Game Recap: Syracuse snaps skid with 8-4 wire-to-wire win at Worcester on Thursday Night

 

Daniel Palka had three hits and two RBIs on Thursday night in Syracuse's win (Rick Nelson).

Box Score 

Press Release: Worcester, MA – The Syracuse Mets used a six-run, six-hit inning to propel itself to an 8-4 victory over the Worcester Red Sox at Polar Park on Thursday night. The Mets have won six of the nine games they have played against the WooSox.

The second inning was the pivotal inning in the game for Syracuse (16-33). The Mets scored six runs on six hits, sending 11 men to the plate in the process. Nick Meyer, Cody Bohanek, Jake Mangum, Mark Vientos, and Daniel Palka all provided RBI hits in the inning. Bohanek had the biggest blow of the frame, pounding a two-run double down the left-field line. Meyer, Vientos, and Palka chipped in RBI singles in the second-inning offensive explosion for Syracuse, giving the Mets a 6-0 advantage.   

Félix Peña took it from there, tossing an excellent start on the mound for Syracuse. In the first five innings, the right-hander was nearly unhittable, allowing just three hits and four total baserunners in five shutout innings with six strikeouts. Peña also induced a pair of groundball double plays to limit any potential damage.   

In the sixth, the Worcester (25-26) closed the gap. Peña left his start with two runners on base and two outs as Trey Cobb entered with the score still at 6-0. Rob Refsnyder then chopped a groundball to third base that appeared like it would end the inning, but Vientos threw poorly to first base for an error, loading the bases in the process. Christin Stewart proved the error to be costly, lining a double to left-center field that cleared the bases and made it a 6-3 game. Stewart has six runs driven in during the first three games of the series. Ronaldo Hernandez then came to the plate and hit a slow roller in front of home plate. Nick Meyer threw accurately to first base, but Carlos Rincon dropped the throw while covering the bag, allowing another run to score, trimming the Syracuse lead to two, 6-4. Mercifully, Jaylin Davis flied out to end the inning and keep the Mets in front.   

Syracuse would hold the lead the rest of the way as the bullpen shut the door. Trey Cobb pitched a 1-2-3 seventh, Alex Claudio did the same in the eighth, and Eric Orze equaled the feat in the ninth to clinch a Mets win. Orze finished the game with a flourish, striking out two WooSox batters on the way to victory.   

A pair of insurance runs in the eighth and ninth for Syracuse made the road to a win a little less bumpy down the stretch. JT Riddle tripled leading off the eighth and later scored on a wild pitch to make it a 7-4 game, followed by a two-out RBI single in the ninth from Palka that brought home Khalil Lee for an 8-4 Mets edge. Palka finished the game 3-for-4 with two runs driven in. Lee also scored twice in the game and doubled. The 23-year-old has four runs scored and three extra-base hits in the first three games of the series.    

Syracuse plays game four of the six-game series against the Worcester Red Sox on Friday night with first pitch set for 6:45 p.m. Mike Montgomery is scheduled to start for the Mets, opposed by Josh Winckowski for the WooSox.