Syracuse 12 - Louisville 3

PC - Danny Tripodi 

Syracuse, NY (May, 16, 2019) - The Syracuse Mets blasted a season-high five home runs en route to a 12-3 victory over the Louisville Bats on Thursday night in front of an electric crowd of 4,358 at NBT Bank Stadium.

Louisville (17-23) got on the board first in the top of the second inning. Luis Gonzalez and Juan Graterol both walked with two outs. Blake Trahan then hit a ground ball to third, but Luis Guillorme’s throw to first was wide, allowing Gonzalez to score from second base on the error for a 1-0 Bats lead. 

Syracuse (23-16) was quick to answer though. With one out, Dilson Herrera homered for the second game in a row and third time in four games to tie the score, 1-1. Then, Guillorme made up for the error with his first home run of the season to give Syracuse a 2-1 lead. That was the first time this season the Mets hit back-to-back homers.

The home runs continued from there. In the third, Rajai Davis singled, and Danny Espinosa also singled. Carlos Gomez then hit his sixth home run of the season, crushing a ball over the left-field wall for a three-run homer that pushed the Syracuse lead to four, 5-1.

The Mets broke the game open in the fourth. Guillorme singled, and Rene Rivera doubled to extend his hitting streak to nine. Two batters later, Syracuse starting pitcher Héctor Santiago helped his own cause with a three-run home run to extend the lead to 8-1. Two pitches later, Davis hit his third homer of the season to make it a 9-1 ballgame. 

The Bats got a run back in the sixth. Phillip Ervin and Christian Colon both walked. With two outs, Scott Schebler hit an RBI single to give the Bats their second run, trimming the Syracuse advantage to seven, 9-2.

The Mets again had a quick response though. Tim Tebow singled, and both Santiago and Davis walked. With the bases loaded, Espinosa singled to left field to bring home Tebow and push the lead to eight, 10-2. Three batters later, Herrera drove in two more runs on a single to center to extend the score to 12-2.

Louisville brought a run across in the ninth on a Nick Longhi home run, making the final score 12-3.

Syracuse starting pitcher Héctor Santiago was excellent, allowing just one earned run and four hits in seven innings pitched. Reliever Tim Peterson pitched a perfect eighth inning, and then Arquimedes Caminero closed the game out in the ninth.

The Mets continue their homestand with the first game of a three-game series against the Columbus Clippers on Friday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.