Cuse Game Notes - Syracuse roars ahead late and grabs 6-4 win on Friday night in Rochester

 

Nick Plummer hit a go-ahead two-run home run and had three RBIs on Friday night in a 6-3 Syracuse win over Rochester (Rick Nelson).

Rochester, NY – The Syracuse Mets were not denied on Friday night, rallying back from an early deficit via some home run power to take a 6-4 win over the Rochester Red Wings on a sunny, Friday night. The victory snapped an 0-8 skid for the Mets on the road to start the 2022 season.  

  

Syracuse (7-13) scored first for the third consecutive game with a run in the top of the third inning. Mark Vientos walked to start the frame, moved to third base, on a Carlos Cortes single, and scored on a Nick Meyer groundout into a double play to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. 

 

Rochester (11-10) utilized some power on the way to a run in the bottom of the third. A one-out single by Chris Herrmann put him on base, and he later scampered home on an RBI double from Luis Garcia, who has been a man possessed at the plate in this series. The 21-year-old is 7-for-11 in the first three games with three home runs, seven runs driven in, and six runs scored.  

  

The Red Wings would grab their only lead of the night with another run in the fourth. Josh Palacios sliced a double down the left-field line to start the inning, later scoring on an RBI single from Nick Banks with one out later on in the frame, giving the Wings a 2-1 advantage. Palacios has scored five runs in the first three games of the series.  

  

The game remained 2-1 until the top of the sixth, as Syracuse could not figure out Jackson Tetreault. The starting pitcher for the Red Wings allowed just two hits in his first five innings of work, striking out five Mets batters in the process, but that all changed in the sixth. 

  

The third trip through the Syracuse batting order for Tetreault became a nightmare for him and a breakthrough for the Mets offense. First, Wyatt Young singled to kick off the inning. Young has reached in a team-high 11 straight games, finishing Friday night’s game with three hits. The next batter, Nick Plummer, brought Young home with a two-run home run that cleared the center-field wall with ease to surge Syracuse in front, 3-2. The Mets weren’t done in the sixth yet. Daniel Palka promptly stepped to the plate and left the yard himself, lifting a no-doubt blast over the right-field wall for to make it back-to-back homers for Syracuse and a 4-2 Mets lead.  

  

Syracuse added insurance with two more runs in the seventh via familiar faces. Carlos Cortes walked to lead off the inning, moving up to second on a single from Nick Meyer, who has now reached in ten consecutive games. An infield single from Young loaded the bases with nobody out, followed by a sacrifice fly out from Plummer deep enough into center field to bring home Cortes and make it 5-2. Then, a single into left field from Palka drove in Meyer and increased the lead to 6-2. Plummer finished the night with three RBIs, while Palka now has three runs driven in and four runs scored this series. 

  

Lost among all the late offense, Connor Grey’s start deserves plenty of praise. The right-hander allowed just two runs in five solid innings of work, surrendering five hits and one walk while striking out five batters, all swinging, by way of a devastating curveball. Grey would eventually be credited with his first win of the series. 

  

Rochester wouldn’t go quietly, plating runs in the eighth and ninth to make it an interesting finish. The Red Wings scored in the eighth via a sacrifice fly from Joey Meneses to trim the Mets edge to three, 6-3. Then Rochester pulled closer in the ninth on a majestic home run from Andrew Stevenson that soared over the right-field wall to make it a 6-4 ballgame. A two-out, ninth inning single from Dee Strange-Gordon brought the potential tying run to the plate, but Collin Holderman got Garcia to ground out, end the game, and snap Syracuse’s road losing streak.  

  

Syracuse continues its six-game series at the Rochester Red Wings with a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon. Right-hander Félix Peña is slated to start for the Mets in the first game, followed by left-hander Rob Zastryzny in the second game. First pitch of the first game of the doubleheader is set for 1:05 p.m. Game two will start approximately 30 minutes after the conclusion of the first game.