Brett Baty homers twice as Syracuse splits doubleheader against Worcester on sunny Saturday night

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets bounced back from a tough, one-run loss in game one of Saturday night’s doubleheader against the Worcester Red Sox, rallying late to grab game two and split the doubleheader against the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. The Mets, if they win Sunday’s series finale, will split the six-game series against the WooSox at three games apiece.

In game one of the doubleheader, Worcester backed Syracuse into a corner early when the Red Sox scored four runs in the top of the first. The big blow of the inning for the WooSox was a two-out, three-run homer from Nathan Hickey that pushed the lead to 4-0. It was the second straight game with a three-run homer for Hickey. After that, the Red Sox started to have trouble with Blade Tidwell. The starting pitcher for the Mets retired 14 of the final 16 batters that he faced with only one hit allowed, eventually tossing five and two-thirds innings. Unfortunately for Tidwell, the only hit he gave up was a solo home run by Mickey Gasper, so he allowed five runs (all earned) in those five and two-thirds innings on three hits with three walks and five strikeouts.

In the top of the third, down 4-0 at the time, the Mets got right back in the ballgame via a mighty swing from Brett Baty. With two runners on base with one out, the 24-year-old from Texas smashed a three-run homer off the batter’s eye beyond the center-field fence, a 420-foot shot that slimmed the deficit to 4-3. It was a bit of a slump-busting swing for Baty, who had not homered in August. His last big fly came at Buffalo on July 23rd, a 13-game span.

After Gasper’s homer in the top of the fifth made it a 5-3 lead for Worcester, the Mets got that run right back in the bottom of the fifth. With Logan Porter on second base and two outs in the inning, Luisangel Acuña came to the plate and got the job done. Acuña looped a shallow single into right field that plated Porter and slimmed the deficit yet again down to just a run, 5-4. However, the Mets never came closer, going scoreless in the final two innings as the WooSox eked out a 5-4 win in game one of the Saturday night doubleheader.

In game two of the twin bill, the story followed a similar script early on as Worcester (53-60, 18-20) got to Syracuse (64-48, 18-20) starter Mike Vasil with two runs in the top of the first. From there, the Red Sox didn’t touch him. Vasil retired 17 of the final 19 batters that he faced, including setting down 11 WooSox batters in a row at one point. The final line for Vasil was two runs allowed in six innings on four hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. The eight punchouts for Vasil tied a season-high for strikeouts in a start.

While Vasil starred on the mound, his offense battled back in the game. In the bottom of the first, the Mets created a run via a familiar source. Acuña hustled his way to a double with one out in the inning and then scored when the next batter, DJ Stewart, hit a sharp single into right field.

In the bottom of the fifth, Syracuse tied it up when Baty did it yet again. He smoked a game-tying homer over the left-centerfield fence, a laser beam of a shot that sailed off his bat at 109 miles per hour. It marked the first time all season that Baty has hit home runs in back-to-back games.

In the bottom of the sixth, with the game still tied, 2-2, the Mets put the second game of the doubleheader away with a scoring flurry. First, Syracuse loaded up the bases with nobody out on three straight walks to start the inning from Stewart, Luke Ritter, and Pablo Reyes. Then, Jackie Bradley, Jr. hit a hot-shot grounder to second base that Vaughn Grissom misplayed for Worcester, allowing Stewart and Ritter to score for a 4-2 Mets lead. After a strikeout, JT Schwartz smacked a double off the base of the wall in right-center field, scoring another run and putting the Mets in front for good, 5-2.

Matt Gage sealed the deal from there, working a scoreless top of the seventh to earn the Mets a well-deserved split of the Saturday night doubleheader at NBT Bank Stadium.

The Syracuse Mets are back home after their two-week road trip with a six-game homestand against the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Worcester Red Sox, all week long. The series is scheduled to wrap up on Sunday at NBT Bank Stadium. Game six of the six-game series is set for a 1:05 p.m. first pitch. Right-hander Tylor Megill is slated to start for the Mets opposed by right-hander Jason Alexander for the Red Sox.