Mauricio homers twice, but Mets fall to Red Wings on Wednesday, 11-4

 

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Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets fell short on a pleasant Wednesday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium, dropping game two of their six-game series against the Rochester Red Wings, 11-4. The temperature crept into the mid-60s by the end of the game, with a 20-mile-per-hour wind blowing on and off throughout the day’s action. With the wind blowing directly out, the hitters took advantage. Eight of the 19 hits combined between the two teams in the game were home runs.  

  

Each team got the scoring party started right away in each half of the first inning. Rochester (1-3) plated two runs in the top half of the first. Darren Baker and Lucius Fox both singled to start the inning, followed by a Travis Blankenhorn double that plated Baker and moved Fox to third for a 1-0 lead. The next batter, Matt Adams, lofted a fly ball deep enough to centerfield to score Fox and hand the Red Wings an early 2-0 advantage.  

  

In the bottom of the first, Syracuse (2-3) had its response. After Danny Mendick flied out to start the inning, Jonathan Araúz singled to reach base with one out. Araúz singled again later on in the ballgame. The infielder has nine hits already this season, ranking him right at the top of the International League. The next batter, Francisco Álvarez, took advantage of the runner on base, pounding a home run to dead-center field to tie the game, 2-2 in a flash. Álvarez now has two home runs in four games on the young season.  

  

In the bottom of the third inning, the Mets nabbed the lead when Ronny Mauricio continued his hot hitting. Leading off the inning, the 22-year-old laced a pitch over the center-field wall for his first home run of the season, pushing the home team to its first lead of the day at 3-2.  

 

The lead wouldn’t last long, however, as Rochester tied it right back up with a run in the top of the fourth inning. Wilson Garcia hit a leadoff homer of his own for the Red Wings to make it a 3-3 game. 

  

The game officially began to get away from Syracuse in the top of the fifth inning. Rochester plated four fateful runs to take a 7-3 advantage, highlighted by more power. After Blankenhorn singled earlier in the frame to drive home Baker for a 4-3 edge, two runners were on base when Adams came back up to the plate. He promptly brought everyone home with a booming blast over the right-field fence, clearing the bases in an instant and making it a 7-3 game on the three-run homer. Adams is playing consistently in Triple-A for the first time in nearly a decade, when he was a top St. Louis Cardinals prospect.  

 

The Mets got a run back in the sixth. With two outs, Mauricio homered again, smashing a ball over the wall in right-center field to pull Syracuse within three, 7-4. The 22-year-old went 3-for-4 in the game and had an RBI triple in Tuesday afternoon’s win.  

  

In the seventh, Rochester put the game out of reach with three more runs, once again highlighted by power from familiar faces. First, Blankenhorn homered leading off the inning, to make it an 8-4 game. The Pennsylvania native finished the game 3-for-5 at the plate with three runs driven in and two runs scored. Later in the inning, after a Chad Pinder single, Garcia hit his second home run of the day, this one a two-run shot to center field for a 10-4 lead. The two home runs for Wilson Garcia on Wednesday afternoon marked his first two hits of the season.  

  

In the ninth, Rochester completed its home run derby when Adams hit another booming home run over the right-field wall for his second shot of the day as the Red Wings took a 11-4 advantage. Another Pennsylvania native, Adams finished the game 2-for-4 at the dish with two home runs and five runs driven in. Rochester finished the afternoon with five of the eight total home runs hit in the game. 

  

Syracuse continues its first homestand of the 2023 season on Thursday evening. Game three in the six-game series is set for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Thursday evening. Right-hander Tony Dibrell is scheduled to start for the Mets, opposed by right-hander Wily Peralta for the Red Wings.