Syracuse 7 - Columbus 4

Columbus, OH (May 10, 2019) - The Syracuse Mets hit four home runs through the first four innings of Friday night’s game en route to a 7-4 victory against the Columbus Clippers at Huntington Park. The four homers are the most hit by Syracuse in a game this season. With the win, the Mets reclaim first place in the International League North Division.

PC - Ed Delany

Syracuse (20-14) started the home-run-heavy day in the top of the first inning. Jed Lowrie, playing with Syracuse on a Major League rehab assignment, hit a one-out home run over the right-center-field fence for a 1-0 lead.

Columbus (19-14) answered with a run in the bottom of the first. Greg Allen reached on an error. Allen moved to second on a wild pitch and scored with two outs on a Bobby Bradley single to tie the score, 1-1.

The Mets jumped out to a 5-1 lead with a four-run third. Tim Tebow doubled with one out to begin the inning. Rajai Davis followed with his second home run of the year to push the lead to 3-1. After a strikeout and walk, Carlos Gómez hit his fifth home run of the season, and fourth in five games, for a four-run advantage, 5-1.

The home runs continued in the fourth. René Rivera hit his first homer this season with a solo shot to left. The hit extended Rivera’s on-base streak to seven games in a row and made it a 6-1 ballgame.

The Mets scored again in the fifth. Lowrie walked and Luis Guillorme was hit by a pitch. Gómez then drove in his third run of the game on a double to left, scoring Lowrie and extending the Syracuse lead to six, 7-1.

The Clippers crept closer in the bottom of the fifth. Oscar Mercado singled with two outs, and Brandon Barnes hit a two-run home run to center field to trim the Mets advantage to four, 7-3.

Mercado added a final Clippers run in the seventh, hitting the first pitch of the inning over the center-field wall to bring Columbus within three runs, 7-4, but the Clippers would get no closer.

Syracuse and Columbus continue their three-game series on Saturday evening. RHP Chris Flexen is scheduled to start for the Mets. First pitch is set for 7:15 p.m.