Syracuse’s three-game winning streak ends with 4-0 loss to Worcester in Saturday

Worcester, MA – The Syracuse Mets offense was mystified by stellar Worcester Red Sox pitching on a sunny Saturday at Polar Park, getting shut out on just three hits in a 4-0 loss to wrap up a weeklong, six-game series. The Mets and WooSox split the series, winning three games apiece.

It was a good, old-fashioned pitcher’s duel to start on a Saturday afternoon, as Cooper Criswell for Worcester (41-45, 6-5) and Mike Vasil for Syracuse (53-33, 7-5) matched each other nearly pitch for pitch to begin the game. Criswell took a perfect game into the fifth inning while Vasil kept the WooSox scoreless throughout the first four frames as well.

Worcester finally got to Vasil in the fifth when Eddy Alvarez slugged a home run to center field on the first pitch of the frame. Alvarez had an excellent week at the plate against the Mets, racking up nine total hits, including five hits in Wednesday night’s game alone.

Another poor pitch doomed Vasil in the bottom of the sixth. With a runner on base and one out, Mickey Gasper smashed a two-run homer over the right-field wall to boost the WooSox lead to 3-0 in the blink of an eye. Vasil finished the sixth with back-to-back strikeouts and ended his day with a second quality start against Worcester this week. Vasil allowed three earned runs in six innings on Sunday with four hits, two walks, and eight strikeouts. Vasil, a Boston-area native, clearly enjoys the chance to come back close to home and pitch in Worcester. In his last two outings at Polar Park dating back to last season, Vasil has racked up 18 total strikeouts in 12 innings.

On the other side, Criswell proved to be a puzzle that the Syracuse Mets just could not solve. The right-hander allowed one hit in six scintillating innings with no walks and eight strikeouts, seven of which were swinging. Criswell allowed just three baserunners against the Mets all afternoon long, retiring the first 12 batters he faced in order. It took until the 15th batter of the game for Syracuse to even get a base hit against Criswell, who kept the Mets off-balance all day with well-located breaking balls.

Worcester added an insurance run in the seventh and then ceded the scene to its bullpen, who held the fort. Alex Speas escaped a first and third, nobody out jam in the seventh without giving up a run. Then, Bryan Mata tossed clean frames in the eighth and ninth to seal the deal for the WooSox. The story of the weekend was strong bullpen work to earn wins for each team. Syracuse’s relievers combined to work five and one-third scoreless innings on Friday night followed up by the Worcester bullpen tossing three clean frames to finish off Saturday’s win.

After two off days, the Syracuse Mets are back home to start a weeklong, six-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday evening. The series starts at 6:35 p.m. on Tuesday at NBT Bank Stadium.