Rochester 8 - Syracuse 2

Syracuse, NY (April 10, 2019) - The Syracuse Mets dropped the series finale to the Rochester Red Wings, 8-2 on Wednesday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium. Mets starting pitcher Héctor Santiago struck out seven batters over five innings and retired 13 straight Rochester hitters in the game. Despite the loss, Syracuse ends the homestand with a 5-2 record.

Rochester (2-5) grabbed the lead in the first inning. With two outs, LaMonte Wade grounded a two-out single to left field off Santiago, and Wilin Rosario followed with a two-run home run to right field to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead.

Syracuse (5-2) quickly answered with a run off Sean Poppen in the bottom of the first. Making his Triple-A debut, Poppen walked Danny Espinosa on a 3-2 pitch, allowed a bunt single to Rajai Davis, and then gave up a lined single to left field by Travis Taijeron to load the bases. Rymer Liriano then walked to bring in Espinosa from third and trim the Rochester lead to one, 2-1.

In the second, David Thompson walked to start the frame. René Rivera then found his first hit with Syracuse, a double over the head of Brent Rooker in left, scoring Thompson from first to tie the game at two. 

The game remained tied at two until the sixth inning. Jordany Valdespin singled leading off the frame, and John Andreoli then grounded a ball off of Santiago on the mound leading to an infield single. Former Red Wing pitcher Ryan O'Rourke came out of the Mets bullpen after Santiago left the game after being hit by the ball. O'Rourke got Adam Rosales to ground into a double play for the first two outs of the inning, but Valdespin moved to third on the play. With Wade at the plate, O'Rourke threw a wild pitch and Valdespin scored from third to give the Red Wings a 3-2 lead. 

The Red Wings put the game away in the ninth. With Wade at second base, Rosario at first, and one out, Randy César doubled to right-center field, scoring Wade for a 4-2 advantage. After Zander Wiel was intentionally walked to load the bases, Wynston Sawyer singled to right field, scoring Rosario and César to extend the lead to four, 6-2. The scoring concluded after Valdespin doubled into left-center field to bring home Wiel from third and Sawyer from second to make it an 8-2 ballgame.

Syracuse will hit the road for the first time in 2019 on Thursday, opening a four-game series at McCoy Stadium against the Pawtucket Red Sox. RHP Casey Coleman is slated to start for the Mets opposite RHP Chandler Shepherd for the Red Sox. First pitch is set for 6:05 p.m.