Syracuse rolls to fourth straight win with 13-3 triumph over Worcester on Friday night

 

Carlos Cortes connects for a grand slam for Syracuse on a Friday night where Cortes had five RBIs in a Mets win (Herm Card).

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets upped their winning streak to four games, scoring five runs in the first inning and never looking back en route to a 13-3 win over the Worcester Red Sox on a sunny Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium. The Mets have scored 23 combined runs in the past two games.    

  

Worcester (9-7) took its only lead of the night in the top of the first inning via two-out damage. Triston Casas doubled with two outs, promptly scoring when Christian Stewart followed with a line-drive single into right field.  

  

After that, Syracuse (5-10) went to work, plating five runs in the bottom of the first via some good, old-fashioned power. First, the Mets loaded the bases via a single, hit batter, and a walk with one out. Mark Vientos brought the first run home by way of a sacrifice fly, knotting the game up, 1-1. After another walk loaded the bags again, Carlos Cortes brought them all home with a grand slam home run that cleared the right-field wall with ease. It was the first home run of the season for the former South Carolina Gamecock as Syracuse jumped on top, 5-1. 

  

The WooSox inched back closer on a two-run homer from Yolmer Sánchez in the third, trimming the Mets lead to two, 5-3. Sánchez has been a thorn in the Mets’ side in this series. The former Gold Glover homered on Thursday night and finished Friday night’s game with a home run, a double and a walk.   

  

The Red Sox would not score again though. Syracuse pulled away by scoring the game’s final eight runs – one in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth, and four in the seventh. It’s the first time this season that the Mets have scored in four consecutive innings.   

  

Cortes brought home another tally in the fourth by way of an RBI double to give the Mets a 6-3 edge. The left-handed hitter had a remarkable night – he drove in five runs on a home run and a double, a new season-high.   

  

Daniel Palka brought the thunder in the fifth, hitting a two-run home run high into the night sky and over the right-field fence to extend the Syracuse advantage to five, 8-3. The infielder has been almost unstoppable at the plate this week. Palka has smashed three home runs and driven in ten total runs.  

  

Syracuse manufactured another run in the sixth, bringing a runner home without a hit. Quinn Brodey, Cody Bohanek, and Wyatt Young all walked leading off the inning, followed by a sacrifice fly from Nick Plummer that allowed Brodey to prance home for a 9-3 lead.  

  

The Mets put the cherry on top of their scoring sundae with a four-run bonanza in the seventh. Brodey had an RBI single to make it 10-3 and later came around to score on Bohanek’s three-run homer into the Syracuse bullpen in left-center field for a 13-3 advantage. The home team was incredibly efficient in their scoring on Friday night. Syracuse plated 13 runs on just nine hits, and three of those hits were home runs.  

  

Not to be lost amongst all the scoring, the pitching for the Mets was solid as well. Syracuse’s bullpen was particularly excellent. Colin Holderman, R.J. Alvarez, and Antonio Santos combined to work four and one-third scoreless innings out of the pen, allowing just three hits while striking out five batters in the process. The Mets pitchers have recorded 41 strikeouts in the first four games of the series.   

  

Syracuse and Worcester resume their six-game series on Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Right-hander Félix Peña is slated to start for the Mets, opposed by left-hander Thomas Pannone for the Red Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.