It was a productive day down on the farm for the New York Mets, as St. Lucie was the only one of their affiliates to lose while A.J. Ewing, Jack Wenninger and Elian Peña all remained hot.
Aj Ewing
Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Triple-A
Syracuse Mets (15-13) 7, Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-13) 0, 7 Innings
- CF A.J. Ewing, 2-for-4, SB (1) (.1.667 OPS)
- 1B Christian Arroyo, 3-for-4, RBI, K (.799 OPS)
Ewing, who was promoted from Double-A Binghamton this week and went 3-for-4 in his debut for Syracuse on April 28, picked up where he left off on the plate in the first game of a doubleheader on Thursday while also making a pair of highlight diving catches in back-to-back at-bats during the top of the fifth inning.
- RHP Jack Wenninger (1.61 ERA) 5 2/3 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 7 K
Wenninger was stellar yet again for Syracuse, setting a season-high in strikeouts and tying his single-game low in walks this year with one.
Triple-A
Syracuse Mets (16-13) 4, Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-14) 3
- RF A.J. Ewing, 2-for-4 (.1.448 OPS)
- SS Vidal Bruján, 2-for-4, 2B, RBI, K (.609 OPS)
- DH Nick Morabito, 1-for-3, RBI, K, SB (7) (.820 OPS)
Syracuse completed the doubleheader sweep of Lehigh Valley with the help of multi-hit showings from Ewing, Bruján and Jihwan Bae.
- RHP Daniel Duarte (2.84 ERA) 2 IP, 1 H, 2 K, 0 ER
Double-A
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (9-15) 6, New Hampshire Fisher Cats (13-9) 3
- C Kevin Parada, 3-for-5, RBI, K (.550 OPS)
- 1B TT Bowens, 2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 K (.821 OPS)
- RF Eli Serrano, 1-for-3, RBI, 2 BB, K (.822 OPS)
After going hitless in his prior two games, Parada bounced back on Thursday with his first multi-hit performance of the season. Bowens, who signed with the Mets on April 27, recorded two doubles in his second start for Binghamton.
- RHP Brendan Girton (4.12 ERA) 4 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 3 K
Girton did not allow a walk for the first time this season, and the Rumble Ponies’ bullpen gave up just one run over five innings.
High-A
Frederick Keys (12-11) 1, Brooklyn Cyclones (6-17) 2
- 2B Kevin Villavicencio, 2-for-3, RBI, 2 2B (.729 OPS)
- CF John Bay, 1-for-4, 2B (.832 OPS)
Villavicencio was the only player in Brooklyn’s lineup with multiple hits on Thursday as the club snapped a three-game losing streak.
- RHP Irving Cota (0.96 ERA) 5 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 3 K
Cota has not allowed an earned run in four of his five outings for the Cyclones this season. After he completed five shutout innings against Frederick, relievers Cristofer Gomez and Dakota Hawkins combined for four frames of one-run ball to close out the win.
Elian Pena. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized
Low-A
St. Lucie Mets (10-14) 5, Tampa Tarpons (11-13) 8
- SS Elian Peña, 2-for-4, K (.949 OPS)
- 1B Randy Guzman, 2-for-3, 2 BB, HR (5) (.894 OPS)
- RF AJ Salgado, 2-for-4, HR (5) (.830 OPS)
In St. Lucie’s third-straight loss, Guzman and Salgado both hit solo home runs for their fifth of the year while Peña had his third two-hit performance over his last four games, raising his batting average to .353 in the process.
- RHP R.J. Gordon (43.20 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 2 K
Gordon, who ranked as MMO’s No. 23 prospect in the system heading into the season, struggled once again in his second rehab outing for St. Lucie after opening the year on the IL due to a lat injury.
