Sports stats

IL Syracuse Mets

Mike Vasil Stars Again as Syracuse Wins Series with 9-2 Victory over Columbus on Sunday

August 20, 2023 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Syracuse Mets pitcher Mike Vasil
Syracuse Mets pitcher Mike Vasil
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Herm Card)

Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Mets received sterling starting pitching from Mike Vasil once again, riding his excellent start to a wire-to-wire, 9-2 win over the Columbus Clippers (Triple-A Cleveland Guardians) on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The Mets grabbed the series over Columbus as well, taking three out of the five games.

Last week at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Mike Vasil started brilliantly twice, allowing just three earned runs in 13 and two-thirds innings. On this Sunday afternoon, Vasil did it again, turning in yet another scintillating outing for Syracuse (49-68, 16-27). The 23-year-old from Boston tossed five scoreless innings to begin his outing, finishing his six innings of work with just one run allowed on six hits with one walk and four strikeouts. Vasil retired the first ten batters he faced in Sunday afternoon's outing. Most impressively, Vasil has begun each of his last three outings with five straight scoreless innings.

While Vasil was starring on the mound and shutting Columbus (53-64, 20-23) down, the Syracuse offense was humming early and often throughout Sunday afternoon's game. Syracuse scored twice in the first inning and never looked back, roaring ahead on a two-out, two-run homer from Luke Ritter to make it a 2-0 game in the bottom of the first. Ritter has now homered in three consecutive games and leads all minor leaguers in the New York Mets system with 26 home runs this season.

In the second, Joe Suozzi slugged a solo home run with two outs to make it a 3-0 game. The hit and runs just kept coming from there.

In the fifth, Lorenzo Cedrola smashed a solo homer and Brett Baty drove in Brandon McIlwain with a sacrifice fly to make it a 5-0 game.

In the sixth, the Mets loaded up the bases loaded with one out via three walks and then scored two more runs on another McIlwain double. McIlwain had to enter the game off the bench when Nick Meyer left early with an apparent injury, and McIlwain finished Sunday's game 2-for-4 at the plate with two doubles, a run scored, and two runs driven in.

Syracuse would cap off its scoring with another run in the sixth and a final run in the seventh. The run in the sixth came via a wild pitch that plated Cedrola, and Michael Perez knocked in Carlos Cortes with a sacrifice fly in the seventh. By the end of the game, nine of the ten Syracuse Mets who batted in the game reached base at least once, and seven of those Mets had at least one hit. Seven different batters also scored runs in the game.

The Mets bullpen ensured that there wouldn't be any funny business down the stretch, as Tyler Thomas and Sean Reid-Foley combined to allow just one run in the final three innings on two hits with one walk and two strikeouts. Thomas returns to Syracuse after posting remarkable numbers with Double-A Binghamton so far this season. The 27-year-old left-handed reliever allowed just two earned runs in 21 and two-thirds innings for the Rumble Ponies this season with 29 strikeouts and only five walks.

Syracuse now continues its two-week homestand this coming week against the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, the Buffalo Bisons. The first game of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start time on Tuesday at NBT Bank Stadium.

Check out the Syracuse Mets Statistics




Images from this story

Syracuse Mets pitcher Mike Vasil
Syracuse Mets pitcher Mike Vasil
(Herm Card)		   



International League Stories from August 20, 2023


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central