Mets Minors Recap: Megill’s Struggles Continue, Mauricio Reaches Base Four Times

AAA: Buffalo Bisons (46-49) 10, Syracuse Mets (39-55) 9  Box Score

• Ronny Mauricio SS: 2-for-4, 2 R, 2 BB, K, .297/.345/.511
• Tomás Nido C: 2-for-3, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K, .288/.333/.407
• Luke Voit 1B: 1-for-5, R, HR, 4 RBI, BB, 2 K, .236/.379/.547

The Mets had a big offensive game on Sunday afternoon, powered by three home runs, including three-run shots by Voit and Abraham Almonte. However, the bats came up short when it mattered most, as they went down on three consecutive strikeouts to end the game in the bottom of the 10th inning. Mauricio had his first multi-walk game in over a month and has seemingly bounced back from a rocky June. He is hitting .268/.328/.554 so far in July. Nido hit his first home run since June 15 and is now hitting .364/.400/.485 this month.

• RHP Tylor Megill (0-3, 10.29 ERA) 3.1 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 3 BB
• LHP Nate Lavender (2-2, 3.27 ERA) 1.2 IP, K
• RHP Dennis Santana (L, 3-3, 4.67 ERA) 1.0 IP, H, R, K

Megill continued his stretch of dreadful pitching with Syracuse as he was pulled from the game in the fourth inning having given up five runs without striking out a single batter. He has given up four or more runs in four of his five starts since his demotion to Syracuse; in that span, he has struck out just 3.4 batters per nine innings and opposing batters have a 1.009 OPS against him. Lavender has not given up a run in 10 of his last 11 outings.

AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (42-47) 2, Erie SeaWolves (49-39) 0  Box Score

• Agustin Ruiz RF: 3-for-4, 2 R, 2B, HR, RBI, .195/.289/.377
• Wyatt Young SS: 1-for-3, BB, .219/.327/.273
• Jaylen Palmer LF: 1-for-3, K, .137/.228/.255

With just six hits in the game, the Rumble Ponies struggled to get much going on offense. Ruiz provided most of the offense in the game, recording half of the team’s hits, driving in their first run with his second inning home run, and scoring the second run on Hayden Senger‘s sixth inning double. The Rumble Ponies have generally struggled offensively this season, as their .696 OPS ranks third-worst in the Eastern League.

• RHP Christian Scott (3-3, 2.90 ERA) 4.0 IP, 2 H, 6 K
• RHP Nolan Clenney (W, 1-1, 3.16 ERA) 2.0 IP, H, 2 K
• RHP William Woods (2-0, 2.19 ERA) 2.0 IP, BB, K

Scott continued his recent stretch of excellent pitching by needing just 46 pitches to make it through four shutout innings. Except for an outlier, six run performance in early July, Scott has not given up more than three runs in a start this season. He has also cut his walk rate from 3.38 BB/9 last season to 1.5 K/9 this season without seeing a noticeable drop in strikeouts. Clenney has only given up one earned run in his last 10 appearances.

A+: Brooklyn Cyclones (45-44) 7, Hudson Valley Renegades (50-40) 4  Box Score

• Omar De Los Santos DH: 1-for-4, R, HR, 4 RBI, 2 K, .208/.256/.306
• Stanley Consuegra RF: 1-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, BB, K, .250/.306/.476
• Alex Ramirez CF: 0-for-5, 2 K, .234/.333/.331

The Cyclones only had five hits in Sunday’s game but three of those hits ended up leaving the ballpark, including De Los Santos’ fourth inning grand slam, so they had no issues putting enough runs on the board to take the victory. After hitting 16 home runs a year ago, this was just De Los Santos’ fifth of the season. Consuegra’s home run was his fifth since returning from the injured list at the end of June. Ramirez’s numbers were boosted by a six-hit game earlier in the week, but he is still hitting just .235/.308/.309 this month.

• RHP Cameron Foster (4-4, 4.61 ERA) 2.2 IP, 6 H, 4 ER, 3 K
• RHP Benito Garcia (0-0, 1.02 ERA) 2.1 IP, 2 H, 2 K
• RHP Paul Gervase (S, 1-2, 1.16 ERA) 1.0 IP, H, BB, 3 K

Foster struggled in his start against the Renegades: he allowed three home runs before he was pulled from the game in the third inning. Prior to this start, he had never given up more than one home run in a game. Garcia struggled in St. Lucie earlier this season but has dominated since he was promoted to Brooklyn. Gervase has a 14.2 K/9 rate this season and is holding hitters to a .131/.317/.169 slash line.

A: St. Lucie Mets (32-57) 12, Palm Beach Cardinals (44-43) 10  Box Score

• Jacob Reimer 3B: 2-for-2, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI, BB, HBP, .278/.401/.400
• Jett Williams CF: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, BB, 3 K, .248/.426/.397
• Yeral Martinez 1B: 1-for-4, 2 R, HR, 2 RBI, .234/.310/.426

The Mets were held without a run for the first five innings of Sunday’s game but then exploded on offense with a six-run sixth inning and two more runs in each of the last three innings of the game. Reimer reached base four times and flashed his impressive power with a 107.6 MPH seventh-inning home run. Williams has been extremely hot in July: he is hitting .278/.466/.500 in the month with more walks (19) than strikeouts (17) and 11 steals. Kevin Villavicencio stole four bases without being caught, giving him an even 20 steals on the season.

• LHP Javier Atencio (W, 1-8, 10.31 ERA) 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 3 BB, K
• RHP Sam Coonrod (0-0, 0.00 ERA) 1.0 IP, K
• RHP Elliot Johnstone (S, 3-2, 6.00 ERA) 0.2 IP

Atencio did not pitch wonderfully on Sunday, but this was tied for his longest start of the season and the first time he allowed three runs or less with St. Lucie since May 17. His changeup was his best pitch as usual, recording three whiffs on six swings; his fastball and curveball did not generate a single whiff on 21 swings. Coonrod has pitched three scoreless innings since starting his rehab stint.