Mets Minors Recap: Francisco Álvarez Finishes Strong
Francisco Álvarez, Photo by Herm Card
The Syracuse season came to an end with a 4-3 loss to Lehigh Valley. It was a disappointing year for the Mets, who finished 21 games under .500 with a 64-85 record.
Top prospect, Francisco Álvarez, ended his MiLB season on a high note with two hits, and Jake Mangum continued his hot September with another hit and a stolen base. Syracuse would use eight pitchers in this game, which included shutout performances from Mychal Givens and Bryce Montes de Oca.
Lehigh Valley IronPigs (76-72) 4 vs. Syracuse Mets (64-85) 3 BOX SCORE
- CF Jake Mangum: 1-for-5, SB, .306/.363/.441
- C Francisco Álvarez: 2-for-3, R, 2 BB, .260/.374/.511
- SS JT Riddle: 1-for-4, 2 RBI, .235/.262/.407
The Syracuse offense had little trouble getting men on base as they tallied seven hits and seven walks. The problem was bringing men across to score. Syracuse would leave ten runners on base, which proved costly in a 4-3 loss. The runs the Mets did score came off the bat of a Branden Fryman RBI ground out in the second inning and a two-run single by JT Riddle in the third.
JT Riddle turns a 1-run deficit into a 1-run lead with this RBI single in the third! He drives in @CarlosSan29 and Francisco Álvarez (who is 2-2 today) pic.twitter.com/LFt82CDJYK
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) September 28, 2022
Francisco Álvarez ended his season in style, reaching on base four times in this one. The 20-year-old wraps up his season over Double-A and Triple-A with 27 home runs, 78 RBIs and an OPS of .885. Over last two weeks, Álvarez has been playing some of his best baseball. In 12 games, he’s gotten a base hit in nine of them and carried an OPS of 1.044. Jake Mangum also ruled in September, with a .350 average, 16 RBIs and an OPS of .911 over 20 games.
- RHP Mychal Givens: IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 0 BB, 2 SO, 0.00 ERA
- LHP Alex Claudio: IP, 0 H, R, 0 ER, BB, 2 SO, 3.91 ERA
- RHP Bryce Montes de Oca: 1.1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, 3 SO, 3.44 ERA
- RHP Yoan López: 1.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, BB, SO, 5.14 ERA
Syracuse would empty their bullpen in this one as eight pitchers would see action. Mychal Givens turned in an impressive rehab performance as he retired the side in order with two strikeouts on 15 pitches. He had been out since September 17 with an undisclosed injury. He looks to rejoin the Mets by the weekend.
Bryce Montes de Oca also impressed on the mound with three strikeouts in 1 1/3 innings. José Butto, fresh off of being named International League Pitcher of the Week, threw two innings of relief, giving up a run and striking out two. He looked sharp during his time in Triple-A with a 2.45 ERA, 30 strikeouts and held batters to a .198 average.
Butto was responsible for giving up the tying run in the seventh on a Daniel Robinson home run. Harol González would surrender the lead in the next inning on a bases loaded walk.
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