Hamel shines, but Mets fall to Bisons, 5-3, on Friday night

Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets’ mightily frustrating week in Western New York continued on Friday night as Syracuse lost an early three-run lead in a 5-3 loss to the Buffalo Bisons on a sunny night at Sahlen Field. The Bisons have now won each of the first four games in the weeklong, six-game series. Buffalo has also won nine of the first 16 games against the Mets so far in the 2024 season.

Syracuse (60-39, 14-11) jumped on Buffalo (47-52, 10-15) early for the second straight night, plating a run in the top of the first. Carlos Cortes walked to start the inning, stole his way to second, and then scored on a two-out single from Luke Ritter.

The Mets scored again in the top of the second when Pablo Reyes tripled to start the frame and then scored on an RBI groundout from Logan Porter. Later in the inning, a one-out RBI single from JT Schwartz scored Mike Brosseau (who had walked earlier in the inning) from second base to boost the lead to 3-0.

After not scoring in the first three innings, the Bisons woke from their offensive slumber in the bottom of the fourth. It all started happening with Riley Tirotta on first base and two outs. A Gabriel Cancel single extended the inning, a Phil Clarke single plated Tirotta, and yet another single from Cam Eden scored Cancel and made it a one-run game all of a sudden, 3-2. With runners on first and second Alan Roden ripped a single into right field that appeared destined to tie the game for the Bisons. However, a brilliant throw from Carlos Cortes for Syracuse nabbed Clarke at home plate to end the inning and keep the Mets in front by a run.

After that flurry of fourth-inning action, the pitching grabbed a stranglehold on the ballgame. For the Mets, it was Dom Hamel stepping into the spotlight. Their starting pitcher worked six strong innings in his outing, allowing just two runs on seven hits with no walks and nine more strikeouts. Hamel loves pitching at Sahlen Field in Buffalo. In his two starts there this season, Hamel has combined to rack up 18 strikeouts.

On the other side of the coin, the Buffalo bullpen kept them in the thick of the fight. The Mets did not score in the third through eighth innings, stranding seven runners on base in the process. Paxton Schultz, Hayden Juenger, and Brandon Eisert worked those frames in scoreless fashion. The star of the show was Schultz, who tossed three clean frames with no walks, three hits allowed, and six strikeouts.

In the bottom of the eighth, the game unraveled for the Mets. Buffalo tied it up at three with a leadoff home run from Will Robertson to start the inning, and then it got worse. After two straight outs after the homer, the Bisons loaded up the bags via a Clarke walk, a Cam Eden double, and a Roden walk. Then, Miguel Hiraldo put the home team in front for good, smacking a two-run, two-out single that plated Clarke and Eden to surge Buffalo up to a 5-3 lead. The Bisons scored the final five runs of the ballgame unanswered.

In the top of the ninth, still facing Brandon Eisert, the Mets did their best to mount a late comeback. Syracuse put two runners on base with two outs, bringing Jackie Bradley, Jr. to the plate with a chance to be a hero in his first game in the Mets organization. It wasn’t to be, as Bradley Jr. struck out swinging to end the game. Syracuse certainly had its chances in Friday night’s loss. By the end of the night, the Mets left 11 runners on base in the game. Six of those 11 runners were left in scoring position, and Syracuse left multiple runners on base in three different innings.

The Syracuse Mets are in the midst of a two-week road trip, beginning with six games at the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Buffalo Bisons. Game five of the six-game set at the Bisons is set for 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Saturday.