MJ Melendez homered twice in the first two innings to help lift Triple-A Syracuse to a 10-4 win over St. Paul Friday, pulling them within one and half games of a playoff spot with eight games left.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Rochester are tied for first, Indianapolis is one game back, and then Syracuse sits in fourth in the second-half standings. In the Triple-A playoffs, the winner of the first half, which was Memphis, faces the second-half champ. The regular season concludes on Sept. 20.
MJ Melendez. Photo Credit: Sam Navarro-Imagn Images
Triple-A
Syracuse Mets (75-66) 10, St. Paul Saints (78-63) 4
- RF MJ Melendez, 4-for-5, 2 HR (20), 2B, 5 RBI, 3 R, K (.968 OPS)
- SS Vidal Bruján, 1-for-3, HR (4), 2 R, 2 BB, K (.779 OPS)
- DH Billy Amick, 2-for-5, 2 2B, 2 R, K (.831 OPS)
- 2B Ronny Mauricio, 0-for-4, 2 R, BB, K (.819 OPS)
- LF Jose Ramos, 2-for-4, 3 RBI, K (.874 OPS)
Amick, 23, entered Friday slashing .207/.266/.534 in 16 games since his promotion to Triple-A. He has hit six homers for Syracuse after hitting 30 at Double-A.
- RHP Kevin Herget (2.12 ERA) 3 IP, 2 ER, 5 H, K, HR
- RHP Saul Garcia (0.00 ERA) BB, 3 K, W
- LHP Jefry Yan (2.25 ERA) 2/3 IP
Double-A
Binghamton Rumble Ponies (61-75) 4, Portland Sea Dogs (70-65) 8
- DH Marco Vargas, 3-for-5, 3B, 2 2B, SB, R (.775 OPS)
- RF Eli Serrano III, 2-for-3, HR (6), SB, BB (.648 OPS)
- 3B Jacob Reimer, 0-for-4, 2 K (.728 OPS)
- SS Eddinson Paulino, 2-for-4, HR (1), 2 RBI (1.162 OPS)
Vargas is finishing the season on a tear. He extended his hitting streak to eight and is 15-for-33 with a home run, a triple, four doubles and five RBIs during the stretch.
- RHP R.J. Gordon (5.03 ERA) 1 2/3 IP, 6 ER, 4 H, 3 BB, HR, L
- LHP Felipe De La Cruz (2.81 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, ER, H, 2 BB, HR
Gordon, 24, a 13th-round pick from the University of Oregon in 2024, finishes his year on a bad note after allowing three earned runs or fewer in eight straight starts. He struck out 81 in 91 1/3 innings at Binghamton. He is ranked the No. 30 prospect in the organization on MLB Pipeline.
The Rumble Ponies’ season ends Sunday. They have been eliminated from playoff contention.
