Syracuse 8 - Buffalo 7

Syracuse, NY (April 25, 2019) - The Syracuse Mets came from behind and then held on for an 8-7 victory over the Buffalo Bisons in front of an energetic crowd of 3,918 during a warm and sunny Thursday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium. Adeiny Hechavarría had four hits, three RBIs, and a run scored in the game.

Syracuse (13-8) started the scoring in the bottom of the third inning. René Rivera doubled to lead off the frame, David Thompson singled, and Grégor Blanco walked to load the bases. Danny Espinosa then hit a ground ball up the middle, resulting in a force out at second base, scoring Rivera from third for a 1-0 lead. Hechavarría followed with a single to center field, scoring Thompson to push the lead to two.

Buffalo (5-12) quickly answered in the top of the fourth. Jordan Patterson walked, and Lourdes Gurriel, Jr. continued his big series with a two-run home run to tie the game, 2-2.

The Mets continued a string of runs in six consecutive half innings in the bottom of the fourth. Rajai Davis led off with a triple, and Rivera brought him home on a sacrifice fly to right to again take the lead, 3-2.

Again, the Bisons quickly answered. With two outs in the top of the fifth, Jonathan Davis homered to center field on a 2-0 pitch to re-tie the score, 3-3.

In the bottom of the fifth, Hechavarría singled, Travis Taijeron doubled, and Herrera walked to load the bases. Davis picked up his second hit of the day, a single to left field, scoring Hechavarría to again give the Mets the lead, 4-3. 

Another failed shutdown inning occurred with the Bisons' two-run sixth. Cavan Biggio walked with one out, and Andy Burns drilled a two-run home run to left field to give the Herd a 5-4 advantage.

This crazy Thursday afternoon affair turned crazier in the bottom of the eighth. Rivera walked, Thompson singled, and Blanco walked to load the bases against Danny Barnes. Espinosa then doubled to right field to score two runs and give the Mets a 6-5 lead. After the Bisons turned to reliever Zach Jackson, Hechavarría singled to left field to score both Blanco and Espinosa and extend the lead to 8-5, plating what turned out to be key insurance runs.

In the ninth, Arquimedes Caminero walked Jonathan Davis, and Patterson singled. After a fly out for the second out of the inning, Biggio singled to left field to score both runners and bring the Herd within one, 8-7. Those were the first runs of the year scored against Caminero. Burns then walked, and Biggio moved to third on a passed ball to put the tying run 90 feet away, but Reese McGuire popped out to end the game and secure Caminero's fifth save of the season.

The Mets finished their second homestand of the year with a 6-1 record and are now 11-3 at NBT Bank Stadium in 2019. Syracuse heads down I-81 to open a three-game weekend series with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Friday night at 6:35 p.m.

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