Former second-round pick Nick Morabito hit an impressive milestone on Saturday for High-A Brooklyn on Saturday. The 21-year-old stole his 50th base of the season. It took Morabito 102 games to accomplish the feat; 11 with Low-A St. Lucie (24 games) and 39 with Brooklyn (78 games).

Mike Vasil. Photo by Rick Nelson

Triple-A

Rochester Red Wings (65-52) 9, Syracuse Mets (64-53) 2

BOX SCORE

The Mets’ offense could not claw back after falling big in the fourth, losing to Rochester 9-1 on Saturday. A nice sequence by Acuña and Gilbert was Syracuse’s only highlight of the night. Acuña smoked a 101 mph single up the middle, immediately stole base second base, and scored via a Gilbert RBI single.

  • RHP Mike Vasil (5.74 ERA) 3.1 IP, 7 H, 7 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (85 pitches/ 53 strikes)
  • RHP Shintaro Fujinami (8.83 ERA) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 K

Vasil, who had taken some serious strides forward in recent weeks, had a start similar to what we saw in the first two months of the season. While he did not give up a home run, he allowed a lot of traffic on the base paths and could not navigate those obstacles. Vasil has allowed 13 earned runs in three starts in August (15 1/3 innings).

Fujinami had his best appearance of the season, throwing two scoreless innings with zero walks and hits as well as five strikeouts. His fastball touches 99.6 mph in the seventh inning.

Jeremiah Jackson. Photo by Bronson Harris of the Binghamton Rumble Ponies

Double-A

Portland Sea Dogs (67-45) 10, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (56-54) 2

BOX SCORE

Binghamton were blown out by the Portland 10-2 on Saturday, their sixth-straight loss. Jeremiah Jackson provided the only fireworks for the Rumble Ponies, launching his 15th home run of the season. Jackson, acquired at the 2023 trade deadline in the Dominic Leone trade, has had a rough year at the plate but is still a great athlete who can play various defensive positions.

  • RHP Luis Moreno (4.00 ERA) 6 IP, 6 H, 5 R (4 ER), 1 BB, 2 K (75 pitches/ 45 strikes)
  • LHP Nolan Clenney (5.36 ERA) 1.2 IP, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K
  • RHP Josh Hejka (6.00 ERA) 1.1, 3 H, 3 ER, 0 BB, 1 K

Portland had a day against Binghamton’s pitching staff, hitting a homer off all three pitchers. Moreno has had two rough starts in a row, allowing eight runs to come home (two unearned). He dominated Double-A in June and July, posting a 2.95 and 3.00 ERA in those respective months, so expect him to bounce back.

Nick Morabito. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (55-58) 5, Wilmington Blue Rocks (51-61) 4

BOX SCORE

Brooklyn returned from a 4-0 deficit in the ninth inning to steal their Saturday matchup against Wilmington. William Lugo kickstarted the late-game comeback with a two-run shot, while Jacob Reimer brought home the game-winning run via a two-out RBI single to right field.

  • RHP  Jonah Tong (2.38 ERA) 5 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 K (87 pitches/ 55 strikes)
  • RHP Dakota Hawkins (4.20 ERA) 3 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 2 K

Tong has had an up-and-down season at the High-A level. While he still demonstrates his elite potential, he has been susceptible to giving up baserunners via hard hits and walks. The bright side is that he continues to have above-average stuff and limits the long ball; only one homer allowed in 75-plus innings for Brooklyn.

A.J. Ewing. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (38-73) 3, Daytona Tortugas (55-55) 13

BOX SCORE

Ewing hit his third Low-A home run on Saturday; his 12th extra-base hit in 55 games with St. Lucie. Ewing just turned 20 years old, making him an exciting prospect for the future with his raw talent and defensive versatility.

  • RHP Gregori Louis (1.49 ERA) 3.1 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K (51 pitches/ 33 strikes)

While he has been in a limited, middle-relief role, Louis has been highly effective all season. While boasting a 1.49 ERA and a .166 average against for the year, Louis has given up only three runs since May 29 (16 appearances/ 22.1 innings).