It was a frustrating night at the office for left-hander Adam Macko, who struggled with free passes and the long ball in his triple-A debut Tuesday. 
Macko, the Toronto Blue Jays&#8217; <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No. 9 top prospect per MLB Pipeline</a>, whom they acquired in the 2022 Teoscar Hernández trade with the Seattle Mariners, couldn&#8217;t control the strike zone a night ago against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders &#8212; the New York Yankees&#8217; triple-A affiliate.
The 23-year-old lefty surrendered three runs (all earned) on four hits &#8212; including a pair of home runs &#8212; and three walks while striking out three across three-plus innings. He also uncorked a pair of wild pitches during his outing.
But Macko did induce a fair amount of swing-and-miss with his low-80s slider, generating five whiffs on 14 swings (36 per cent).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
First Triple-A start for Adam Macko 👏<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bisons?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bisons</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://t.co/rzSWDYU1Lb">pic.twitter.com/rzSWDYU1Lb</a>
— Luces de Buffalo (@BuffaloBisons) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBisons/status/1836174346320007571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
A 30-pitch first inning put Macko behind the eight-ball versus Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, whose lineup reached out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a two-run bomb from left-handed first baseman Ben Rice. Their offence added another run in the third via a solo shot from third baseman Jorbit Vivas.
In the end, a leadoff double in the fourth spelled the end for Macko, who departed after throwing 70 pitches, landing just 38 for strikes. But the Bisons&#8217; bullpen shut the door afterward, buying time for the offence to even the score at 3-3 in the fifth, courtesy of a two-run dinger from Orelvis Martinez.
It was his first blast since returning from an 80-game PED suspension, travelling 412 feet and producing a 105.5-m.p.h. exit velocity off the bat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ORELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
105.5 | 412FT <a href="https://t.co/pUeZX0WqyP">pic.twitter.com/pUeZX0WqyP</a>
— Luces de Buffalo (@BuffaloBisons) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBisons/status/1836191468244840723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
Unfortunately, things unravelled for Buffalo&#8217;s &#8216;pen in extra innings as they allowed one run in the 11th and six in the 12th to fall 10-5 to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
After being added to Toronto&#8217;s 40-man roster last winter, Macko has now appeared at three different minor-league levels this season &#8212; single-A Dunedin, double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo. He missed a large chunk of time earlier in the year due to left forearm soreness before beginning a rehab assignment late last month, allowing just one run and punching out 12 over three starts.
The 2019 seventh-round selection pitched to a 4.87 ERA and 3.72 FIP, registering 90 strikeouts over 81.1 innings in 16 starts with New Hampshire earlier this season. He could be a candidate to make his major league debut if an injury arises for the big-league staff in 2025.

It was a frustrating night at the office for left-hander Adam Macko, who struggled with free passes and the long ball in his triple-A debut Tuesday. 

Macko, the Toronto Blue Jays' <a href="https://www.mlb.com/prospects/bluejays/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">No. 9 top prospect per MLB Pipeline</a>, whom they acquired in the 2022 Teoscar Hernández trade with the Seattle Mariners, couldn't control the strike zone a night ago against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders -- the New York Yankees' triple-A affiliate.

The 23-year-old lefty surrendered three runs (all earned) on four hits -- including a pair of home runs -- and three walks while striking out three across three-plus innings. He also uncorked a pair of wild pitches during his outing.

But Macko did induce a fair amount of swing-and-miss with his low-80s slider, generating five whiffs on 14 swings (36 per cent).
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
First Triple-A start for Adam Macko 👏<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Bisons?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Bisons</a> | <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BlueJays?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BlueJays</a> <a href="https://t.co/rzSWDYU1Lb">pic.twitter.com/rzSWDYU1Lb</a>
— Luces de Buffalo (@BuffaloBisons) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBisons/status/1836174346320007571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
A 30-pitch first inning put Macko behind the eight-ball versus Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, whose lineup reached out to an early 2-0 lead thanks to a two-run bomb from left-handed first baseman Ben Rice. Their offence added another run in the third via a solo shot from third baseman Jorbit Vivas.

In the end, a leadoff double in the fourth spelled the end for Macko, who departed after throwing 70 pitches, landing just 38 for strikes. But the Bisons' bullpen shut the door afterward, buying time for the offence to even the score at 3-3 in the fifth, courtesy of a two-run dinger from Orelvis Martinez.

It was his first blast since returning from an 80-game PED suspension, travelling 412 feet and producing a 105.5-m.p.h. exit velocity off the bat.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
ORELVIS HAS LEFT THE BUILDING
105.5 | 412FT <a href="https://t.co/pUeZX0WqyP">pic.twitter.com/pUeZX0WqyP</a>

— Luces de Buffalo (@BuffaloBisons) <a href="https://twitter.com/BuffaloBisons/status/1836191468244840723?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 17, 2024</a></blockquote>
Unfortunately, things unravelled for Buffalo's 'pen in extra innings as they allowed one run in the 11th and six in the 12th to fall 10-5 to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

After being added to Toronto's 40-man roster last winter, Macko has now appeared at three different minor-league levels this season -- single-A Dunedin, double-A New Hampshire and triple-A Buffalo. He missed a large chunk of time earlier in the year due to left forearm soreness before beginning a rehab assignment late last month, allowing just one run and punching out 12 over three starts.

The 2019 seventh-round selection pitched to a 4.87 ERA and 3.72 FIP, registering 90 strikeouts over 81.1 innings in 16 starts with New Hampshire earlier this season. He could be a candidate to make his major league debut if an injury arises for the big-league staff in 2025.

Prospect Adam Macko struggles with command in triple-A debut

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