Syracuse offense thunders the Mets to series-opening 13-5 win in Rochester on Tuesday

Rochester, NY – The Syracuse Mets trailed early…and then the offense responded. The Mets scored 12 unanswered runs as Syracuse rolled to a 13-5 win over the Rochester Red Wings in the first game of a six-game series at Innovative Field. Syracuse has now won three games in a row and is four games above .500, a new high-water mark for their record during the 2024 season.

Each team plated runs in the first inning to get the scoring started early. Syracuse (15-11) got its run with two outs. Rylan Bannon walked to keep the inning alive, immediately followed by consecutive singles from Trayce Thompson and Luke Ritter to drive in Bannon and make it a 1-0 game.

The lead did not last long as Rochester (12-12) tied it up in the bottom of the first. With one out, James Wood walked, stole second, and scored on a Juan Yepez RBI double. Wood, who entered the week sporting a .330 batting average, is widely considered one of the top-20 prospects in all of baseball.

The Red Wings scored three more times in the bottom of the second to take a commanding 4-1 early lead. After Drew Millas grounded out to start the inning, Rochester got to work. Jack Dunn doubled, moved to third on a groundout, and scored on a Darren Baker RBI single. Victor Robles, a rehabbing Big Leaguer and former Syracuse Chief, tripled to score Baker to make it a 3-1 ballgame. Wood then singled home Robles to make it a 4-1 game. The three runs came on four hits within a five-batter span in the frame.

It remained a 4-1 game until the top of the fourth when the Mets tied the game up via one mighty swing. First, Syracuse got some help when a fielding error and a walk put two runners on base with one out. Then, Yolmer Sánchez got a first-pitch fastball right over the heart of the plate and smoked it over the right-field fence, a three-run shot that tied the game, 4-4 in the blink of an eye. It was Sánchez’s first home run of the season.

After a tough start, Dom Hamel battled back in his start for Syracuse. Hamel did not give up a run after the first two innings, eventually going four and one-third inning of four-run baseball on seven hits. Hamel walked two and struck out three. Hamel allowed just two hits to the final ten batters that he faced on Tuesday evening.

From there, the Syracuse offense exploded. The Mets took the lead in the top of the sixth when José Iglesias smacked a two-run home run over the left-field fence, his fourth big fly of the season at the time as Syracuse took a 6-4 advantage.

In the seventh, an avalanche of runs and hits for the Mets put the game away. Syracuse scored seven runs on eight hits to balloon the lead to 13-4 and squash any Rochester hopes of a comeback. The seven-run explosion featured yet another Iglesias home run (his fifth of the season), a Rylan Bannon two-run homer, and RBI doubles from Sánchez and Luisangel Acuña. By the end of the inning, 12 men came to the plate, seven different players had hits, Ritter had two hits in the frame himself, and five different players drove in runs.

While the offense hummed, the bullpen sealed the deal. Tyler Jay, Jon Duplantier, and Hunter Parson tossed the final four and two-thirds innings of the game in nearly scoreless fashion, allowing just one run on three hits. Tyler Jay was über-impressive yet again, tossing two and two-thirds scoreless innings on just two hits. Jay in his five Triple-A outings this season has allowed just two earned runs in 12 and two-thirds innings, good for a 1.42 ERA while only allowing 11 hits.

Syracuse and Rochester continue their six-game series on Wednesday with first pitch slated for 6:05 p.m. Left-hander Joey Lucchesi is slated to start on the mound for the Mets opposite right-hander Spenser Watkins for the Red Wings.