Minors Recap: Clifford Walks It Off For Binghamton (2024)

Despite the poor weather up and down the East Coast, every Mets affiliate managed to get in a game on Friday. Brett Baty keeps crushing Triple-A pitching as Syracuse beat Lehigh Valley again. Ryan Clifford hit a walk-off two-run home run in Binghamton’s thrilling win over Somerset. Clifford has increased his Double-A OPS up to .877 despite his .198 batting average.

TRIPLE-A

Lehigh Valley Ironpigs (28-37) 3, Syracuse Mets (41-25) 7

BOX SCORE

3B Brett Baty: 3-for-3, R, 2B, RBI (10) (1.463 OPS)
LF Luke Ritter:2-for-4, 2 R, 2 HR (14), 4 RBI (48), K (.890 OPS)
CF Rhylan Thomas:2-for-5, 2B, HR (1), RBI (42) (.627 OPS)
SS Luisangel Acuña: 1-for-5, R, 2B, K, SB (23) (.671 OPS)

Powered by another quality performance by Jose Buttó and three home runs, the Syracuse Mets coasted to a 7-3 victory over Lehigh Valley. Luke Ritter added to his 2024 home run total (14) with two mammoth shots – Ritter now has 41 home runs over the last 167 games, the most in the Mets system.

Brett Baty continues his torrid stretch since being demoted to Triple-A, collecting six extra-base hits in six games. Luisangel Acuña led off the game with a double for the second consecutive game.

Luke Ritter. Again.
Luke now has two home runs tonight! ? pic.twitter.com/c7NGGZ7QQn
See Also
Here are the attendees for the MLB Draft Combine
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) June 15, 2024

RHP Jose Butto (3.45 ERA) 5 2/3 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K (96 pitches/56 strikes)
RHP Yacksel Rios (3.16 ERA) 1/3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K
LHP Josh Walker (2.00 ERA) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 K
RHP Max Kranick (3.80) 2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 4 K

Buttó found the same success as earlier in the season, allowing only one earned run in five and two-thirds innings. Buttó was somewhat inefficient in his pitch count, throwing 96 pitches this outing, but he did a fantastic job limiting his walks.

DOUBLE-A

Somerset Patriots (30-31) 7, Binghamton Rumble Ponies (30-29) 9

BOX SCORE

1BRyan Clifford: 2-for-2, 4 R, HR (6), 2B, 4 RBI (17), 2 BB (.877 OPS)
DHNolan McLean: 1-for-4, R, HR(2), 1 RBI (6), 3 K (.555 OPS)
SS Jeremiah Jackson: 2-for-4, 1 R, HR (8), 2B, 3 RBI (24) (.588 OPS)

It was a stunning win for the Rumble Ponies as they avoided a late-game meltdown and pulled out the win in walk-off fashion. Ryan Clifford was the star of the show – the 20-year-old was on base four times, including the game-winning two-run homer in the bottom of the ninth inning. In June (11 games), Clifford has eight extra-base hits, five of which are home runs and an OPS of 1.333.

Nolan McLean and Jeremiah Jackson both homered for Binghamton as well. McLean’s hit broke his streak of six straight games without a hit, however, his strikeout numbers are still troublesome.

You’ve now entered the Ryan Clifford Zone!@RumblePoniesBB claims a walk-off victory on Binghamton Creatures Night!@MetsPlayerDev | @Mets pic.twitter.com/P79XvzogYx
— Minor League Baseball (@MiLB) June 15, 2024

RHP Brandon Sproat (1.52 ERA) 3 2/3 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 8 K (47 of 70 pitches for strikes)
RHPCameron Foster (3.69 ERA) 2 IP, 9 H, 4 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
RHP Carlos Guzman (7.13 ERA) 2 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K
RHPTrey McLoughlin (1.42 ERA) 1 1/3 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 K

It was an abbreviated outing for Sproat, but he was as dynamic as ever – collecting eight strikeouts in only three and two-thirds innings. Sproat has 18 strikeouts in his two performances in June, while maintaining his sparkling 1.52 ERA in Double-A.

HIGH-A

Hudson Valley Renegades (32-28) 3, Brooklyn Cyclones (31-30) 4 In 8 Innings

BOX SCORE

3B Mateo Gil: 1-for-3, 2B, 2 RBI (11), 2 K (.727 OPS)
DH Nick Morabito: 1-for-4, K (.792 OPS)
SS Wilfredo Lara: 0-for-1, 3 BB (.653 OPS)

It was a quiet offensive game from both sides, with Brooklyn only collecting five hits but drew five walks. Due to the 90-minute rain delay, the Cyclones’ Friday night game was limited to seven innings. However, extra innings were required to determine a winner. With, Karell Paz stationed on second base as the extra-inning automatic runner, the Renegades’ second baseman was charged with an error on a pick-off attempt thereby allowing Paz to move to third. Nick Lorusso then grounded into a fielder’s choice, allowing Brookyln to take a 4-3 lead.

RHP Jonah Tong (4.26 ERA) 5 IP, 4 H, 3 R(2 ER), 3 BB, 3 K (78 of 44 pitches for strikes)
RHPVictor Castaneda (5.81 ERA) 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 5 K
RHP Jake Stevenson (10.32 ERA) 1 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 K

Jonah Tong took a step in the right direction with his start on Friday. After waiting roughly 90 minutes to pitch after a rain delay, Tong took the mound and struggled to find out immediately, though he would settle in after allowing one Renegade to score. Tong has seen his strikeouts fall and walks rise since his promotion to High-A Brooklyn, but the highly regarded pitching prospect is still only 20 years old. Stevenson entered the game in the bottom of the eighth and walked himself into trouble by loading the bases with two walks, however, he caught the last Renegades’ batter looking at strike three to collect his first save of the season.

LOW-A

Jupiter Hammerheads (32-27) 3, St Lucie Mets (30-30) 4

BOX SCORE

3B Boston Baro: 2-for-3, 2 R, HR (2), RBI (21), BB (.758 OPS)
C Ronald Hernandez: 2-for-3, R, HR (3), 2 RBI (21) (.776 OPS)

In their first game since Tuesday due to inclement weather, The St. Lucie Mets (20-39) took care of business against the Jupiter Hammerheads (32-27). Led by home runs from Boston Baro and Ronald Hernandez, the Mets’ offense put up three of their four runs early and held on with solid pitching from Jack Wenninger.