Ryan Clifford Hits First Double-A Homer

Some of the top pitchers in the New York Mets system made debuts at new affiliates Wednesday, with Kade Morris starting for Brooklyn and Nolan McLean starting for Binghamton. The Mets minor league hitters had many home runs on the day, including Ryan Clifford’s first in Double-A. It was a day in the Mets system that saw a combined 36 runs in five games, but the teams had a 2-3 record. So, which teams came out on top? Find out in our daily roundup below.

Triple-A

Scranton Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (30-16) 12, Syracuse Mets (28-17) 10

BOX SCORE

• 3B Jose Iglesias: 3-for-5, 2 R, 2B, HR (7), 4 RBIs (25), SB, K (.797 OPS)
• SS Luisangel Acuña: 2-for-5, 2 R, 2B, RBI (15) (.628 OPS)
• C Joe Hudson: 1-for-3, 2 R, HR (3), 3 RBIs (7), BB, K (.775 OPS)
• LF Mike Brosseau: 1-for-3, R, RBI (12), BB, K (.749 OPS)
• RF Rhylan Thomas: 1-for-5, R, 2B, 3 Ks (.500 OPS)

On a day where Syracuse lost in walk-off fashion, the offense still scored 10 runs in the first five innings. Iglesias had a three-hit day, which included a solo home run in the top of the fourth and a two-run double that capped the scoring in the fifth. If you count his major league numbers, Iglesias’s career-high for home runs in any season is 11. He has a slash line of .300/.319/.429 with 12 RBIs over the last 16 games.

As for Acuña, he had a pair of hits, including an RBI single in the fifth. He has had a hit in six straight games, with multiple hits coming in three of those contests.

• LHP Joey Lucchesi (3.77 ERA): 4.2 IP, 7 ER, 10 H, 3 BB, 3 K (51 of 84 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Dedniel Nuñez (1.50): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 BB, 2 K (16 of 28 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Grant Hartwig (2.93): 1 IP, 1 ER, 1 H, 1 BB, 1 K (17 of 23 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Cole Sulser (2-2, 3.07): 0.2 IP, 4 R (1 ER), 3 H, 1 K (12 of 19 pitches for strikes)

Even though Syracuse provided plenty of offense for Lucchesi, the left-hander was unable to hold the lead as Scranton Wilkes-Barre scored five of their seven runs against him in the bottom of the fourth with none of those runs scoring on a home run. The ten hits allowed by Lucchesi are a season-high.

The RailRiders completed the comeback in the bottom of the ninth with a two-out rally thanks to a throwing error by Iglesias and a walk-off, two-run home run by Caleb Durbin against Sulser.

Double-A

Reading Fightin’ Phils (18-23) 12, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (21-18) 7

BOX SCORE

• DH Kevin Parada: 2-for-5, 2 R, HR (6), 2 RBIs (23), 2 K (.655 OPS)
• 1B Ryan Clifford: 2-for-4, R, 2B, HR (1), 3 RBIs (3), 2 K (.542 OPS)
• RF Brandon McIlwain: 2-for-5, 2 R, HR (3), RBI (8) (.692 OPS)
• 3B Rowdey Jordan: 1-for-3, R, 2B, BB, 2 K (.730 OPS)

The Rumble Ponies got on the board first in the top of the first thanks to back-to-back home runs from Parada and McIlwain. Parada has homered in two of the last three games and has five RBIs in that stretch. Clifford had a double in that first inning after the home runs and hit a three-run home run of his own in the eighth for his first Double-A home run.

• RHP Nolan McLean (6.75): 4 IP, 3 ER, 7 H, 5 K (51 of 78 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Daniel Juarez (1-2. 4.85): 2 IP, 1 ER, 3 H, BB, K (24 of 36 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Nolan Clenney (8.78): 0.1 IP, 7 ER, 6 H, BB, K (19 of 31 pitches for strikes)

Wednesday marked the Double-A pitching debut (went 2-for-4 with the bat on Tuesday) for McLean, and the 3rd-round pick in 2023 dealt with something he did not deal with in Brooklyn, and that was giving up the long ball. Reading hit back-to-back home runs against McLean in the third to cut a 3-0 lead to 3-2. The other extra-base hit he allowed was an RBI double in the fourth by Ethan Wilson that tied the game.

Although Juarez took the loss, it was Clenney who gave up seven of the eight runs Reading put up in the seventh to break the game open.

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (22-19) 3, Hudson Valley Renegades (19-19) 1

BOX SCORE

• CF Nick Morabito: 1-for-4, R, RBI (1) (.777 OPS)
• 3B William Lugo: 0-for-1, RBI (14), 3 BB, K (.562 OPS)
• LF Christopher Suero: 1-for-3, SB, 2 K (.597 OPS)
• 2B Jefrey De Los Santos: 1-for-3, 2B, RBI (14), SB, BB, 2 K (.568 OPS)

The Cyclones only had five hits on Wednesday morning, but it was all they needed to win. Morabito had the RBI single in the bottom of the third that tied the game at one for his first RBI at the High-A level. Later in the inning, the Cyclones drew three straight walks that gave them the lead. In the game, the offense was able to draw five walks and steal three bases.

• RHP Kade Morris (1-0, 1.50): 6 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, BB, 7 K (56 of 85 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Brett Banks (4.32): 1 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, 2 K (9 of 16 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Josh Hejka (2nd save, 1.80): 1.2 IP, 0 ER, 0 H (10 of 15 pitches for strikes)

Morris made his High-A debut on Wednesday, and the 3rd-round pick in 2023 had a quality outing. He ran into some trouble in the first when Hudson Valley had a pair of singles sandwiched by a walk with two outs to take a 1-0 lead. However, he was able to settle into a groove as he struck out five of the final eight batters he faced. If you count his St. Lucie outings, Morris has 22 strikeouts in 18 innings pitched over his last three starts.

Low-A

Clearwater Threshers (28-13) 8, St. Lucie Mets (14-27) 7 in 11 innings

BOX SCORE

• 3B Boston Baro: 3-for-5, R, 2B, 3B, RBI, BB (.814 OPS)
• SS/2B Colin Houck: 2-for-4, R, BB, K (.552 OPS)
• CF Willy Fañas: 2-for-5, R, 3B, HR (1), RBI (2), 2 K (1.800 OPS)
• 1B Ronald Hernandez: 2-for-4, R, 3B, 2 RBIs (14), BB, K (.740 OPS)
• 2B/SS Marco Vargas: 0-for-5, 2 R, BB, K (.668 OPS)

While the pitching debuts took center stage on Wednesday, Fañas made his Low-A debut and came up with the clutch hit late in the game. In the bottom of the eighth, the Mets erased a three-run deficit, and Fañas tied the game at seven with a two-run home to right. It was the fifth home run of the 20-year-old’s career.

Baro ended up having three hits in a game for the second time this month and Hernandez had his first triple of the season to continue his hot hitting in May (.350/.426/.467 in 60 at-bats). While St. Lucie had 11 hits, they struck out 16 times as a team and went 4-for-19 with runners in scoring position.

• RHP Ernesto Mercedes (4.55): 3.2 IP, 4 ER, 3 H, 6 BB, 5 K (54 of 98 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Miguel Alfonseca (9.00): 1.1 IP, 0 ER, 3 H, K (14 of 23 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Ryan Ammons (2.57): 3 IP, 0 ER, 0 H, BB, 5 K (25 of 38 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Juan Arnaud (1-1, 2.53): 1 IP, 1 R, 0 H, 2 BB, K (10 of 23 pitches for strikes)

The command problems for Mercedes continued on Wednesday as he had a season-high six walks. In four outings in May, he has 17 walks over 15.1 innings of work. Meanwhile, Ammons shined out of the bullpen as he kept St. Lucie in the game, which allowed them to go to extra innings. The left-hander, with three consecutive scoreless outings, had a season-high five strikeouts.

Florida Complex League

FCL Mets (8-5) 9, FCL Cardinals (7-7) 6

BOX SCORE

• 2B A.J. Ewing: 1-for-4, R, 2 RBIs (9), SB, BB, K (.867 OPS)
• CF Simón Juan: 1-for-3, R, RBI (10), 2 BB (.830 OPS)
• 1B Julio Zayas: 1-for-4, R, 2B, RBI (4), BB (.520 OPS)
• LF Yonatan Henríquez: 2-for-4, R, 2B, RBI (2), BB, 2 K (.726 OPS)
• 3B Jake Zitella: 1-for-3, R, 2 BB, K (.869 OPS)

The FCL Mets had nine hits in the win, with eight of the nine hitters in the starting lineup recording at least one hit. The bulk of the damage came in the bottom of the fourth inning when the team put up eight runs and sent 13 hitters to the plate.

• RHP Wellington Aracena (3.38): 3 IP, 1 ER, 4 H, 2 BB, 4 K
• RHP Edgar Moreta (2-1, 5.19): 3.1 IP, 3 R (1 ER), 5 H, 2 K
• LHP Brayhans Barreto (7.88): 2.2 IP, 2 ER, 4 H, 4 K

The only run that Aracena allowed in this game was a solo home run in the top of the second. Over his last two starts, the 19-year-old right-hander has nine strikeouts to four walks in six innings.

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