Mets Minors Recap: Alex Ramirez Hits Three-Run Homer For St. Lucie

AAA: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders (47-26) vs. Syracuse Mets (26-50)

The Mets’ game against the Railriders on Sunday was postponed due to inclement weather. It will be made up at a later date.

AA: Binghamton Rumble Ponies (31-44) 6, Hartford Yard Goats (24-53) 5  Box Score

• Carlos Cortes LF: 2-for-5, R, HR, 3 RBI, K, .263/.324/.510
• Mark Vientos 1B: 2-for-5 ,2B, RBI, K, .280/.351/.603
• Brett Baty 3B: 2-for-4, RBI, BB, K, .217/.304/.383

After quickly falling behind 5-0 in the first inning, Cortes quickly answered back with a leadoff home run in the bottom of the first. The rest of the lineup would follow up with five more runs, eventually taking the lead by the fifth inning. Cortes’ home run is his 13th of the season, surpassing his previous career high of 11 in 2019. Only 15 minor leaguers have a slugging percentage over .600 this season and Vientos is the second youngest of that prestigious group.

• RHP Oscar De La Cruz (1-4, 8.08 ERA) 1/3 IP, 5 H, 5 ER, BB
• RHP Mitch Ragan (W, 1-0, 0.00 ERA) 3 2/3 IP, 3 H, BB, 3 K
• RHP Colin Holderman (0-2, 5.40 ERA) 2 IP, BB, 2 K

De La Cruz failed to make it out of the first inning as he gave up five quick runs before getting two outs. Ragan bailed him out by finishing the inning and completing the next three without giving up another run. Ragan has been fantastic this year and has not missed a beat since getting called up from Brooklyn.

A+: Jersey Shore BlueClaws (36-42) 4, Brooklyn Cyclones (30-46) 3  Box Score

• Antoine Duplantis CF: 2-for-5, R,  K, .275/.341/.402
• Ronny Mauricio SS: 1-for-5, .246/.285/.453
• Francisco Alvarez DH: 0-for-3, 2 RBI, BB, .235/.342/.494

Brooklyn’s offense had plenty of opportunities to build a lead in Sunday’s game, yet the lineup went just 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position. Impressively, the entire team struck out just once over the course of the game. Alvarez endured his first real slump for much of July but finished the month strong with a five-game hitting streak and a multi-homer game on Saturday. He was hitless on Sunday but still took productive at bats, driving in two runs and walking as the tying run in the ninth inning.

• RHP Luc Rennie (0-0, 4.15 ERA) 4 2/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 6 K
• RHP Willy Taveras (2-0, 4.26 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K
• RHP Conner O’Neil (L, 0-1, 7.20 ERA) 1 IP, H, ER, BB, K

Rennie was making his second start with Brooklyn following his demotion from Binghamton and pitched fairly well again. Taveras has a 42:4 K-to-BB ratio while pitching out of the bullpen full-time for the first time this season. O’Neil has struggled with the home run ball in his return from Tommy John surgery — he has given up four homers in 15 innings pitched, including the game-winning home run in Sunday’s game.

A: St. Lucie Mets (41-37) 9, Daytona Tortugas (38-40) 4  Box Score

• Alex Ramirez CF: 1-for-5, R, HR, 3 RBI, K, .243/.318/.365
• Brandon McIlwain LF: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR, 3 RBI, K, .219/.335/.384
• Warren Saunders 1B: 2-for-5, R, RBI, K, .272/.332/.350

The Mets’ offense only had eight hits in Sunday’s game, but still managed to push across nine runs. As a fun box score note, each hitter in the lineup scored exactly one run. Ramirez had the biggest hit in the game: a three-run homer in the fourth inning, which gave the Mets a commanding 6-0 lead. Just 18 years old, Ramirez has held his own in a league where the average player is 3.4 years older than him. The only real concern has been his high strikeout rate, as he has struck out in over one-third of his plate appearances (72 K in 201 PA). Jaylen Palmer had the day off on Sunday.

• RHP Jose Chacin (W, 2-0, 1.50 ERA) 6 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, BB, 8 K
• RHP Austin Faith (3-4, 6.89 ERA) 2 IP, BB, 4 K
• LHP Brailin Gonzalez (1-2, 6.6 3 ERA) 1 IP, 3 H, 2 ER, 3 K

Chacin didn’t pitch a shutout this time, but he still had a very strong start. Through 22 innings this season, he has a 1.23 ERA. At 24 years old, the hurler may need a more challenging assignment soon. Faith continues to look strong in relief. His ERA is inflated by having a 12.00 ERA in five starts, but it is just 3.92 out of the bullpen. He also has 29 strikeouts in 20 2/3 innings, indicating an ability to miss bats.

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