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José Butto Shines Again as Syracuse Rolls Over Buffalo, 9-4, on Friday Night

June 28, 2024 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Buffalo, NY - The Syracuse Mets were a well-balanced machine on Friday night at Sahlen Field, riding steady offense and more brilliant pitching from José Butto to a 9-4 win over the Buffalo Bisons on a mid-70s evening in Western New York. The Mets have now won three out of the first four games in the weeklong, six-game series, outscoring the Bisons 27-15 in the process.

One night after scoring just one run on three hits, Syracuse (49-29, 3-1) flipped the script in the top of the first on Friday night. It took exactly three batters to roar out to a 3-0 lead. Luisangel Acuña walked to start the game, Brett Baty singled to put two on base, and then Rylan Bannon slugged a three-run homer to make it a 3-0 game just like that. It was the second time this week that Bannon hit a home run in the top of the first inning. Bannon also smacked a solo shot in the first frame of Tuesday night's game.

The Mets kept the pressure on Buffalo (38-40, 1-3), scoring again in the second and third innings. In the second, a one-out Acuña double was immediately followed by a Baty RBI single to boost the lead to 4-0.

In the third, three singles from Mike Brosseau, Carlos Cortes, and Austin Allen pushed the fifth run of the night across home plate for the Syracuse Mets. By the end of the third inning, the Mets had nine hits and all but one of their batters had reached base at least once.

From there, it was Butto's time to shine. By the time Butto had left the mound, the 26-year-old had thrown 101 pitches and kept the Bisons puzzled all evening. Butto went seven innings, his longest outing of the season at either the Triple-A or Major League level. The right-hander surrendered just two runs in those seven scintillating innings on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. In his last four starts dating back to June 7th, Butto has allowed just six earned runs in 24 and two-thirds innings, good for a 2.19 ERA.

In the top of the seventh, still winning 5-2, the Mets put the game away with one mighty blow. It looked like Syracuse wouldn't even get a shot to score earlier in the inning, when with Luke Ritter on first base and two outs, Cortes hit a routine groundball to second base that looked destined to end the inning. However, it rolled through Miguel Hiraldo's legs and into center field, opening the door for the Mets in the frame, and Syracuse pushed that door down. A walk to Rhylan Thomas loaded up the bases, and then Allen slugged a grand slam over the right-field fence, turning it into a 9-2 game and essentially ending the game with one mighty swing.

From there, the Bisons could only muster up two more runs as the Mets cruised to a 9-4 win over the Bisons in front of an announced crowd of 12,321 fans at Sahlen Field. It's now a 3-1 start to the second half of the season for the Mets and a 49-29 overall record, tying Syracuse's high-water mark of the season at 20 games above .500. Syracuse is also a sparking 24-15 away from home this season. The Mets have captured seven out of their last eight games away from NBT Bank Stadium.

The Syracuse Mets are on the road all week at the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Buffalo Bisons. Game five of the six-game series at the Bisons is set for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Left-hander Joey Lucchesi is slated to start on the mound for the Mets.

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International League Stories from June 28, 2024


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