Travis Blankenhorn went 3-for-5 with a three-run home run on Friday night for Syracuse (Herm Card).
COLUMBUS, OH – One night after Syracuse and Columbus combined to score 16 runs, they outdid themselves on Friday night. In an absolute slugfest that featured
27 combined runs, the Clippers outlasted the Mets 15-12 on a warm mid-April night in Ohio’s capital city. The two teams combined for 26 hits and the game featured five different half-innings with at least three runs scored in the frame.
The parade to home plate began early on Friday night, as Syracuse (1-8) plated four runs right out of the shoot in the top of the first inning. After back-to-back singles from Travis Blankenhorn and Mark Vientos with one out, Carlos Rincon singled to right field and brought home Blankenhorn for a 1-0 edge. The very next batter, Daniel Palka, drove in Vientos and Rincon with a double down the right-field line to make it a 3-0 ballgame. After a Khalil Lee strikeout, Nick Dini grounded a single back into right field, scoring Palka and completing the early-inning barrage of runs for the Mets en route to a 4-0 advantage.
Syracuse tacked on two more runs via the long ball in the top of the third. After Rincon reached base on a fielding error with one out, Palka cleared the bases with a two-run blast over the right-field fence. Palka had a banner night at the plate. The left-handed hitter finished the game 3-for-5 with a double, a home run, two runs scored, and four runs driven in.
After putting itself in an early 6-0 hole, Columbus (7-3) dug its way right out of it. The Clippers scored the game’s next nine runs, plating three runs in the third, four in the fourth and two in the fifth to roar right back and grab a 9-6 lead.
First, a three-run homer from Oscar Gonzalez in the bottom of the third slashed the deficit in half to 6-3. Then, a pair of two-run singles from Richie Palacios and Luke Maile in the fourth handed Columbus its first lead of the night at 7-6. Finally, Palacios did it again in the bottom of the fifth, driving in two more runs with a single into left field that made it 9-6 in favor of the home team.
In this back-and-forth tennis match of a baseball game, it was now Syracuse’s turn to swing back. The Mets regained their lead with six unanswered runs, scoring twice in the seventh and four times in the top of the eighth.
After singles from Cody Bohanek and Blankenhorn in the top of the seventh put runners on first and third with one out, a wild pitch allowed Bohanek to prance home and slim the deficit to two, 9-7. Then, Vientos bounced a double down into the right-field corner, scoring Blankenhorn and making it a one-run game again, 9-8.
In the top of the eighth, Syracuse plated four runs in an inning for the second time on the night. Khalil Lee led off the frame with a single and promptly stole second, followed by a Nick Dini walk that put two runners on base with nobody out. After a Quinn Brodey strikeout, Bohanek singled into right field, scoring Lee and knotting the game up, 9-9. The biggest blow of the inning was yet to come. After a Carlos Cortes strikeout, Blakenhorn crushed a three-run shot to dead-center field, giving the Mets a 12-9 lead. The left-handed hitter was rolling on Friday night, finishing the game 3-for-5 with three runs driven in and three runs scored.
However, Syracuse’s lead was short-lived. A six-run barrage from Columbus in the bottom of the eighth made it 15-12 and gave the Clippers the lead for good. Columbus used five hits, four walks, a sacrifice fly and an RBI groundout to bring the pivotal runs home. David Fry gave the home team the lead for good with his two-out double that scored Will Benson, followed by a two-run single by Mitchell Tolman that gave Columbus all the insurance it would need.
Syracuse and Columbus play the penultimate game in their six-game series on Saturday afternoon. Right-hander Félix Peña is slated to make his first start of the season for the Mets opposite Clippers left-hander Kirk McCarty. First pitch is set for 4:05 p.m.
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