Travis Blankenhorn broke out of an early-season slump on Friday night with a 3-hit performance for the Syracuse Mets, including his second home run of the 2022 season.
Blankenhorn’s 3-run homer came in the top of the 8th inning of a 9-9 game between the Mets and Columbus Clippers.
The Pottsville native sent a 2-1 pitch to deep center field, into the shrubs beyond the 400 sign on the wall. That smash gave the Mets a 12-9 lead but it’d only be temporary. Syracuse (1-8) blew the lead late and dropped the game, 15-12.
On the night, Blankenhorn went 3-for-5, adding a pair of singles, 3 runs scored and 3 RBI. The impressive night at the plate boosted his average on the season to .286.
He came into Friday night’s game against Columbus hitless in his previous 12 at-bats, dating back to April 9. That’s when he hit his first home run of the season in his first game back with the Mets since clearing waivers earlier that week. Blankenhorn had been hitless in the Columbus series before Friday.
His brief struggle at the plate was not exclusive to his bat. Syracuse came into Friday as the worst hitting team in the International League. The team is mired in a 4-game losing streak and has lost 8 of its first 9 games.
Here’s a look at Blankenhorn’s homer from Friday:
THIS. GAME. 🤯 🤯 🤯
A three-run bomb from Travis Blankenhorn!! It's 12-9 and we've got the lead again!! pic.twitter.com/Ys4uXzHB7r
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) April 16, 2022
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