Syracuse sweeps Thursday night doubleheader against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets would not be denied in either half of Thursday night’s doubleheader against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, winning each game by one run in a doubleheader sweep over the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The Mets rallied back to win game one by a 6-5 final and then used strong pitching to hang on to a 2-1 win in the second game.

Syracuse got right to it in game one of the doubleheader, scoring three times in the bottom of the first to race out to an early 3-0 lead. It was a bit of death by a thousand cuts in the first inning for the Mets as five singles plus a sacrifice fly and a stolen base helped to push the three tallies across home plate. The highlight of the frame was the sacrifice fly from JT Schwartz that plated the third and final run of the inning.

The Mets kept their foot on the gas with a solo home run from Pablo Reyes to up the lead to 4-0 in the bottom of the second.

Tylor Megill took that early lead and ran with it, striking out five batters in the first three innings. The Syracuse started retired the first nine Scranton/Wilkes-Barre batters of the game, but the RailRiders finally got to him in the top of the fourth. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored twice to slim the home team’s lead to 4-2, managing to score the two tallies with exactly one ball leaving the infield in the frame. Two singles (including an RBI bunt single from Taylor Trammell), a fielder’s choice, a walk, and an RBI groundout from Jose Rojas scratched the pair of runs across the dish for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

In the top of the fifth, the RailRiders tied it up with two more runs. With the bases loaded and two outs, Agustin Ramirez slammed a sharp double off the wall in right-center field to score the tying two runs and make it a 4-4 game. It marked the second straight game that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had rallied back from a 4-0 deficit.

In the top of the seventh (the last scheduled inning in a doubleheader), with the game still tied at four, the RailRiders went in front on one mighty swing. With two outs and nobody on base, Jorbit Vivas slugged a two-strike pitch over the right-field wall to put Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in front, 5-4.

The Mets entered the bottom of the seventh down to their last three outs, and Syracuse had one last rally up its sleeve. Luisangel Acuña singled to lead off the inning and stole his way to second, followed by a Pablo Reyes walk and a wild pitch that moved both runners to second and third with one out. After a Brett Baty groundout kept the runners at second and third, the Mets finished the job. First, a wild pitch all the way to the backstop allowed Acuña to prance home and tie the game, 5-5. Then, Ritter came to the plate and punched a single into shallow right field, scoring Reyes easily and handing the Mets a walk-off, 6-5 win in game one of the doubleheader.

Game two of the doubleheader was dominated by Dom Hamel, who starred for Syracuse (55-34, 9-6) in his start. The right-hander went six strong innings, allowing just one run on a Taylor Trammell solo home run in the top of the fifth. Hamel surrendered just four hits and one walk while striking out five batters, each of which were swinging. It was an excellent bounce-back start for Hamel, who gave up seven earned runs in his start last week against the Worcester Red Sox.

While Hamel shined on the mound, the offense gave him just enough against some strong Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (48-40, 5-9) pitching to eke out a win in game two of the doubleheader. In the third inning, the Mets got on the board when Acuña singled with two outs, moved all the way to third on a poor pickoff throw to first base, and then scored on an RBI triple from Reyes for a 1-0 advantage.

In the bottom of the fifth, the RailRiders brought a left-handed reliever, Anthony Misiewicz, into a tied game, 1-1, to face three straight lefty hitters for the Mets. Syracuse beat the odds as Rhylan Thomas singled to start the inning, moved to second on a pop out and scored on Carlos Cortes’ RBI single to turn it into a 2-1 game.

Hamel then tossed a clean sixth, and then Bryce Montes de Oca came out of the bullpen in the top of the seventh. The RailRiders wouldn’t make it easy. Consecutive one-out walks to Trammell and Oscar Gonzalez put two runners on base with one out, and then they each stole third and second base respectively with still just one out in the inning. A groundout to third base kept the runners at their bases and got a second out, after which Montes de Oca was removed from the game and Wilkin Ramos was summoned out of the bullpen. Ramos got the job done, striking out Oswald Peraza to end the game and earn the doubleheader sweep for the Mets.

The Syracuse Mets are home for a weeklong, six-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. The series continues with game four at 6:35 p.m. on Friday at NBT Bank Stadium.