Syracuse Mets stay alive in playoff push

On a picturesque, late summer Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium, the Syracuse Mets found themselves at the most pivotal point of their season. After dropping game one of the Friday doubleheader to their I-90 rival, the Rochester Red Wings, another loss would be detrimental.  

With a loss, the Mets would be four and a half games back of the first-place Red Wings in the International League, creating a nearly impossible uphill climb to the postseason.  

 Down 4-2 in the eighth, Vidal Brujan ripped a ball to right field, driving in two runners to tie the game at 4 heading into the ninth. Mets reliever Brian Metoyer then followed with a three-up, three-down inning, and the stage was set for the bottom of the ninth.  

In a 4-4 game, manager Dick Scott called on catcher Hayden Senger to pinch hit. With runners on first and second and two outs in the inning, Senger hit the first pitch he saw into deep right-center field. Fireworks erupted as Senger’s teammates met him at home plate, creating a lasting moment to end the perfect summer night.  

While Friday’s heroics seem like moments that only come once or twice a season, for the Syracuse Mets, comebacks like these are what they’ve become accustomed to.  

No team in the International League has had a wilder couple of weeks than Dick Scott and his club. Since Aug. 27, the Mets have had three major roster moves with right-handed pitchers Xzavion Curry and Chayce McDermott, along with first baseman Eric Wagaman, all returning to Syracuse after spending time in the big leagues.  

But configuring a changed lineup card is far from the greatest obstacle the Mets have faced this season. In early July, Scott was diagnosed with kidney cancer. On Aug. 25, he returned to the dugout after a successful surgery and recovery. The skipper spent nearly eight weeks away and was now returning to finish out his 13th season in the Salt City. 

For a team chasing stability in the standings, there isn’t much of it anywhere else. 

Yet, despite all this, the Mets are on an absolute tear. The squad has won seven of their last 10, including a five-game winning streak to round out August. They have a 3-1 series lead over Rochester heading into the weekend and most recently took a road series win against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Two weeks ago, they were five games back in the International League; they’re now just two and a half games back. 

What’s been even more improbable about the Mets’ recent success is that some key contributors are players who, like Scott, have experienced road bumps of their own this summer. Reliever Xzavion Curry, who joined the Mets in 2026 following a poor 2025 with the Miami Marlins, has moved between triple-A and the big leagues six times this season. Curry was most recently optioned to Syracuse on Aug. 28. Just one day prior, fellow RHP Chayce McDermott, who struggled with the Los Angeles Dodgers before being traded to the Mets on August 3, was sent down as well. 

Even through the movement and career chaos, both Curry and McDermott have immediately made impacts since returning to Syracuse. Curry tossed four and two-thirds innings with zero earned runs in his return, and McDermott added two more scoreless frames of his own to take down the Wings earlier this week. 

The man who made the sky light up with color, Hayden Senger, is no stranger to resilience as well. In seven major league appearances this season, Senger finished with a .133 batting average and was optioned back to Syracuse in June. But through the road bumps and struggles, Senger too has found a way through. His average rose to .325 in August and he has six hits in four games in the month of September.  

As the Syracuse Mets continue to chase firework-worthy moments and an International League title that would put them back into the League Championship Series for the first time in over a decade, they do so with a clubhouse that has an unmatched perspective on adversity. 

From Scott’s battle with cancer to Curry and McDermott’s many moves between triple-A and the majors, and even Hayden Senger’s journey back to Syracuse, the Mets have done what they’ve done all season: adjust.  

Friday night was another example of that resilience. As fireworks lit up the sky above NBT Bank Stadium and Hayden Senger’s teammates waited for him at home plate, a team that has spent much of its season responding to adversity had found a way through it once again.