Syracuse Mets: Game Report April 26

Syracuse Mets give up 7 run lead;  Lose to Red Wings

 

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets jumped out to an 8-1 lead on Tuesday night, but a late comeback saw the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A Washington Nationals) beat the Mets, 10-9, to kick off their week-long series at Frontier Field.

  

Syracuse (6-12) plated the game’s first two runs right out of the shoot, when Carlos Rincon blasted a two-run home run over the center-field fence. The homer brought home Wyatt Young, who had walked earlier in the inning. Rincon had not recorded an extra-base hit this season prior to his booming blast to push the Mets to an early 2-0 advantage.  

  

Rochester (10-9) got a run back in the bottom of the first. Dee Strange-Gordon, in the midst of an MLB rehab assignment, walked to start the frame, moved to second on a Luis Garcia single, and then on to third via a Jake Noll walk. Strange-Gordon finally came home on an RBI groundout by Josh Palacios later on in the bottom of the first to make it a 2-1 ballgame. 

  

From there, Syracuse went on a scoring binge. The Mets scored the next six runs, with three in the second and three more in the fourth. Syracuse manufactured its runs in the second, plating the three runs on just two hits. Two singles, three walks, a wild pitch, and two separate RBI groundouts got the three tallies home. Quinn Brodey and Nick Plummer had the RBI groundouts, while Nick Meyer scampered home on the wild pitch as Syracuse took a 5-1 advantage. 

  

The fourth was more conventional, as the Mets used a couple of big hits to bring three more runs home. Daniel Palka had an RBI double in the frame to score Wyatt Young, while Travis Blankenhorn slashed a single into left field later in the inning to score Palka. Plummer had scored earlier in the inning via another wild pitch. Palka was making his return to Rochester, as he played with the Red Wings during the 2021 season. All-in-all the Mets had an 8-1 lead after the fourth inning. 

  

After that, Rochester began to chip away. First, the Red Wings scored twice in the fifth when Luis Garcia lifted a two-run home run over the right-field wall to trim the Syracuse lead to five, 8-3.  

 

Then, the Red Wings officially put their comeback effort on notice with a four-run barrage in the seventh inning. Josh Palacios singled home the first Red Wings run of the inning to make it an 8-4 game. The biggest blow of the frame came when Donovan Casey hit a three-run homer just barely over the left-center field wall to pull Rochester within one, 8-7. Initially, it was ruled a two-run double before the umpires converged and changed their call to a home run.  

  

The home team completed its furious rally with a power display in the bottom of the eighth. A no-doubt homer to left field with one out by Tres Barrera knotted up the game, 8-8, followed by Alfredo Rodriguez reaching on an error to put the potential go-ahead run on base. It was Garcia time again after that as he launched a booming drive over the right-center field wall to give Rochester a 10-8 lead they would never give up. Garcia was a man possessed at the plate on Tuesday night, going 4-for-4 with two home runs, three runs scored, and four runs driven in.  

  

To Syracuse’s credit, the Mets refused to quit. Syracuse began the top of the ninth with a double by Rincon, who moved to third on a groundout by Blankenhorn. Rincon then trotted home on another groundout by Mark Vientos. However, the comeback effort was squelched there, as Carlos Cortes popped out to end the game and give Rochester a memorable comeback win.   

  

While the Red Wings offense grabs the headlines in the come-from-behind win, their bullpen is not to be forgotten. Sterling Sharp, Erik Manoah Jr. and Jordan Weems combined to pitch the final six innings of the game, allowing just one run on three hits and zero walks while racking up five strikeouts. Sharp was particularly excellent. The Michigan native worked four scoreless innings, surrendering just two hits and two walks with four strikeouts.   

  

Syracuse continues its six-game series at the Rochester Red Wings on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.