Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets led the Worcester Red Sox, 3-1, entering the seventh inning on Friday night, but an 11-run seventh for the Red Sox powered Worcester to a 12-8 victory over Syracuse at NBT Bank Stadium.
Syracuse (51-70) jumped on the board in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Dominic Smith singled, Daniel Palka walked, and Mark Vientos walked to load the bases. Nick Plummer followed with a bases-loaded walk that scored Smith and gave the Mets a 1-0 lead. Khalil Lee then ground a ball slowly along the third-base line for an infield single, scoring Palka for a 2-0 Syracuse edge. JT Riddle followed with a sacrifice fly out to center field that brought home Vientos and pushed the Mets advantage to three, 3-0.
Worcester (62-59) scored its first run in the top of the third. Ryan Fitzgerald led off with a double, and Nick Sogard singled, putting runners on the corners with nobody out. Connor Wong then grounded into a double play, but Fitzgerald scored on the play to trim the Syracuse lead to two, 3-1.
The score remained 3-1 because of excellent pitching on both sides. Mets starter Jose Rodriguez allowed just that one run in five innings with three hits allowed, two walks, and four strikeouts. Rodriguez has allowed just one earned run in his last 13 innings pitched. Worcester starting pitcher Brian Keller gave up three runs in the first inning on 36 pitches but escaped the inning thanks, in part, to a caught stealing that ended the frame. From there, Keller settled down and allowed just one hit and no runs over the next three innings to complete his start.
Despite the good start on the Syracuse side, Worcester broke through in the top of the seventh to come all the way back and take a commanding lead. Triston Casas walked, Pedro Castellanos singled, and Christin Stewart walked to load the bases. Fitzgerald followed with a sacrifice fly that scored Casas to cut the Syracuse lead to one, 3-2. Sogard then walked to reload the bases. Wong followed with a two-run single that gave the Red Sox a 4-3 advantage. After an Abraham Almonte groundout into a fielder's choice, Enmanuel Valdez walked to load the bases again. Ronaldo Hernandez and Casas then both worked bases-loaded walks to extend the Worcester lead to three, 6-3. A Castellanos two-run single made it an 8-3 ballgame, and a Stewart RBI double gave the Red Sox a 9-3 advantage. Fitzgerald then walked to reload the bases again. Sogard followed with a bases-loaded walk for a 10-3 Worcester lead, and the scoring in the frame finally ended after a Wong two-run single put the Red Sox up 12-3. In all, Worcester scored 11 runs in the top of the seventh with five hits and eight walks.
The Mets did respond in the bottom of the seventh. Deven Marrero walked, and Travis Jankowski doubled to put runners on second and third. After back-to-back Syracuse strikeouts, Vientos lined a doubled to the right-field corner that scored two runs to pull the Mets within seven, 12-5.
Syracuse threatened in the eighth inning too. Lee doubled, Riddle was hit by a pitch, and Jose Colina was hit by a pitch, loading the bases. Marrero then grounded a ball sharply but into a double play that allowed Lee to score to make it a 12-6 ballgame but stymied Syracuse's scoring threat.
The Mets did rally again in the ninth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Riddle lined a single to right field, scoring two runs to pull the Mets within four, 12-8, and bring the tying run to the on-deck circle, but a strikeout ended the ballgame.
Syracuse and Worcester continue their six-game series with the penultimate game of the series on Saturday night. Right-hander José Butto is scheduled to start on the mound for the Mets. First pitch is slated for 6:35 p.m.
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