Syracuse wins third straight game with roller-coaster 10-8 win over Worcester

 

Daniel Palka had a home run, double, single, and five RBIs for the Mets in a 10-8 win on Thursday night (Herm Card).

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets made it three straight wins to start their six-game series against the Worcester Red Sox, scoring early and often en route to a 10-8 victory over the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox at NBT Bank Stadium. Daniel Palka led the Mets with five RBIs and was a triple shy of hitting for the cycle.   

  

Syracuse (4-10) roared out to a 5-0 lead after two innings. The home team manufactured its lone run in the bottom of the first inning without a hit. Wyatt Young walked to lead off the frame, moved to second on a wild pitch, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a Palka groundout that gave Syracuse a 1-0 edge.  

  

The second inning was more explosive for the Mets, scoring four times in the frame. All of the runs came with two outs. With Khalil Lee on first and two outs, Quinn Brodey launched a two-run homer over the fence in left-center field to give Syracuse a 3-0 lead. Later in the inning, Young and Cody Bohanek walked and then came home to score via a two-run single from Palka for a 5-0 Mets advantage. Three walks, a hit batter, and two hits proved to be the four-run formula for Syracuse in the second inning.  

  

After that, it was Worcester’s (9-6) turn to roar back. The Red Sox scored the game’s next five runs, plating a run in the third, three runs in the fourth, and another run in the top of the fifth to tie the game. The runs started with a solo home run from Yolmer Sánchez in the third – the former Gold Glover curled a line drive around the right-field foul pole and over the wall, his first home run of the series, trimming the Syracuse lead to four, 5-1. 

  

The WooSox got even closer in the fourth by way of another long ball, this one a three-run shot off the bat of Ryan Fitzgerald that scored Sánchez and Grant Williams to make it a 5-4 ballgame. Fitzgerald has five home runs on the young season.  

  

The Red Sox completed their early rally with another booming blast in the top of the fifth. This time, Triston Casas pounded a ball over the center-field fence, knotting the game up, 5-5. Casas, widely considered one of the top prospects in the Boston Red Sox system, did not have a hit in the series prior to his game-tying home run.   

  

Despite losing an early five-run lead, the Mets refused to blink. Syracuse motored ahead again for good, scoring once in the fifth and four more times in the sixth to put the game out of reach as two big blows by the Mets at the plate provided the knockout punch to the WooSox.  

 

In the bottom of the fifth, Palka launched a ball over the wall in right-center field, putting Syracuse back in front, 6-5.  

 

In the sixth, the left-handed hitter wasn’t done. Palka drove in one more run on a double, his fifth RBI of the evening. The former Chicago White Sox has driven in eight runs in the first three games of this week’s series. The biggest hit of the game, however, came off a different bat in the sixth inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Wyatt Young bounced a double down the third-base line, scoring Nick Dini, Jose Colina, and Bohanek to make it 9-5 and put the game essentially away. Young has played masterfully this week at NBT Bank Stadium. In three games, the Hawaii native has scored four runs, racked up four hits, walked four times, and driven in three runs.   

  

The game remained 10-5 into the top of the ninth inning, when Worcester refused to go quietly. Walks worked by Jeter Downs and Franchy Cordero put two runners on base with one out, promptly followed by a no-doubt, three-run home run from Christin Stewart into the WooSox bullpen in right-center field to make it a 10-8 game. The home run was Stewart’s first hit of the series. The Red Sox would eventually send the potential go-ahead run to the plate with runners on second and third with two outs in the ninth, but Syracuse would survive. Grant Williams blooped a pop-up into shallow left field, and Cody Bohanek made a twisting, sliding catch for the final out to secure the win for the Mets.   

  

Syracuse and Worcester continue their six-game series on Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Right-hander Connor Grey is slated to start for the Mets, opposed by left-hander Kyle Hart for the Red Sox. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.