Mets fall to Bisons, 4-3, on Tuesday night

Buffalo, NY – The Syracuse Mets fell to the Buffalo Bisons, 4-3, on a walk-off home run by Josh Rivera on Tuesday night at Sahlen Field. With the loss, the Mets dropped to four games back of first place in the International League second half standings.

To start its second straight road series, Syracuse (68-65, 37-21) wasted no time scoring in the top of the first inning. Right off the bat, Jose Siri singled and Jett Williams walked to put two runners on base. With Siri in scoring position, Ryan Clifford hit an RBI single, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Williams moved to third on the hit, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Carson Benge, extending the advantage to 2-0.

Syracuse stretched the lead in the top of the fifth when Francisco Alvarez singled, Clifford walked, and Benge drove in a run with an RBI single, making it a 3-0 game.

The Mets held the lead until the Buffalo (54-75, 24-32) offense woke up in the bottom of the fifth. It started with a Josh Rivera single and a Joey Loperfido RBI double, cutting the deficit to 3-1. The inning continued with a Michael Stefanic walk before the frame took a turn for the worse when RBI singles from RJ Schreck and Riley Tirotta tied the game at 3-3.

In the ninth, Syracuse had a shot to break the tie. Jose Azocar and Yonny Hernandez both singled, putting runners at first and third, but Jose Siri struck out and Jett Williams grounded out to end the inning.

With the chance to end the game, the Bisons only needed one batter to do it. Rivera’s home run on a 2-2 pitch against Douglas Orellana delivered the Mets a 4-3 loss.

On the mound, Major League rehabber Tylor Megill pitched four innings, allowed six hits, three runs, two walks, and struck out five. Alex Carrillo, Ty Adcock, and Dylan Ross combined to pitch four innings, tossing four frames with zero earned runs.

Syracuse continues its six-game series with Buffalo on Wednesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.