McAdoo homer sparks late Bisons rally to end four-game skid

Charles McAdoo gave the Bisons the swing they had been waiting for. His solo home run in the top of the eighth inning broke a 2-2 tie and lifted Buffalo to a 4-2 win over the Syracuse Mets on Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium, ending a four-game losing streak and turning a tight Triple-A game at exactly the point where late mistakes usually decide it.

Buffalo had struck first and made the Mets chase from the opening inning. Willie MacIver ripped a two-run double in the top of the first, putting the Bisons ahead 2-0, but Syracuse answered with sacrifice flies from Yonny Hernández and Ryan Clifford to pull even at 2-2. That left the game hanging in the balance until McAdoo, who had already homered earlier in the series, caught one and changed the tone in one cut.

The timing mattered as much as the power. Syracuse had chances to flip the game before McAdoo stepped in, but Buffalo’s pitching kept the Mets from cashing in. Devereaux Harrison worked two and two-thirds scoreless, hitless innings in relief, striking out three and walking one, and the Mets finished 0-for-9 with runners in scoring position while leaving eight runners on base. They stranded runners in scoring position in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings, a wasteful stretch that made the eighth-inning blast feel even bigger.

Buffalo added insurance in the ninth when Josh Kasevich reached on a fielder’s choice that brought home Josh Rivera, giving the Bisons a two-run cushion and shutting the door on Syracuse’s last push. The Mets had started Daniel Duarte, who gave up the two first-inning runs and was out of the game in the second before Buffalo kept adding pressure against the bullpen.

McAdoo’s homer was his second of the series and another sign that his bat is carrying real weight in Buffalo’s lineup. The 24-year-old second baseman entered the night hitting .271 with six home runs and 21 RBI in 2026, after the Pirates drafted him in the 13th round in 2023 out of San Jose State. Buffalo improved to 24-25, while Syracuse fell to 26-22 and still led the six-game set 3-1 heading into game five on Saturday at 6:35 p.m., with Austin Voth slated to start for the Bisons.