Syracuse Game Recap: Castillo homers but Syracuse Mets fall 12-4 on Friday

 

Diego Castillo hit his first home run of the season on Friday night. (Kylie Richelle)

Box Score

Syracuse, NY – Pitching woes and defensive miscues led to a 12-4 loss for the Syracuse Mets against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on a chilly Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium.

In just the second at-bat of the game, Jorbit Vivas hit a solo home run and gave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (4-3) a 1-0 lead. From there, Syracuse (2-4) starter Justin Hagenman settled in. The righty retired 12 of the next 15 hitters and tossed four and two-thirds innings with just that one earned run and five strikeouts.

Trailing by one in the bottom of the third, the Mets got on the board with a Diego Castillo solo home run, his first hit of the season, knotting the game up, 1-1.

Then, the Mets began to struggle with runners on base. The Mets stranded the bases loaded in the fourth and fifth innings and left two on base in the sixth. Syracuse left ten runners on base in the game and went 2-for-9 with runners in scoring position.

Meanwhile, the RailRiders got timely hits. In the fifth, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre took the lead back on a T.J. Rumfield RBI single to make it 2-1.

Trailing by one in the bottom of the inning, Syracuse once again got runners on base and threatened to score. After a fielder’s choice from José Azocar and walks by Jon Singleton and Joey Meneses, the Mets had the bases loaded but only mustered across one run on an RBI single from Billy McKinney that did tie the game, 2-2.

Syracuse entered the sixth tied at two with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but a Duke Ellis two-run single put the RailRiders up, 4-2.

The seventh inning is when the floodgates began to open. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre piled on six runs from a Braden Shewmake three-run homer, a two-run single from Vivas, and an RBI single by Rumfield. The RailRiders added one more in the eighth on an RBI from Ellis and made it an 11-2 game.

In the bottom of the eighth, Syracuse got a couple runs back. Gilberto Celestino hit an RBI single, and Castillo knocked in Chris Williams with a groundout and made it 11-4. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre added one more run on a sacrifice fly from Grant Richardson in the ninth for the games final score, 12-4.

The Mets had seven hits and walked seven times but stranded ten runners on base. Singleton, Meneses, and Luke Ritter each walked twice, and Donovan Walton was the lone hitter with two base knocks.

Syracuse and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre continue their six-game series on Saturday afternoon with the fifth game. Right-hander Brandon Sproat is scheduled to start on the mound for the Mets opposite right-hander Sean Boyle for the RailRiders. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m.

Diego Castillo. Tie game. pic.twitter.com/9kH7OGm7Iv

— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) April 4, 2025