Early Offense Leads Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to 14-5 Win over Syracuse on Saturday Night
September 3, 2022 – International League (IL) – Syracuse Mets News Release
Moosic, PA – The Syracuse Mets fell behind early and didn’t come back in a 14-5 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Saturday night at PNC Field. The RailRiders have won four of the first five games in this six-game series.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (68-59) struck first in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, Ben Rortvedt doubled, and Miguel Andújar walked. Josh Breaux and Ronald Guzmán each followed with RBI singles that gave the RailRiders a 2-0 lead. A Phillip Evans sacrifice fly out extended Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s edge to 3-0.
The RailRiders added to the lead in the second. With two outs, Anthony Volpe singled. Rortvedt then launched a two-run home run to make it a 5-0 ballgame.
Syracuse (53-75) got on the board in the top of the third. Gosuke Katoh led off with a double. Nick Meyer followed with a two-run homer that trimmed the deficit to three, 5-2. Travis Jankowski then walked and stole second base on a Yolmer Sánchez strikeout. Dominic Smith followed with a pop out to shallow left field, but a throw back to second to try and double off Jankowski was errant, allowing Jankowski to score all the way from second to make it a 5-3 game.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre responded in the second with more two-out runs. Guzmán doubled to start the frame, and Evans singled and advanced to second base on the throw to third to put runners at second at third. Three batters later, with two outs, Chris Owings brought home both Guzmán and Evans with a single to give Scranton Wilkes-Barre a 7-3 lead.
The RailRiders punctuated the early scoring in the fourth with three-straight two-out hits. Back-to-back singles brought Ryan LaMarre to the plate, and the 33-year-old blasted a three-run home run, extending Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s advantage to seven, 10-3.
The Mets showed late life in the seventh. After Khalil Lee led off with a walk, JT Riddle hammered a ball over the wall in left-center field that pulled the Mets within five, 10-5.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre left no doubt in the eighth though. Owings singled and scored on a Volpe RBI double to the left-field corner to make it 11-5. After Rortvedt was hit by a pitch, Aundújar pounded a two-run double to right-center field to extend the edge to eight, 13-5. Three batters later, with two outs, Evans singled, and Andújar scored on the play thanks to an error as the RailRiders took their largest lead of the game, 14-5, which was the final margin.
Syracuse and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre conclude their six-game series on Sunday afternoon. Right-hander Jose Rodriguez is slated to start for the Mets. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.
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