Syracuse Falls 6-3 in Debut As Mets Affiliate

I stood out on the concourse just outside the press box as the Syracuse Mets’ lineup was introduced for the first time ever. It was 41º and windy. I had been in Syracuse all winter, so I was used to this weather.

The New York City-based writer standing next to me–he was there to cover Tim Tebow— was not quite as comfortable. Tebow’s name was called sixth in an order that included Rajai Davis, Gregor Blanco, and Carlos Gomez among other big-league castoffs. The lineup was a proverbial ‘island of misfit toys’. The roster was full of Quad-A depth and without a standout prospect, Tebow was the only newsworthy story.

Despite the weather, the fans came out in droves, packing the field level of NBT Bank Stadium. Whether they were there to see Tebow or to reacquaint themselves with baseball, they showed up. You’d be hard-pressed to find more fans at a minor league game anywhere, at any point. The field was in pristine shape, with grass as green as you can find anywhere in the city of Syracuse at this point in the year. The sky was crystal clear and sunny. From the warmth of the press box, it was a deceptively beautiful day for baseball.

Then the game started. Tzu-Wei Lin started it off against Hector Santiago, the veteran left-hander and former All-Star that the Mets picked up as depth in the offseason. Santiago was a finalist for the Mets’ final bullpen spot, which ultimately went to Tim Peterson.

Lin check-swung on a 1-2 offering and tapped it between third and short. David Thompson, the lone “actual” prospect in the Mets’ lineup (if I can even still call him a “prospect” and keep my journalistic integrity), cut it off in front of Adeiny Hechavarria but threw it wide, pulling Travis Taijeron off first base. Santiago showed off a couple of his strengths in that first inning: working quickly and picking dudes off. He picked Gorkys Hernandez off in that first, and pitched at a brisk pace.

The Mets went without a punch in their own first inning against Pawtucket right-hander Mike Shawaryn. Carlos Gomez, fate having finally put him back in some kind of Mets uniform, got a nice hand from the crowd before striking out. Tebow’s first at-bat came in the bottom of the second, with two out. The crowd roared as he came to the plate. Shawaryn fell behind 3-0. I heard murmurs in the press box that he was pitching around him. He came back to strike him out on a full-count slider.

The third inning was oddly similar to the first. Just like the first inning, Thompson threw away a ground ball to start inning. Later in the frame, Santiago picked a runner off of first. This time, however, Taijeron nearly threw the ball away. Lin, the runner, was given a stolen base, but it was a play that should have been made. Corner infield defense was not particularly strong for the Mets in the early part of this game.

The Mets put together their first threat in the third inning. Hechavarria notched the first hit for either side with a sharp single through the shortstop. Thompson bounced a would-be double play ball to second baseman Mike Miller, but Miller booted it and threw away the recovery attempt. That made it runners at second and third with only one out with the top of the order coming up. Blanco would strike out, and Danny Espinosa walked to load the bases. Gomez had a chance to make some noise, but hit a weak grounder to Michael Chavis at first base.

Santiago gave up his first hit in the top of the fifth, a slow grounder from Sandy Leon that hugged the third base line. You read that right, Leon had an infield hit to break up the no-hit bid. Miller followed with a frozen rope to the opposite field that found its way over the short porch in right field. Miller had hit just four homers in 361 at bats the previous season, but put Pawtucket ahead 2-0 in the fifth.

 

In the bottom half, Hechavarria smoked a double down the left-field line to begin the inning. He would advance on a wild pitch, and score on a groundout from Thompson. So, if you chose Thompson to have the first RBI in Syracuse Mets history, you chose correctly. That made it 2-1.

The sixth inning was given to Paul Sewald. Santiago was done after five innings and 82 pitches. Sewald started his day as the catcher for the ceremonial first pitches prior to the game. He gave up a pair of singles, including one to former Met farmhand Bryce Brentz, but a double play helped him get out unscathed.

When I saw the Mets lineup prior to the game, I was slightly peeved by Tony DeFrancesco‘s inclusion of Danny Espinosa over Dilson Herrera. Herrera is a higher upside player, and probably a better one at this stage in their careers. Throughout the day, he had been feigning bunt attempts. Leading off the sixth, he finally dropped one down. It was a perfectly-placed drag bunt past the pitcher and toward the second baseman. He beat it out and the Mets were in business.

Rajai Davis bounced a single of his own right through the middle of the infield, and two were on board. It was Travis Taijeron‘s turn. Taijeron was a longtime Met farmhand and got 52 big league at-bats in 2017. He spent 2018 in Triple-A with the Dodgers, but found his way back on a minor league deal in the offseason. The runners were in motion on a one-strike offering from the new pitcher Marcus Walden, and Taijeron drilled it to the gap in left-center. Both runners scored easily. The first extra-base knock in Syracuse Mets history gave them a 3-2 lead.

The seventh inning was strenuous for the duo of Eric Hanhold and Daniel Zamora. Hanhold was wild and ineffective, giving up a sharp single to Sandy Leon and a walk to Miller. Cole Sturgeon sacrificed the runners to second and third, and DeFrancesco pulled the hook on Hanhold. Zamora came in against the left-handed hitting Lin, and put him away on three pitches. Zamora’s devastating breaking ball completely locked up Lin, who had no chance. Gorkys Hernandez followed with a bouncer to third, which Thompson made the throw on to retire the side.

Zamora began the eighth inning against the Red Sox’ top prospect Michael Chavis. Chavis did what Chavis does–he hit a bomb over Tebow’s head in left and over everything else. In 2017, Chavis homered 31 times. This homer tied the game in the. Jacob Rhame finished the inning, keeping it tied.

Rajai Davis racked up his second single with two out in the eighth. He got picked off by left-hander Josh Taylor, but stole second-base anyway. Taijeron walked, bringing up Tebow with a chance to score the go-ahead run. However, he did not get the chance, as Davis tried to steal third, a perplexing move with two out, and was thrown out on a close play.

The ninth started promisingly for the PawSox, with a walk to Miller and a single by Sturgeon. Ryan O’Rourke, now in the game, made an excellent play on a bunt by Lin, throwing out the lead runner on a force play at third. Dilson Herrera, newly entered into the game and playing third base, stretched into a split to secure the out. On the very next pitch, Gorkys Hernandez bounced an easy double play grounder to Hechavarria to end the inning.

Fans started to head towards the exits when the game entered its 10th inning, leaving just about half the crowd. As the game entered extra innings, I was reminded about Minor League Baseball’s new-ish rule of placing a runner at second base to begin each extra frame.

Hernandez, the last batter up in the previous frame, started at second and stayed there when Michael Chavis reached on an infield single. O’Rourke punched out Josh Ockimey for the first out, but walked Bryce Brentz on four pitches to lead the bags. There was no safety net for the lefty. No one up in the pen behind him. No one even sitting in the pen. It was O’Rourke’s mess, and this time, he could not get out of it. Tony Renda laced a line drive to the gap in left center. Tebow got a bad break and took a bad angle to the ball. It wound up as a bases-clearing double, putting the PawSox ahead 6-3.

Our old friend Jenrry Mejia, coming off a good spring with the Sox, acted as closer for Pawtucket. Catcher Colton Plaia ran in place of Rene Rivera at second base to begin the inning. However, the Mets went out in order against Mejia, falling on their first Opening Day, 6-3.

It is hard to say that there are any standouts in this game. No singular player impressed me to the point where I felt the need to jot it down. Hector Santiago looked fine. Rajai Davis and Adeiny Hechavarria each hit a couple of balls solidly. In fact, Hechavarria also made an outstanding play at short in the middle innings. The most impressive player on either side was easily Michael Chavis. But that makes sense considering he is a top prospect.

At the end of the day, this is a game in which Tony DeFrancesco went to his bullpen early and often, and his bullpen couldn’t hold a one-run lead or a tie game. The offense only had six hits and two walks, and it is hard to score when you have so few chances. I have a feeling this game is going to be indicative of how the Syracuse Mets season may go as a whole.

They are going to have a middling offense, so when they get a lead, they need to be able to rely on the Hanholds and the Zamoras and Bashlors of the world to hold that lead. That is, assuming those guys are in Syracuse rather than Queens. Regardless, if this bullpen is effective, and it has the ability to be effective at the Triple-A level, the S-Mets should be fine in the win-loss column. Despite the ex-big leaguers filling that clubhouse, this is not a team of world-beaters. But, they are an interesting group of players that has a chance to make some noise in the International League.

Oh, and by the way, for all the national media hoopla about Tim Tebow making it to Triple-A, he looked pretty overmatched today. Not much to write about on a guy who has a meek 0-for-4 with two punchouts. Box Score