Kevin Parada. Photo by Ed Delany of Metsmerized

TRIPLE-A

Syracuse Mets (31-40) 5, Durham Bulls (39-33) 3

BOX SCORE 

Heading into the fourth inning with the Syracuse Mets trailing 2-1, leadoff hitter Danny Mendick launched a go-ahead three-run homer over the left field wall for his eighth dinger of the year. Mendick added another RBI in the sixth when he belted his 12th double of the season to drive in Carlos Cortes and increase the Mets’ lead to 5-2. The 29-year-old utility player has a .292/.378/.542 slash line with ten extra bases hits and 14 RBIs in June.

Carlos Cortes broke out of a 2-for-17 slump and recorded a three-hit night. Cortes smacked his 13th and 14th doubles in the contest.

The recently optioned Mark Vientos went 2-for-5 with a run scored Friday night. He is 5-for-13 with a 1.236 OPS since being optioned back to Syracuse.

Ronny Mauricio had another brutal night at the plate and continues to struggle in June. He went 0-for-5 and struck out two times. He is 1-for-17 in his last four games.

The Mets received another outstanding pitching performance from southpaw Joey Lucchesi. The 30-year-old tossed seven innings on a rainy Friday evening. He permitted two runs on five hits, issued four walks, and fanned eight Bulls. Lucchesi was just named on Monday International Pitcher of the Week after he retired 20 out of 22 batters he faced in his last outing. In three starts in June, Lucchesi is 3-0 with a 1.74 ERA and 0.82 WHIP. He’s allowed eleven hits and six walks with 23 punch-outs in 20 2/3 innings.

Entering the ninth with the Mets leading 5-2, right-hander Dennis Santana served up a one-out solo home run to Greg Jones. Santana settled down to retire the final two outs and notch his fourth save.

 

DOUBLE-A

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (35-31) 4, Akron RubberDucks (32-34) 3

BOX SCORE GAME 1

The Rumble Ponies eked out a 4-3 win in Game One over the Akron RubberDucks. Binghamton was gifted the go-ahead run in the seventh when the Ducks committed two errors in the inning, allowing second baseman Rowdey Jordan to cross home plate.

Leadoff hitter Wyatt Young and catcher Matt O’Neill were the only hitters to record a multi-hit game. O’Neill struck an RBI double in the second, driving in Binghamton’s first run of the contest. The 25-year-old went 2-for-4 and is hitting a paltry .184/.288/.359 with four homers and ten runs batted in on the year.

Junior Santos allowed three runs on seven hits and a pair of walks over five innings with four punch-outs on Friday in a no-decision against Akron. The 21-year-old Santos surrendered two runs in the first and settled down to give Binghamton some needed length in the doubleheader.

RHP William Woods picked up the win in relief for Santos. The 24-year-old tossed two scoreless innings and fanned four batters. He yielded just one hit and a walk.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (35-32) 2, Akron RubberDucks (33-34) 4  F/8

BOX SCORE GAME 2

The Ponies’ offense went 3-for-12 with runners in scoring position in Game Two, and the bullpen could not hold onto the victory as they faltered in the final frames.

Wyatt Young extended his hit streak to 11 games with a base knock in the fourth inning. He also swiped his 12th stolen base.

26-year-old David Griffin received the start in Game Two and had an impressive outing. He shut out down the Akron bats and tossed five scoreless innings scattering four hits and striking out three Friday night.

HIGH-A

Hudson Valley Renegades (39-28) 1, Brooklyn Cyclones (29-37) 6

BOX SCORE

  • CF Alex Ramírez 2-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 SB (10), .711 OPS
  • C Kevin Parada 3-for-4, 2 R, BB, 2 HR (7), 3 RBI (26), .790 OPS
  • 3B William Lugo 2-for-3, R, BB, HR (6), RBI (16), SB (6), .619 OPS

The Brooklyn Cyclones clubbed four homers Friday night against the Hudson Valley Renegades and received a dominant pitching performance from one of their top prospects as Brooklyn topped Hudson Valley 6-1.

In the third inning is when the home run barrage started for Brooklyn. With the Cyclones already leading 1-0, Kevin Parada smashed the first of the three home runs in the frame. Two batters later, third baseman William Lugo homered for the second straight game slugging his sixth dinger of the year. Outfielder Jaylen Palmer swatted the final home run of the inning and increased Brooklyn’s lead to 4-0.

Parada stepped up to bat in the sixth with a runner on and smacked a deep fly ball into the left-center field as the two Renegades outfielders collied on the play. He raced around the base for an inside-the-park home run as Brooklyn took a 6-1 lead. The 21-year-old catcher is 11-for-24 (.458) with three home runs and seven RBIs in his last six games.

20-year-old outfielder Alex Ramírez went 2-for-4 and swiped two bases in the contest giving him ten on the year.

Blade Tidwell was dominant Friday night against the Renegades. The 6-foot-4 right-hander picked up his fourth victory of the year. Tidwell racked up nine punchout over six innings. He allowed one run on four hits and issued two free passes. The 2022 2nd-round pick threw 60 of his 97 pitches for strikes and generated 14 swings and misses on the night. In his four starts in June, he has posted a 2-0 record with a 1.37 ERA, 1.17 WHIP, and 29 strikeouts across 19 2/3 innings.

Paul Gervase pitched his fifth consecutive scoreless outing on Friday. He threw two hitless innings and registered three strikeouts. The former LSU Tiger is having a remarkable June, and in 11 1/3 innings, he’s allowed just two runs on four hits and fanned 19 batters.

LOW-A

St. Lucie Mets (25-41) 7, Jupiter Hammerheads (35-32) 2

BOX SCORE

Shortstop Jett Williams finished 1-for-3 in the contest. Williams plated the first run for St. Lucie with a sacrifice fly. He added a base knock in the sixth to drive in another run. The 19-year-old has 24 RBIs on the season and leads the Florida State League with a .421 OBP.

Wilfredo Lara broke out of a 3-21 slump when he smacked a double in the fourth and crushed a 412-foot two-run homer in the sixth inning, extending the Mets’ lead to 7-1. Lara finished 2-for-4, with the homer being his club-leading eight.

23-year-old Rhylan Thomas went 2-for-4 with a triple and scored two runs. The lefty hitter has eight extra bases hits and a .939 OPS in June.

Right-hander Jordany Ventura pitched one of his best starts of the season. He hurled 86 pitches across five innings, permitting just one run on one hit, issued three walks, and notched three strikeouts. Ventura logged his third consecutive start allowing just one earned run. The 22-year-old is 4-2 on the year and lowered his ERA from 9.31 at the end of April to 4.41.

Saul Garcia pitched the remaining four innings and was just as impressive. He racked up nine strikeouts and scattered four hits while allowing just one run and earned the save.

FLORIDA COMPLEX LEAGUE

FCL Mets (8-6) 4, FCL Astros (7-7) 5  F/10

BOX SCORE

Home runs from Yohairo Cuevas and Jesus Baez were not enough as the Florida Complex League Mets lost 5-4 in extra innings to the FCL Astros. The Mets went 2-for-10 with runners in scoring position and committed three errors.

In the third inning, after back-to-back walks from Andriel Lantigua and Nick Morabito to lead off the frame. Third baseman Yonatan Henriquez stepped to the batter’s box and struck his fourth two-bagger driving in the Mets’ first run. Henriquez, a Dominican Republic native, is hitting .212 with seven runs batted in, two stolen bases, and a .616 OPS.

Cuevas belted a game-tying home run in the fourth inning, his third of the year. The 19-year-old finished 1-for-3 with a pair of walks. He is seventh in the FCL with a .490 OBP.

18-year-old Baez clubbed his first home run of the year in the fourth inning. The Dominican Republic native is ranked tenth on MLB Pipeline’s Mets top prospect list but has struggled early, batting a mere .139/.250/.250.

Infielder Diego Mosquera entered the contest, tied for the league lead with 18 hits. The 19-year-old had a rough day at the plate finishing 0-for-5 with a pair of strikeouts.

Right-hander Rodolfo Garrido pitched three innings and allowed two runs (one earned) on four hits. The 18-year-old instantly gave up two runs in the first inning when three of the first four batters reached base.

23-year-old Ramon Henriquez allowed the walk-off game-winning hit. He tossed 2 2/3 innings and recorded five punchouts in the loss on Friday.

Dominican Summer League

DSL Mets Orange (6-8) 3, DSL Rangers Red (5-9) 11

BOX SCORE

Top 2023 International Signings Daiverson Gutierrez and Cristopher Larez were the only DSL Mets Orange hitters to record a multi-hit game Friday.

Shortstop Larez entered the contest 1-for-15 with ten strikeouts in his last four games. The 17-year-old went 2-for-4 with an RBI and swiped a base. Larez has been outstanding since the start of his career. He is slashing .311/.377/.533, is third in the DSL with seven doubles, and is tied for tenth with seven stolen bases.

Venezuela native Gutierrez seems to be adjusting after beginning the season 2-for-28 to start his pro career. In his last five games, he is 5-for-19 with two doubles and three walks and stole his first base Friday.

  • RHP Luis Ceballos (L, 0-1) 2 IP, 6 H, 7 R, 6 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 11.00 ERA
  • RHP Jesus Anton 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 2 K, 15.63 ERA

6-foot-4 right-hander Luis Ceballos surrendered seven runs in two-plus innings against the DSL Rangers Red. The 18-year-old took the loss, and his ERA stands at 11.00 in four starts.

The duo of Jesus Anton and lefty Cesar Rivera pitched four scoreless innings in relief. They combined to yield one lone hit and issued two walks with four strikeouts.

DSL Rockies (8-6) 19, DSL Mets Blue (7-6) 4

BOX SCORE 

Third baseman Daris Cordero and outfielder Jostyn Almonte were the bright spots for the DSL Mets Blue on Friday.

Cordero reached base three times, going 2-for-3, scored a pair of runs, and walked for the 15th time this season. The 17-year-old raised his OBP to .480 and is eighth in the DSL with a 30% walk rate.

20-year-old Almonte went 2-for-4 and extended his hit streak to five games. He’s hitting 8-for-17 with a home run, two RBIs, and three walks during that span.

The DSL Rockies squad pummeled the DSL Mets pitching staff for 19 runs on Friday. Six pitchers combined to surrender 13 hits and issue 11 walks.

The only Mets pitcher of note was right-hander Ellian Nunez. The 19-year-old delivered a terrific outing holding the Rockies hitless in 3 1/3 scoreless innings. He issued one walk and fanned four batters.