Mitch Voit is making the kind of noise you can’t ignore.
At High-A Brooklyn, he kept rolling with three more hits, three more stolen bases and an RBI in a 4-0 shutout of Hudson Valley. Voit is now up to 34 steals, and with the way the bat has come around, his OPS is inching toward 800.
John Bay added three hits of his own, including a triple, while Corey Collins chipped in two hits and an RBI. Daiverson Gutierrez also drove in a run, and Trace Willhoite scored and swiped a bag.
Noah Hall did the heavy lifting on the mound, throwing six scoreless innings and allowing just one hit with two walks and five strikeouts to earn the win. Luis R. Rodriguez started the pitching parade with a scoreless inning, and Juan Arnaud and Parker Carlson finished off the combined shutout.
The loudest offensive night in the system belonged to Syracuse, even if it ended in a 7-5 loss to Buffalo. The oddity there was hard to miss: Syracuse had three homers and three errors, all from the same three players.
Ronny Mauricio, MJ Melendez and Christopher Morel each went deep, but the late damage came from Joey Gerber, who allowed two runs in the ninth to decide it. Luis Robert Jr. also played a full game in center as he gets closer to a major league return and, likely, a trade.
Robert went 1-for-3 with a run, a double and two walks. Ryan Clifford finished 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout.
Mauricio was 2-for-5 with a run, his seventh homer, two RBI, two strikeouts and an error. Melendez went 3-for-4 with two runs, his eighth homer, an RBI, a strikeout and an error.
Morel was 2-for-4 with a run, his sixth homer, two RBI and an error. Nick Morabito, Ji Hwan Bae, Christian Arroyo and Hayden Senger were all held hitless.
On the mound for Syracuse, Jack Weisenburger lasted 3.1 innings and gave up five earned runs on seven hits. Jonathan Pintaro, Ofreidy Gómez, Nate Lavender, Daniel Duarte, Jefry Yan and Gerber followed, with Gerber taking the loss.
Binghamton had a much rougher night, falling 11-0 to Akron. The offense never found much of anything. Chris Suero, Jose Ramos, Nick Lorusso, JT Schwartz, Kevin Parada, Matt Rudick, Wyatt Young, Nick Lucky and Kevin Villavicencio all went hitless or nearly so, and the Mets were shut out in ugly fashion.
R.J. Gordon took the loss after allowing six earned runs in 4.1 innings. Douglas Orellana was hit hard in relief, while Felipe De La Cruz, Saul Garcia and Zach Peek all worked out of the bullpen.
St. Lucie got a better result, edging Palm Beach 3-2 in 10 innings.
Elian Peña homered, Randy Guzman also went deep, and the Mets found just enough to finish it off. Antonio Jimenez didn’t keep his recent surge going, going 0-for-3.
Peña finished 2-for-4 with a run, his fourth homer, an RBI, a strikeout and an error. Guzman was 2-for-3 with a run, his 10th homer, an RBI and a walk.
Chase Meggers drove in a run, while AJ Salgado and Jeremy Rodriguez each reached base and were caught stealing. On the mound, Joel Lara gave up two earned runs in 4.2 innings, Zack Mack followed with 1.1 scoreless frames, and Elwis Mijares earned the win with three shutout innings.
Miguel Mejias picked up the save.
In the FCL, the Mets topped the Cardinals 3-2. Yovanny Rodriguez supplied the home run, going 1-for-3 with a run, his seventh homer, an RBI and a walk.
Josmir Reyes scored, and Vladi Gomez added an RBI and a stolen base. Yeider Mindiola doubled, while Marco Vargas went hitless.
Jean Brito allowed two earned runs in four innings, Jun-Seok Shim and Yoralbert Cadiz kept the game close in relief, and the Mets held on.
The DSL slate brought a split of sorts, with the Mets Orange falling 8-2 to the Mariners and the Mets Blue losing 8-2 to Colorado.
For Orange, Ryan Rudas drove in a run and stole a base, Aiberson Blanco doubled in a run, and Cleiner Ramirez, Cesar Acosta, Jhonael Cuello, Adrian La Rosa and Oscar Pena all contributed in small ways. Oscar Montero worked two scoreless innings, but Mauricio Nunez was tagged for five runs without recording an out, and the bullpen couldn’t recover.
For Blue, Johnderis Sanchez was the bright spot, going 2-for-3 with two runs, his first homer, three RBI, two walks and two stolen bases. Jonnhan Sanchez added a double and two RBI, Adrian Silva scored twice and drew two walks, and Michalle Mercedes had a double, a run and three errors. The pitching line was rough, with Cristopher Hernandez taking the blown save and Enmanuel Feliz charged with the loss.
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Now there is at least a chance to take a different swing and make the earlier mistake sting a little less. A proposed deal with Milwaukee would send the Mets after a veteran outfielder while asking them to part with two prospects who have real traction of their own, including one whose Dominican Summer League numbers have drawn attention and another who has turned into a dynamic speed-and-contact presence. If New York is looking for a cleaner return on this kind of move, this is the sort of trade that could help balance the ledger. [Read more 🡒]
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He was perfect at the plate, driving in runs and coming through again when the game stretched into extra innings, then delivered the decisive blow with a leadoff homer in the 10th. At third base, though, the same night unraveled in a way that still feels hard to process, with three errors attached to an outing that somehow ended as a win and left Mets fans with a box score they still cant quite explain. [Read more 🡒]
A.J. Minter Sends Emotional Message Mets Fans Wont Want To Ignore
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Minter also addressed the reality that his name could surface in trade talk before the deadline, which only adds another layer to a season already defined by uncertainty. Rather than shy away from it, he said he wants to keep pitching well so the Mets can get something useful back if a move does come, a pragmatic mindset from a player who knows his own future may be tied to how he finishes the stretch. [Read more 🡒]
