BUFFALO, NY — A rehabbing Tylor Megill, Jose Siri and Francisco Alvarez were in the lineup on Tuesday night for the Syracuse Mets, who lost to the Buffalo Bisons (Toronto Blue-Jays affiliate) a walk-off home run in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Megill, who’s been on the IL since mid-June with a right elbow sprain, cruised for the first four innings of the game, giving up relatively soft contact and striking out five. In the fifth inning, the Bisons hitters were able to get to Megill, scoring a run on back to back hits.
Megill was relieved by Alex Carillo after walking the next hitter. Carillo surrendered back to back RBI singles which closed the book on Tylor Megill’s night.
Megill’s fastball sat around 94-96 mph and topped at 97.3 mph. He threw the fastball just over 45 percent of the time and relied on his sinker (20 percent) and curveball (15 percent) as his supporting pitches. His final line: 4 IP, 6H, 2 BB, 5 K, 3ER.
Though it may not reflect in the box score, this game showcased positive signs for both Francisco Alvarez (right thumb UCL sprain, left pinky fracture) and Jose Siri (left tibia fracture).
Siri, who has been sidelined since mid-April after fouling a ball off of his shin, led off the game with a line drive base hit up the middle. Right away it seemed he was eager to try and cause havoc on the basepaths, getting very generous leads off of first base during a Jett Williams at bat and trying to swipe third base on a pitch that Francisco Alvarez ended up fouling off. After an Alvarez flyout advanced Siri to third, he came around to score on a Ryan Clifford base hit to right-center.
Siri did strike out in his final four at bats, but most importantly he looked comfortable on the bases and his willingness to get back to using his speed is a positive sign. He was in the lineup for the full game as the Syracuse DH, so I’d expect him to get some reps in the outfield in his next start.
Francisco Alvarez took a big step in his rehab by catching a full nine-innings and getting four plate appearances. Alvarez was 1-4 with 2 Ks and one run scored on a Carson Benge base hit to center field.
There was a moment in the game, however, where Mets fans may have been holding their breath as a ball in the dirt bounced past the glove of Alvarez and hit his right hand in the bottom of the fifth inning. He took a few seconds – looked into the dugout smiling through a wince – and then proceeded to shake it off and stay in the game.
Results aside, Alvarez looks like he hasn’t missed a beat. His swings are strong and he’s aggressive with his arm behind the plate, as the game saw plenty of his trademark backpick throws to first base.
Alvarez is back behind the plate for Syracuse’s 6:05 p.m. game tonight in Buffalo. Jose Siri is getting action in centerfield tonight and is back in the leadoff spot. Tylor Megill should need just one more start before being activated, barring any setbacks.
