Mark Vientos, Photo by Richard Nelson

Top prospect Mark Vientos was not in the starting lineup for Syracuse’s Saturday night game against Omaha, but he still made a big impact on the game. Pinch hitting in the seventh inning, Vientos hit a home run to bring the Mets within two runs. Though, that is as close as they would get to the lead.

AAA: Omaha Storm Chasers (49-48) 6, Syracuse Mets (44-54) 3  Box Score

The Mets were able to push across just three runs on eight hits in Saturday’s game. Vientos did not start the game, but his pinch-hit home run in the seventh was the team’s biggest hit of the night. Vientos has been on fire since early May and now has a .303/.333/.579 line with six home runs during July.

Álvarez has not put the ball in play much since his promotion to Triple-A (just over half of his plate appearances with Syracuse have ended in a strikeout or walk), but when he does put the ball in play, it tends to go a long way. Six of his first eight Triple-A hits have gone for extra bases. He also has a four-game hitting streak.

  • RHP Connor Grey (L, 4-5, 5.79 ERA) 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 2 ER, BB, 3 K, HBP
  • LHP Phillip Diehl (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 1.0 IP, BB
  • RHP Trevor May (0-0, 9.00 ERA) 1.0 IP, 2 H, ER, K

Grey worked around trouble, some of which was caused by poor defense, all night to keep the Mets within striking distance heading into the later innings. Diehl was making his organizational debut after being included in the Tyler Naquin trade two days prior. Prior to the trade, he had a 4.24 ERA and 11.57 K/9 over 25 appearances. May made his second rehab appearance with Syracuse (third total) and gave up one run over one inning of work for the second straight appearance.

AA: New Hampshire Fisher Cats (43-52) 5, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (35-59) 4  Box Score

The Rumble Ponies had just seven hits and went 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position in this game. Although Mauricio is hitting just .194/.254/.435 during July, his 14 strikeouts this month (19.7 K%) are by far his fewest during any month this season.

After putting together a 12-game hitting streak and crushing three home runs over his prior two games, Baty had a rare hitless game on Saturday. Even so, his .363/.437/.692 line over the last 30 days gives him the highest OPS in the Eastern League during that span by a considerable margin. McCann took four at bats and played seven innings at catcher in his second rehab appearance with Binghamton.

  • RHP Jose Butto (6-5, 3.87 ERA) 4.2 IP, 4 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, 7 K, HBP
  • RHP Willy Taveras (1-2, 4.78 ERA) 2.1 IP, 4 H, K
  • RHP Antonio Santos (L, 2-3, 5.93 ERA) 1.2 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, K

Butto struggled mightily with his control in his most recent start. He threw 98 pitches before being removed with two outs in the fifth inning. Butto’s 10.39 K/9 and 3.26 BB/9 are both the highest of his career in what has been something of an up-and-down season. Taveras has a 36:9 K:BB ratio over 43 1/3 innings pitched this season.

A+: Brooklyn Cyclones (47-48) 7, Hudson Valley Renegades (50-44) 5  Box Score

The Cyclones scattered 14 hits during Saturday’s game, and five players in the lineup had multiple hits. Consuegra continues to flash his impressive power as he crushed his 11th home run of the season, a solo shot in the eighth inning which provided an important insurance run. In total, 13 of his first 21 hits with Brooklyn have gone for extra bases.

Peroza entered the season with fairly high expectations which he has not met, but he is having his best month of the season so far in July. He is hitting .284/.349/.486 for the month. JT Schwartz was removed from the game after being hit by a pitch in his first plate appearance of the game.

  • LHP Nick Zwack (5-1, 1.84 ERA) 4.1 IP, 5 H, 3 ER, 2 BB, 5 K
  • LHP Cam Opp (W, 1-2, 4.01 ERA) 1.2 IP, BB
  • RHP Nolan Clenney (2-4, 5.85 ERA) 2.2 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 8 K

Zwack proved himself to be human after all during his start on Saturday night. After allowing two or fewer runs in 15 straight appearances dating back to early April, Zwack allowed three runs in the fifth inning and brought that streak to an end. Entering that inning with a six-run lead, he can certainly be forgiven a minor lapse after such a run of dominance. All eight of Clenney’s outs came on strikeouts, but in between those outs, he gave up a two-run home run that brought the Renegades within two runs in the ninth inning.

A: St. Lucie Mets (55-39) 2, Palm Beach Cardinals (46-47) 0  Box Score

The Mets had just six hits in Saturday’s game, but Murphy’s 411-foot home run with two outs in the third inning proved to be all the offense that they would need. Murphy is 7-for-15 with two home runs since his demotion to St. Lucie.

Dibrell made his third rehab start in his return from Tommy John surgery and continues to have a great deal of success in his appearances. Over 5 2/3 innings with St. Lucie this season, Dibrell has a 9:2 K:BB ratio and has not allowed a run. In this game, he averaged 92.2 MPH and topped out at 94.4 MPH with his fastball. He had a 44% whiff rate on all his pitches.

Askew had perhaps his best outing in what has been a fantastic debut professional season. He set a career high with six innings pitched, and his eight strikeouts were one shy of his career high. His slider was his best pitch and generated an incredible 14 whiffs on 19 swings. For the season, Askew has a 12.34 K/9 and a .555 OPS against.

FCL: FCL Mets (23-14) 7, FCL Cardinals (15-21) 4  Box Score

  • Vincent Perozo C: 3-for-4, 3 R, 2 2B, RBI, .250/.378/.400
  • Karell Paz 1B: 2-for-4, 2 R, 3B, HR, 3 RBI, BB, K, .340/.426/.702

Perozo and Paz are two of the top prospects on the FCL Mets and both had huge games on Saturday afternoon. Paz, in particular, has had a huge season and, given his age (22), it would not be a surprise to see him in full season ball before the end of the season.

Walker entered the season as one of the better pitching prospects in the Mets’ system and finally made his first appearance of the year after missing several months with injury.

DSL: DSL NYY Bombers (22-19) 7, DSL Mets 1 (21-19) 6  Box Score

  • Simon Juan DH: 3-for-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 K, .215/.321/.319

Juan has struggled to a .177/.309/.266 line during July. So, hopefully this three-hit game is a sign that he in on the verge of a breakout.

DSL: DSL NYY Yankees (20-20) 10, DSL Mets 2 (16-25) 3  Box Score