Syracuse rally falls just short in 10-8 loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday night

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets scored five runs in the last two innings but ran into a buzzsaw on Wednesday night at NBT Bank Stadium as the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders scored ten runs on 16 hits in a 10-8 win on a sunny evening in the Salt City.

The Mets made it incredibly interesting late, scoring five runs in the final two innings and bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth after once being down 9-0. The Mets have now dropped the first two games in the weeklong, six-game series.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (76-56, 33-25) jumped on Blade Tidwell in the top of the first, as the starter for Syracuse (71-61, 25-33) gave up two runs exactly two batters into the ballgame. A Jon Berti single on the first pitch of the game was followed two pitches later by a two-run homer from Jasson Domínguez that surged the RailRiders out to an early 2-0 lead.

The home run barrage continued in the top of the second when JC Escarra slammed a two-run blast to make it a 4-0 game. Escarra also had a double, a home run and scored three runs in Tuesday night’s game.

Unfortunately for the Mets, the top of the second inning was far from finished. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tacked on three more runs in the frame, taking a commanding 7-0 lead into the bottom of the second. By the end of the top of the second, the RailRiders had scored five runs on five hits, sending ten men to the plate in the process. It was more runs in one inning than they had scored in the entirety of Tuesday night’s game, when they scored four runs on eight hits in a 4-1 win. Tidwell was pulled in the midst of the nightmarish second inning, finishing with a line of seven earned runs allowed in one and two-thirds innings on seven hits.

The RailRiders scored two more runs in the top of the third to make it a 9-0, highlighted by yet another Escarra home run. It was his third straight home run dating back to his last plate appearance in Tuesday night’s game.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Mets finally showed some signs of life when they scored three runs to get on the board. A Luke Ritter single and a two-run homer from Mike Brosseau got the Mets on the board two batters into the frame, followed by a Carlos Cortes double that put a runner in scoring position with still nobody out. After two straight outs, Cortes was in danger of being left on second base. However, Logan Porter hit a chopper down the third-base line for an infield single that was promptly thrown away by Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on the throw to first, allowing Cortes to scamper home and cap off the three-run inning for the Mets.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre added their final run of the night in the top of the seventh inning to make it 10-3, and from there, it looked like it would be cruise control to the finish line.

However, in the bottom of the eighth, the Mets provided some life. Syracuse scored four runs to suddenly make it a 10-7 game and did it in the most interesting fashion. The Mets had just two hits in the bottom of the eighth, one of which was a two-run bloop single from Porter. However, two walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch helped the cause in the four-run flurry that gave the Mets late hope of a dramatic comeback.

In the top of the ninth, down 10-7, the Mets comeback effort continued when Drew Gilbert slugged a solo shot with one out to make it a 10-8 ballgame. Then, Luke Ritter and Mike Brosseau both walked to put the tying runs on base with still just one out. That forced the RailRiders to summon their left-handed closer Anthony Misiewicz to face the left-handed-hitting Carlos Cortes, who promptly induced a lineout for the second out of the inning. Yolmer Sánchez then came to the plate with a chance to be a hero, a switch-hitter batting from the right side against the lefty reliever. Sánchez grounded out to end the game, earning Misiewicz his eighth save of the season and the RailRiders their second win in as many nights.

Despite the defeat, the Mets had two highlights in their bullpen down the stretch. Shintaro Fujinami pitched a scoreless sixth, continuing a truly incredible recent stretch of pitching. In six outings since August 17th, he's combined to toss nine scoreless innings on one hit, two walks, and 13 strikeouts. Joey Lucchesi was also solid in the final three innings, allowing just one run on three hits with one walk. The RailRiders had just one hit among their final nine batters of the game.

The Syracuse Mets are in the midst of their penultimate homestand of the season, playing a six-game series against the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. Game three of the six-game series is set for Thursday at 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Mike Vasil is slated to start for the Mets.