Mets fall to Bisons, 9-1, on Thursday night

Syracuse, NY – After scoring early, the Syracuse Mets' offense went quiet in a 9-1 loss to the Buffalo Bisons on Thursday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Despite the loss, Syracuse has still won six of its last nine games.

Syracuse (28-32) scored first in the bottom of the first inning. Gilberto Celestino led off with a single and moved to second base on a throwing error by Buffalo (24-34) shortstop Josh Rivera. After a Joey Meneses single, there were runners on the corners with one out. Jon Singleton grounded out on a slow infield roller that scored Celestino and put Syracuse ahead, 1-0.

After the first inning, the Bisons tallied nine unanswered runs off of 10 hits to lead 9-1. Buffalo scored five runs in the top of the second inning, starting out with a hit batter, a single, and a walk to load the bases. Another hit batter brought one run home, a two-run single from Robert Brooks made it 3-1, and two-out singles from Riley Tirotta and Orelvis Martinez gave the Bisons a 5-1 lead.

Tirotta added a home run in the fourth and an RBI double in the sixth to extend the advantage to 7-1. Tirotta finished with three hits and three RBIs.

Buffalo added two more runs in the ninth with a Martinez homer and a Will Robertson sacrifice fly for the 9-1 edge.

Mets starter Felipe De La Cruz recorded five outs and allowed five earned runs. The bullpen group of Rico Garcia, Dom Hamel, Tyler Zuber, and Ty Adcock pitched seven-and-one third innings to finish off the game. The four right-handers combined to allow four earned runs, just two walks, and ten strikeouts.

Syracuse continues its six-game series with Buffalo on Friday night with game four. Right-hander Brandon Sproat is scheduled to pitch for the Mets opposite right-hander Spencer Turnbull for the Bisons. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.