Mets Farm System Finally Gave Fans One Reason To Exhale

A thrilling late-game surge breaks St. Lucies losing streak, overshadowing Syracuse and Binghamton's struggles.

The Mets’ affiliates had a mixed bag on July 6, but St. Lucie at least gave the system a much-needed jolt.

The biggest headline was down in the Florida State League, where St. Lucie finally snapped a nine-game losing streak and did it in style, erupting for a 10-5 win over Tampa in a game that was suspended because of rain.

The turnaround came late. St.

Lucie trailed 5-1 entering the seventh before Branny De Oleo and Jack Scanlon started the push with a solo homer and an RBI double, trimming the deficit to 5-3. Then the eighth inning turned into a full-blown collapse for Tampa’s bullpen, with St.

Lucie putting up seven runs. That was one fewer than the club had scored over its previous five games against Tampa combined.

Antonio Jimenez was the offensive force in the comeback. He went 3-for-4 with two runs, a homer, two RBIs, a strikeout, and a hit by pitch.

Branny De Oleo added a 1-for-5 night with two runs, a home run, two RBIs, and a strikeout. Jeremy Rodriguez finished 2-for-3 with two runs, a double, and a hit by pitch, while Francisco Toledo chipped in a double and two RBIs.

Taylor Darden also drove in two and swiped a bag, and Jack Scanlon added a double and an RBI. Trey Snyder collected two hits and scored twice.

On the mound, Emilio Obispo worked three innings and allowed one hit and one unearned run, with one walk, one strikeout, and a hit by pitch. Rehabber Calvin Ziegler had a rough one, giving up three runs in just one-third of an inning, and Joe Scarborough covered 1.2 innings with one run allowed.

Elsewhere, Syracuse dropped a 7-3 decision at Worcester after Jack Weisenburger got hit early and often. The WooSox jumped out to a 5-0 lead before Syracuse could settle in, and while Nick Morabito opened the game with a home run - his ninth of the season - the Mets’ Triple-A club spent most of the afternoon chasing the game. Jorge Polanco, on rehab, provided the other damage with a homer in the eighth, but by then the gap was too large.

Morabito finished 2-for-3 with two runs, a homer, an RBI, and a walk. Polanco went 1-for-4 with a run and two RBIs.

The rest of the lineup had a quiet day, with MJ Melendez drawing a walk and committing an error, while Cristian Pache, Yonny Hernández, Christopher Morel, Ben Rortvedt, Zack Short, and Vidal Bruján all had varying levels of trouble getting anything going. Weisenburger took the loss after four innings, and Nate Lavender was the bright spot out of the bullpen, striking out six over two scoreless frames.

Binghamton’s search for a July win will continue after a 2-0 loss to Chesapeake. The Rumble Ponies managed only one hit and four unintentional walks, and that was enough to keep them off the board entirely.

Jonathan Santucci turned in a strong outing after his rain-shortened appearance last Tuesday, going six innings and allowing two runs on two hits while striking out 10. He still took the loss, his sixth of the year.

The Binghamton offense never found a rhythm. Nick Lorusso had the club’s lone hit and also stole a base, while Kevin Parada drew a walk and swiped a bag.

Chris Suero, Jose Ramos, JT Schwartz, Matt Rudick, Wyatt Young, Jaylen Palmer, and Nick Lucky all came up empty in the hit column. Dedniel Núñez was in rehab mode and threw a scoreless inning.

STAR OF THE NIGHT

Antonio Jimenez

Jack Weisenburger

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