Furious late Rochester rally opens floodgates in 9-2 Syracuse loss on Friday night

Rochester, NY – The Syracuse Mets were doomed by one bad inning on Friday night. The Rochester Red Wings scored seven runs in the bottom of the eighth inning, blowing open the game in an eventual 9-2 win. The Mets have now dropped each of the first four games to open up the weeklong, six-game series at Innovative Field.

Before the late fireworks in the bottom of the eighth, the game was a classic pitcher’s duel. Andrew Alvarez was excellent for Rochester (64-52, 26-17) as he tossed a Triple-A career-high seven innings of one-run ball. Alvarez only allowed four hits and didn’t walk anybody, utilizing a wicked arsenal of breaking balls to strike out five batters and keep the Mets off balance all evening long.

On the other side, Blade Tidwell was excellent himself for Syracuse (64-52, 18-24), putting together quite possibly his best Triple-A start. In six and one-third innings, Tidwell allowed just two earned runs on four hits with three walks and five strikeouts. Tidwell tossed 90 pitches in the outing, 56 of which were strikes. Tidwell’s fastball and sweeper were his best pitch on Friday night, combining the pair to befuddle the Red Wings early and often in the ballgame.

It remained a 2-1 game into the eighth inning when the game was ultimately decided. In the top of the eighth, a two-out double from Luisangel Acuña had the Mets on the verge of tying up the game. However, a Starling Marte groundout ended the top half of the eighth with Syracuse still trailing.

In the bottom half of the eighth, it all went horribly wrong for the Mets. With a runner on first base and two outs, the Red Wings remarkably strung together six hits and a walk to turn a 2-1 game into a 9-1 game. The highlights of the frame were a two-run double for Stone Garrett, an RBI double for Darren Baker, and a two-run single for Brady House. Almost unbelievably, it’s the second different inning this week in which the Red Wings have scored six or more runs with two outs in the frame. In the bottom of the seventh of Wednesday’s win, Rochester also scored six runs with two outs.

In the top of the ninth, the Mets got a late highlight when Brett Baty launched a no-doubt solo homer over the right-field fence. It was his second homer of the week and his fourth home run in the last six games. Syracuse later got a two-out single from Pablo Reyes in the ninth, but it was too little, too late in the eventual 9-2 loss. One of the things that has haunted the Mets this week is leaving far too many runners on base. Syracuse has left 34 runners on base in the four losses to start the week in Rochester.

The Syracuse Mets are on the road all week, taking on the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, the Rochester Red Wings. Game five of the six-game series is set for 6:45 p.m. first pitch on Saturday. Right-hander Mike Vasil is slated to start for the Mets and right-hander Brad Lord is scheduled to be on the mound for the Red Wings.