Mets Minors Recap: Mark Vientos Homers Again

Mark Vientos, Photo by Ed Delany of MMO

AAA: Lehigh Valley IronPigs (41-35) 7, Syracuse Mets (31-44) 5 Box Score

1B Mark Vientos: 2-f0r-4, HR (14), 2 RBI, .253/.352/.510
C Nick Dini: 1-for-4, R, RBI, K, .224/.327/.459
2B Gosuke Katoh: 1-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, K, .127/.273/.218

The Mets fell to the IronPigs Friday despite a third straight game with a home run from Mark Vientos. Vientos, who tied the game 2-2 with his two-run shot in the third inning, is slashing .259/.394/.586 with six home runs in 58 at-bats since returning from the injured list on June 12.

Gosuke Katoh would also add a two-run homer in the fourth inning, his first of the season.

RHP Tim Adleman: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, ER, 2 K, 5.04 ERA
RHP Yoan Lopez: (L, 1-2), 1.1 IP, 3 ER, 4 H, 2 K, 6.75 ERA
RHP Bryce Montes de Oca: 1.2 IP, ER, H, BB, 4 K, 5.40 ERA

Tim Adleman allowed three runs, though just one earned, over five innings in Friday’s start. Yoan Lopez would take the loss in relief after allowing a pair of home runs in the sixth inning.

Bryce Montes de Oca and Rob Zastryzny would finish out the game for Syracuse. Montes de Oca has now struck out nine in his last three appearances (4.2 innings) while Zastryzny hasn’t allowed an earned run in 5.2 innings.

AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (29-44) 3, Hartford Yard Goats (46-27) 8 Box Score

C Francisco Alvarez: 1-for-2, R, 2 BB, .277/.368/.558
3B Brett Baty: 1-for-4, HR (9), 3 RBI, 3 K, .280/.379/.462
LF Carlos Cortes: 1-for-3, 2B, BB, K, .265/.353/.444

The Rumble Ponies jumped out to a 3-0 lead thanks to a three-run homer from Brett Baty in the third inning but could only record another three hits as they fell 8-3 to Hartford.

Baty started off July on a high note after posting a .326/.429/.517 line in June. Meanwhile, Carlos Cortes is now 5-for-9 with a pair of doubles through the series’ first three games.

RHP Alec Kisena: (L, 2-6) 4.1 IP, 4 ER, 3 BB, K, 4.91 ERA
RHP Yeizo Campos: 0.2 IP, 4 ER, 5 H, 5.57
RHP Jordan Yamamoto: 3.0 IP, H, 3 K, 2.63 ERA

Alec Kisena took the loss after allowing four runs in 4.1 innings. Yeizo Campos failed to stop the bleeding out of the bullpen, allowing another four runs in the fifth inning.

Jordan Yamamoto held Hartford scoreless for the final three innings allowing just one hit while striking out three. Yamamoto hasn’t allowed a run in his last three appearances (seven innings) while ceding only two hits and a walk while striking out six.

A+: Brooklyn Cyclones (34-38) 6, Hudson Valley Renegades (36-36) 2 Box Score

SS Shervyen Newton: 2-for-4, 2B, R, RBI, BB, K, .193/.293/.324
1B JT Schwartz: 2-for-5, HR (3), 2 RBI, K, .269/.354/.368
C Jose Mena: 2-for-3, 2 RBI, K, .237/.266/.336

The Cyclones scored six runs on eleven hits as they took a second straight game from the Hudson Valley Renegades.

Jose Mena drove in the first two Brooklyn runs with a single in the second inning. The Cyclones wouldn’t break the game open until the top of the ninth with an RBI double from Shervyen Newton and a two-run home run from JT Schwartz, his third this season. Newton and Schwartz both extended their hitting streaks to six games.

RHP Garrison Bryant: (W, 4-1), 6.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 2 BB, 4 K, 3.71 ERA
RHP Nate Jones: SV (1), 3.0 IP, BB, 3 K, 1.00 ERA

Garrison Bryant earned the win with his third straight quality start. The 23-year-old right-hander has allowed just six runs in his last 23.1 innings.

Nate J0nes pitched three scoreless innings in relief to earn his first save of the year. The former fifth-round pick has allowed one run in his first nine innings with Brooklyn.

A: Jupiter Hammerheads (37-34) 3, St. Lucie Mets (43-29) 9 Box Score

CF Alex Ramirez: 2-for-4, HR (6), 3B, 4 RBI, BB, .288/.358/.451
1B Jack-Thomas Wold: 1-for-3, 2 R, 2 RBI, BB, K, .216/.270/.358
C Brady Smith: 1-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI, 2 K, .122/.250/.195

St Lucie downed the Hammerheads thanks to a big game from Alex Ramirez. The 19-year-old outfielder hit his sixth home run of the year, a two-run shot in the second inning, before adding a two-run triple in the sixth. Ramirez seems to have broken out of his extended slump as he’s gone 7-for-14 with a double, triple, and a home run in his last three games.

Brady Smith also hit his first home run of the year, a two-run shot to tie the game 2-2 in the bottom of the first.

RHP Joel Diaz: 3.0 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, BB, 2 K, 9.95 ERA
RHP Saul Gonzalez: (W, 1-0), 2.0 IP, 3 K, 1.72 ERA
LHP Keyshawn Askew: SV (1), 4.0 IP, ER, 2 H, 7 K, 1.61 ERA

Joel Diaz struggled again in the start Friday, allowing two runs on six hits in three innings. The St. Lucie bullpen, however, was excellent in the victory. Saul Gonzalez got his first win of the year with two perfect innings. Keyshawn Askew pitched the final four innings to earn the save, allowing one run while striking out seven. Askew, a 10th-round pick in 2021, now has a 1.61 ERA with a 0.89 WHIP and a K-rate of 13.18 through 28 innings this season.