José Butto shines in Syracuse Mets win over Buffalo, 9-4

The score of the box

Buffalo, New York – The Syracuse Mets were a well-rounded machine Friday night at Sahlen Field, with a steady offense and more brilliant pitching from José Butto leading the way in a 9-4 victory over the Buffalo Bisons on a mid-70s night in Western New York. The Mets have now won three of the first four games of the six-game weeklong series, outscoring the Bisons 27-15.

One night after scoring just one run on three hits, Syracuse (49-29, 3-1) reversed the trend in the top of the first inning Friday night. It took exactly three batters to take a 3-0 lead. Luisangel Acuña walked to start the game, Brett Baty singled to put two batters on base, then Rylan Bannon hit a three-run home run to make it 3-0. It was the second time this week Bannon hit a home run in the top of the first inning. Bannon also hit a solo shot in the first inning of Tuesday night’s game.

The Mets kept the pressure on Buffalo (38-40, 1-3), scoring again in the second and third innings. In the second, Acuña’s one-out double was immediately followed by a Baty RBI single to extend the lead to 4-0.

In the third, three singles from Mike Brosseau, Carlos Cortes and Austin Allen drove the fifth run of the night to the plate for the Syracuse Mets. By the end of the third inning, the Mets had nine hits and all but one of their batters had reached base at least once.

From there, it was Butto’s time to shine. By the time Butto left the mound, the 26-year-old had thrown 101 pitches and kept the Bisons stumped all night. Butto went seven innings, his longest outing of the season at Triple-A or the Major Leagues. The right-hander allowed just two runs in those seven scintillating innings on five hits with two walks and five strikeouts. In his last four starts dating back to June 7, Butto has allowed just six earned runs in 24 2/3 innings, good for a 2.19 ERA.

In the top of the seventh, still leading 5-2, the Mets put the game away with a single powerful swing. It looked like Syracuse wouldn’t even get a shot to score earlier in the inning, when with Luke Ritter on first base and two outs, Cortes hit a routine ground ball to second base that seemed destined to end the inning. However, it rolled through Miguel Hiraldo’s legs and into center field, opening the door for the Mets in the frame, and Syracuse pushed that door down. A walk to Rhylan Thomas loaded the bases, then Allen hit a grand slam over the right-field fence, making it a 9-2 game and essentially ending the game with a powerful swing.

The Bisons could only score two more runs and the Mets cruised to a 9-4 victory over the Bisons in front of an announced crowd of 12,321 fans at Sahlen Field. The Mets are now 3-1 in the second half of the season and 49-29 overall, matching Syracuse’s season record with 20 games over .500. Syracuse is also 24-15 on the road this season. The Mets have won seven of their last eight games away from NBT Bank Stadium.

The Syracuse Mets are on the road all week against the Buffalo Bisons, Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Game 5 of the six-game series against the Bisons is scheduled for first pitch at 6:35 p.m. Saturday. Left-hander Joey Lucchesi is expected to start on the mound for the Mets.