Mets Minors Recap: Blade Tidwell Twirls Gem for Syracuse

Every Mets full-season affiliate won on Thursday, with Blade Tidwell striking out 11 and allowing no hits for Triple-A Syracuse as the top performer throughout a busy slate of games.

Triple-A

Syracuse Mets (25-29) 12, Iowa Cubs (27-24) 3 

BOX SCORE

• CF Drew Gilbert – 0-for-4, 1 R, 1 BB, 2 K (.624 OPS)
• 3B  Ronny Mauricio – 2-for-4, 2 R, HR (3), 1 RBI (7), 1 BB, 1 K (1.546 OPS)
• LF Donovan Walton – 1-for-4, 2 R, 1 RBI (25), 1 BB, 1 K (.700 OPS)
• 1B Luke Ritter – 1-for-2, 3B, 2 R, 3 RBI (14), 2 BB, 1 K (.650 OPS)
• SS Yonny Hernández – 2-for-5, 2B, 4 RBI (6) (.564 OPS)

Syracuse put 11 runs on the board in the first two innings, and that set the tone for the entire game. Mauricio hit his third home run in seven games with Syracuse, keeping his OPS at a robust 1.546. Ritter may have woke up at the plate, hitting a three-RBI triple and walking twice to up his OPS to .650. The month of May can’t end soon enough for Gilbert, who keeps walking but isn’t doing much else.

• RHP Blade Tidwell (3.97 ERA) 5 2/3 IP, 0 H, 2 ER, 4 BB, 11 K (60 of 97 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Dedniel Núñez (3.21 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 1 K (16 of 23 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Colin Poche (4.15 ERA) 1 IP, 1 BB, 2 K

Tidwell left the game after throwing 5 2/3 innings and allowing no hits while striking out 11 and walking four. He had all the movement on his pitches working well and stifled a good Iowa Cubs team that features three top-100 prospects. Since his spot start in the majors, Tidwell hasn’t allowed more than three runs in a game during the entire month of May. Núñez is still working through some things in Triple-A, but did throw almost 75 percent of his pitches for strikes on the day. Poche, signed for left-handed pitching depth out of the bullpen, had a clean ninth inning.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (29-17) 2 , Chesapeake Baysox (23-23) 1

GAME 1 / 7 INNINGS

BOX SCORE

• SS Jett Williams – 1-for-3, 1 R, 2 SB (13), BB (.858 OPS)
• CF Nick Morabito – 2-for-4, 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI (16), SB (18) (.759 OPS)
• 1B Ryan Clifford – 1-for-2, 2B, RBI (27), 2 BB, 1 K (.745 OPS)

Despite having only four hits in the game, the Rumble Ponies managed to scratch out a win in the first game of a doubleheader. The four-through-nine hitters went 0-for-16 with three walks and four strikeouts. The one-two punch of Williams and Morabito, however, combined for three stolen bases. Clifford has had a great May, hitting five home runs, scoring 11 runs and posting 19 RBI while slashing .250/.344/.476 for an .820 OPS.

• RHP Jonah Tong (2.25 ERA) 6 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 HR allowed (46 of 82 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Dylan Ross (0.00 ERA) 1 IP, 1 H, 1 K

Tong started off the game a little wild, but locked in for the fifth and sixth innings and didn’t allow a baserunner. He has been striking out batters at a high rate, but has also walked 13 in 26 2/3 innings. Tong seems to have the ability to be a little wild and limit the hits, but that gets him into high pitch counts that don’t allow him to go deep into games. While still early in his career, it is akin to a right-handed Blake Snell profile from that perspective. Ross has been great since his call-up, striking out six batters over five innings without allowing a walk.

Binghamton Rumble Ponies (30-17) 4, Chesapeake Baysox (23-24) 1

GAME 2/7 INNINGS

BOX SCORE

• SS Jett Williams – 0-for-3, SB (14), 1 BB, 1 K (.845 OPS)
• CF Nick Morabito – 0-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K (.749 OPS)
• DH Ryan Clifford – 1-for-3, 1 R, HR (8), 1 RBI (28), 1 BB, 1 K (.766 OPS)
• 1B Nick Lorusso – 2-for-4, 2B, 1 R, 1 RBI (18), (.749 OPS)
• C Kevin Parada – 1-for-2, RBI (11) (.532 OPS)

The Rumble Ponies scored twice in the second inning of the back half of their doubleheader, and that would prove to be enough offense behind a strong pitching effort in a bullpen game. Alex Ramírez went 0-for-3, and his month of May has seen him slash .230/.277/.361 with nine stolen bases for a .638 OPS. With many of High-A Brooklyn’s outfielders raking, Ramírez could be part of the roster crunch once another player at the position is promoted.

• RHP Joander Suarez  (2.45 ERA) 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 1 ER, 1 K (23 of 34 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Ryan Lambert (2.45 ERA) 1 IP, 2 K
• RHP Douglas Orellana (1.40 ERA) 1 IP, 1 K

High-A

Brooklyn Cyclones (33-15) 6 vs. Aberdeen IronBirds (19-29) 2

BOX SCORE

• CF A.J. Ewing – 2-for-5, 3B, 1 R, 1 RBI (12), 2 K (.906 OPS)
• RF Carson Benge – 1-for-4, 1 R, SB (9), 1 K (.940 OPS)
• 3B Jacob Reimer – 2-for-4, 3 R, SB (8) (.993 OPS)
• C Chris Suero – 0-for-2, SF, 2 RBI (29), 1 BB, 2 K (.830 OPS)
• DH Jesus Baez – 1-for-3, 1 BB, 2 K (.803 OPS)
• SS Marco Vargas – 2-for-3, 2 RBI (16), SB (11) (.621 OPS)

The Cyclones hit the ground running, scoring five runs in the first five innings. Reimer had another outstanding day and is making it hard for the Mets front office to not promote him to Binghamton with his OPS nearing 1.000. Vargas has slowed down in the month of May, but is still walking at a respectable rate and has stolen ten bases in 11 chances. Ewing continues to be on fire at the top of the lineup, setting the table and letting the hitters behind him do the rest.

• RHP Frankie Montas (8.31 ERA)  3 IP, 2 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K (28 of 49 pitches for strikes)
• LHP Jonathan Santucci (4.95 ERA)  5 1/3 IP, 2 H, 2 BB, 6 K (47 of 69 pitches for strikes)

Montas made another rehab start, and despite it being abbreviated, it went much better than the box score will read. He allowed two runs, one on an RBI groundout and one on a sacrifice fly. Montas threw 49 pitches, 28 for strikes, and struck out three. Santucci, a 2024 second-round pick, came in after Montas and turned in his third-straight appearance where he threw at least five innings while allowing one run or less. He also struck out six batters. While Santucci allowed five home runs in April across four starts, he has only given up two in five May outings.

Low-A

St. Lucie Mets (27-21) 3, Palm Beach Cardinals (22-26) 0

BOX SCORE

• 3B Jeremy Rodriguez – 2-for-4, 3B, 1 R, 2 RBI (14) (.634 OPS)
• SS Colin Houck – 1-for-2, 3B, SF, 1 RBI (27), 1 BB, 1 K (.757 OPS)
• LF Simon Juan – 0-for-2, 1 BB, CS (2) (.630 OPS)
• 2B Nick Roselli – 1-for-3, 1 R, 1 K (.696 OPS)

In a low scoring affair, Rodriguez and Houck provided all the offense St. Lucie would need, as both players hit triples. Rodriguez, who won’t turn 19 until the 4th of July, has struggled in the month of May, but is still showing his advanced plate discipline with a 16/18 walk-to-strikeout rate. 2024 sixth-round pick Corey Collins has struggled with contact issues as well in his initial exposure to full-season pro ball, but he’s walked nearly twice as much as he has struck out (18/10).

• RHP Channing Austin (4.50 ERA) 5 IP, 4 H, 1 BB, 4 K (43 of 66 pitches for strikes)
• RHP Ernesto Mercedes (6.52 ERA) 4 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 3 K

Austin and Mercedes combined for a five-hit shutout on the day. Austin, after only pitching 1 1/3 innings in the Florida State League during 2024, has acclimated himself to the level well in his last two starts, allowing one run over nine innings while striking out eight and walking two.

Florida Complex League

FCL Mets (6-11) 3, FCL Astros (11-5) 6

BOX SCORE

• 3B Bohan Adderley – 3-for-4, 2B, 1 RBI (4), 1 K, 2 CS (3) (.446 OPS)
• CF Edward Lantigua – 1-for-3, 1 R, SB (4), 1 BB, 2 K (.853 OPS)
• DH Jeffry Rosa – 1-for-3, 2B, 1 BB, 2 K (.848 OPS)
• 2B Branny De Oleo – 1-for-3, 1 R, SB (4) (.679 OPS)

Adderley hasn’t had much success at the plate in 2025, striking out in nearly half of his at-bats with just eight total hits on the season. He was 27-for-28 in stolen bases last year in the Dominican Summer League, but has already been caught three times in eight attempts this season. Lantigua, on the other hand, is hitting for average, but only two of his 17 hits have gone for extra bases.

• RHP Jace Hampson (3.00 ERA) 2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 K
• RHP Layonel Ovalles (9.00 ERA) 1 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 K

Hampson is still chugging along, as he struck out three batters despite allowing two runs for the first time as a professional. He has only walked one hitter on the season in nine innings.

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