Rochester, NY – The Syracuse Mets started and finished strong on Saturday afternoon, nabbing a 4-2 win over the Rochester Red Wings (Triple-A affiliate, Washington Nationals) on a partially cloudy but otherwise pleasant spring Saturday at Innovative Field. The Mets never trailed in the win, their third in the first five games of the six-game series at the Red Wings.
Syracuse (17-13) scored a single run in each of the first four innings on Saturday – they got it going in the top of the first when Luisangel Acuña singled to start the game, moved to second on a balk, advanced to third on a Luke Ritter single and scored on a Rylan Bannon groundout. In the second, a Trayce Thompson double began the inning and he later came all the way home on a two-out single from Hayden Senger. The starting catcher for the Mets, Senger, finished the game with a season-high three hits.
In the third, Thompson was in the thick of the action yet again. His two-out double plated Bannon all the way from first – he had walked earlier in the inning. In the fourth, Bannon brought home the Mets’ fourth and final run of the game when his sacrifice fly lofted to deep centerfield scored Mike Brosseau and made it a 4-0 game. By the end of the contest, seven of the nine Mets in the starting lineup reached base at least once.
From there, the focus of the game turned to the Mets pitching staff. Their starting pitcher, Max Kranick, was solid in a shorter start. He did not allow a run in three and two-thirds innings, allowing just one hit and striking out two while wiggling around four walks. The immediate reliever after Kranick, Jon Duplantier, struggled in one and one-thirds innings of work. He allowed two runs (both earned) on three hits with one walk and two strikeouts. However, Duplantier did retain the lead for the Mets at 4-2 entering the top of the sixth inning.
After that, the Mets relievers entered lockdown mode, tossing the final four innings of the game in scoreless fashion. Tyler Jay was remarkable in three frames of work, retiring the nine he faced in order on just 33 pitches. In the ninth, Josh Walker earned his second save of the season in Triple-A in as many opportunities, striking out the side to seal the Syracuse win. Just one Rochester (14-14) hit base in the final four innings of the game against Jay and Walker.
Syracuse is on the road for two long weeks away from NBT Bank Stadium. The two-week journey begins in Rochester this entire week – first pitch of the sixth and final game of the series is scheduled for 1:05 pm ET on Sunday afternoon. Dom Hamel is slated to start the Mets – he also started the series opener on Tuesday night.
