Matt Rudick, Photo by Rick Nelson

Triple A: Louisville Bats (22-23) 17, Syracuse Mets (19-27) 12  BOX SCORE

The Syracuse Mets and Louisville Bats played a wild, high-scoring contest at NBT Bank Stadium Tuesday night as both teams combined 29 runs on 32 hits and eight home runs.

The Mets faced an early deficit of 9-0 when they took their at-bats in the second inning. Jonathan Araúz started the comeback for Syracuse, belting a two-run homer. Later in the inning, Ronny Mauricio hit a frozen rope double (111.7 EV) into the right-center field gap driving in two runs. DJ Stewart and Jaylin Davis added RBIs to close the gap to 9-6.

Mauricio’s 22 doubles lead the International League, and he is second in batting average at .354. The switch-hitting prospect continues to rake this season, especially in May, as he has reached base safely in his last 14 contests and is hitting .398 with a 1.047 OPS.

Syracuse scored two runs in the third and three more in the fourth inning to take the lead briefly. In the third inning, Danny Mendick‘s base knock drove in two runs, and, in the fourth inning, Araúz mashed his second homer Tuesday night, a go-ahead three-run bomb to make it 11-10. Tuesday was Araúz’s first multi-homer game of his career. He finished the night 2-for-5 with two homers and five runs batted in.

Left fielder Carlos Cortes recorded his third hit when he clubbed his second homer of the year, registering an exit velocity of 106.3. Cortes went 3-for-5 with two doubles and a homer.

  • RHP José Butto 1.2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 6.86 ERA
  • LHP Josh Walker (L, 2-1) 0.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, K, 1.93 ERA

José Butto took the mound for the Mets and didn’t last long as he was hammered for seven runs in 1.2 innings against Louisville on 63 pitches. The 25-year-old has allowed 13 runs in ten innings this month, and his ERA is currently at 6.86.

Louisville also touched up the Mets pen as all five relievers yielded a run. They combined to throw 7.1 innings, surrendering ten runs, and 13 hits, issuing six walks, and serving up five homers.

Double A: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (18-21) 8, Richmond Flying Squirrels (20-19) 6, BOX SCORE

The Binghamton Rumbles Ponies’ bats were clutch and came back multiple times last night, scoring seven of their runs with two outs against the Richmond Flying Squirrels.

In the second inning, catcher Hayden Senger launched his second home run of the season to deep center that tied the game at two apiece.

With the Rumble Ponies trailing 4-2 in the bottom half of the fifth inning, With the bases loaded, Brandon McIlwain roped a bases-clearing double to give Binghamton a 5-4 lead. McIlwain went 2-for-5 driving in three runs and swiped his sixth stolen base.

Lead-off hitter Matt Rudick continues to be an on-base machine, as he extended his hit streak to ten games with his tenth two-bagger in the fifth inning. The 24-year-old delivered the most significant hit of the game, a go-ahead three-run blast in the eighth, propelling the Ponies to an 8-6 win. Rudick finished the strong performance, going 3-for-4, with three runs scored, a stolen base, and he was also drilled by a pitch. He has an impressive slash line of .323/.457/.585, a 1.042 OPS, and he has reached base safely in 19 out of 22 games in 81 plate appearances this month.

The big righthander Junior Santos took the bump Tuesday morning for Binghamton. The 21-year-old was roughed up again in a no-decision, surrendering six runs on eight hits across 5.2 innings. Richmond had runners on base every inning against him. Santos’s command is still a problem, as he issued four walks, bringing his total to 4.9 BB/9.

Relief pitcher Nolan Clenney entered the frame for Santos in a tough spot with the bases loaded and two out. He faced the Flying Squirrels lead-off hitter Wade Meckler and promptly gave up the go-ahead two-run single.

Hunter Parsons earned his third victory of the year, throwing two scoreless innings against Richmond. After retiring the side in order in the eighth, Parsons allowed the tying runners to reach base in the ninth, but he was able to record the final out to end the game. Parsons didn’t permit a run after doing so in his previous four appearances. The 25-year-old owns a robust 12.5 K/9 across 15.1 innings.

High A: Brooklyn Cyclones (16-21) 7 Winston-Salem Dash (23-15) 3 BOX SCORE 

The Brooklyn Cyclones scored seven runs on eleven hits, with six of the hits going for extra bases in a victory Tuesday night. Every Cyclone starter reached base safely, and eight of the nine collected a hit.

The Cyclones took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning when first baseman Chase Estep‘s double drove in Omar De Los Santos. The lefty-hitting Estep started slowly to begin the season, where he was in a 2-for-40 slump. He’s turned things around in May, slashing .289/.347/.511 with five doubles, one triple, one homer, driving in ten runs, and a .858 OPS.

In the third inning, Brooklyn added to the lead when Jaylen Palmer’s base knock up the middle drove in shortstop William Lugo. The next batter, De Los Santos, hit his second two-bagger of the game over the left fielder’s head, driving in two runs to extend Brooklyn’s lead to 4-0. De Los Santos finished 2-for-4 with two doubles and swiped two more bases to give him sixteen on the year, placing him in the top ten of the South Atlantic League.

Palmer also clubbed a 412-foot bomb in the seventh inning to give Brooklyn a 5-2 lead. It was Palmer’s first homer since April 11th.

Outfielder Alex Ramírez collected his first hit in the eighth inning. His two-out double in the gap plated two additional insurance runs for Brooklyn. The 20-year-old is batting .261 with eight doubles, two homers, and a team-leading 22 RBIs.

Blade Tidwell hurled five innings yielding two runs and scattering two hits against Winston-Salem Tuesday night. He fanned seven batters while issuing four walks in the win. Tidwell ran into trouble in the fourth inning when he allowed both runs but was able to escape without further damage. The 21-year-old generated 17 swings and misses and boasts a 13.5 K/9 across 28.1 innings.

The Cyclones turned to the pen and received solid outings from Paul Gervase and Trey McLoughlin. Both pitchers combined to shut down Winston-Salem for the next four innings allowing one unearned run. Gervase, the Mets 12th round pick in 2022, struck out three in two innings and now has 26 punchouts in 17.1 innings with a minuscule 0.52 ERA.

McLoughlin closed it out by fanning three in two innings and earning his first save of the season. The 23-year-old is 2-1 with a 1.76 ERA and has a robust 14.9 K/9.

Low A: Clearwater Threshers (30-10) 6, St. Lucie Mets (10-30) 0  BOX SCORE

The Clearwater Threshers blanked the St. Lucie Mets 6-0 Tuesday night. The Mets went 2-for-12 with runners in scoring position, hitting into four double plays and committing four errors.

St. Lucie’s best opportunity came in the bottom of the fifth when, trailing 2-0. Right fielder Scott Ota led off the frame reaching on an error. Jett Williams and Rhylan Thomas then followed with consecutive knocks to load the bases. Yucaipa, CA native Jacob Reimer stepped to the plate but struck out. The next batter was rehabbing Tomás Nido, who grounded into an inning-ending double play.

In the eighth inning, with the Mets still trailing 2-0, outfielder Rhylan Thomas led off with his third base knock of the game, and Reimer walked for the 19th time this season. Nido promptly flew out, and Junior Tilien hit into a double play. Thomas finished 3-for-4 with a double and is 5-for-7 since his return from the injured list.

First baseman Eduardo Salazar was the other St. Lucie player to record a multi-hit game. He went 2-for-4 and is slashing .264/.321/.389 with one homer and nine runs batted in on the season.

Felipe De La Cruz faced a formidable Threshers lineup Tuesday night. The 21-year-old lefty threw six innings, allowing two runs on seven hits and issuing one walk. He generated eleven swings and misses and fanned seven Threshers in a tough-luck loss. The young hurler has a 1-4 record with a 5.30 ERA and 38 strikeouts across 37.1 innings.

The 22-year-old southpaw Eli Ankeney tossed another scoreless inning as he retired the side in order on nine pitches and recorded one punch out. He’s allowed just two hits and a walk with 14 punch outs in 8.1 innings.