all the way back to take the lead in the top of the eighth. Nick Meyer and Cody Bohanek singled to put runners on first and second base to lead off the inning. Manny Rodriguez then hit a three-run home run to left field, pulling Syracuse within two, 7-5. The Mets proceeded to load the bases with the help of a Bisons error with one out. Dini followed with a pop up to shallow right field that fell in for a hit, scoring Fargas from third, and on the play, Buffalo first baseman Josh Fuentes made an errant throw to second base, allowing Vientos to score all the way from second as Syracuse tied the game, 7-7. Then, with Palka at third and Dini at second, Tzu-Wei Lin grounded a ball to second base, and Palka scored ahead of a throw home as the Mets took an 8-7 lead. Meyer followed with a bunt that led to an errant throw, allowing Meyer to reach first safely and Dini to come home from third as Syracuse completed a seven-run inning to go up 9-7. Buffalo (24-17) responded in the bottom of the eighth. The Bisons loaded the bases with two outs. Fuentes grounded a ball to third base. The Mets started a possible double play with a throw to second base for one out, but the throw to first base was mishandled by Syracuse first baseman Mark Vientos as two runs scored on a play that could have ended the inning without the error. Instead, Buffalo tied the game, 9-9. The Bisons had the winning run at second base with no outs in the bottom of the ninth and loaded the bases with two outs, but Mets reliever Eric Orze ended up striking out Logan Warmoth to end the ninth and send the game to extras. In the top of the tenth inning, Syracuse began with Quinn Brodey as the free runner at second base in the extra frame. Palka stuck out and Dini flied out, so there were two outs in the inning with Lin coming to the plate. Lin proceeded to launch a no-doubt, two-run home run over the right-field fence giving the Mets an 11-9 advantage. Buffalo struck back in the bottom of the tenth though. Warmoth started the frame as the Bisons’ free runner at second base. Fuentes popped out, but Stamets singled, putting runners at first and third. A Cavan Biggio walk then loaded the bases. Gabriel Moreno followed with a two-run single into left, scoring both Warmoth and Stamets to knot the game up again, 11-11. Again, the Mets had to work out of a bases-loaded situation, but reliever R.J. Alvarez struck out Nick Podkul and induced an inning-ending groundout from Samad Taylor to send the game to the 11th inning. The Mets were held scoreless in the top of the 11th inning with Meyer caught stealing third base for the first out, Bohanek striking out for the second out, and Rodriguez grounding out for the third out. The Bisons took advantage in the bottom of the 11th. Taylor started the frame at second base. Otto Lopez grounded a ball to third base where Bohanek fielded and made a high, errant throw to first base that got by Palka and allowed Taylor to score from second base for a 12-11 Buffalo walk-off win. Buffalo took its 7-0 lead with four runs in the first inning thanks to a Taylor bases-clearing double for a 3-0 Bisons edge and a Lopez RBI single to make it 4-0 after the first frame. The Bisons added a Warmoth two-run homer in the fourth to take a 6-0 advantage before a Moreno solo homer gave Buffalo a 7-0 lead after five innings. That lead held until the seventh because of a near-perfect pitching performance by Buffalo starting pitcher Thomas Hatch. The right-hander pitched six no-hit innings while allowing just one baserunner with a walk and striking out six batters. Hatch threw only 65 pitches, including 45 strikes but was relieved before the seventh inning by Francis. Syracuse and Buffalo conclude their six-game series on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Rob Zastryzny is scheduled to make his second start of the series for the Mets while Buffalo right-hander Casey Lawrence is slated to start on the mound for the Bisons. First pitch at Sahlen Field is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.

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