Peterson, Chiefs best Indians in extras
The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, eked out a 6-5 win over the Indianapolis Indians in 10 innings on Monday night. First baseman Brock Peterson's RBI single gave Syracuse a lead in the 10th, and a game-ending double play started by shortstop Emmanuel Burriss sealed the victory.
Burriss started the 10th-inning rally with a one-out single against right-hander Jared Hughes. One pitch later, Will Rhymes poked a single to right field for his third hit of the game, advancing Burriss to second base. Peterson then fell into a 1-2 count before slamming a sharp ground ball into left field, bringing home Burriss for the eventual game-winning run.
In the bottom of the frame, the Indians rallied against Manny Delcarmen. With one out, Andrew Lambo doubled to right-center field. Matt Hague followed a line-drive single to right field, advancing pinch-runner Blake Davis to third base. Pinch-hitter Chris McGuinness then hit a line drive to shortstop that Burriss snared just above the infield dirt before throwing to third base to double up Davis and end the game.
Indianapolis (16-8) got on the board early with a first-inning run against right-hander Blake Treinen. Chase d'Arnaud and Jaff Decker started the game with back-to-back singles, with d'Arnaud moving to third base on the latter of the two. Right fielder Gregory Polanco then grounded into a fielder's choice to shortstop to plate the game's first run.
Jhonatan Solano picked up a quick response for Syracuse (11-13) in the second. The Chiefs' catcher blasted a 1-1 pitch from right-hander Jay Jackson over the left-field wall for a solo home run, tying the game at one. Solano's now homered three times in 16 games this season - after picking up three home runs in 2012 and 2013 combined.
The Chiefs broke the tie with a four-run fourth inning. Rhymes led off with a single, and after a pair of strikeouts, he stole second base and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Right fielder Brian Goodwin followed with a sinking line drive past Decker in center field for an eventual RBI triple, scoring Rhymes for a 2-1 lead. Goodwin crossed home five pitches later on a wild pitch that doubled as ball four to Brandon Laird. On the next pitch, left fielder Jose Lozada bashed a fastball over the fence in right-center field for a two-run homer - his first career Triple-A long ball. The blast gave the Chiefs a 5-1 lead.
Indianapolis retaliated against left-hander Aaron Laffey in the sixth. Polanco and Brent Morel led the inning off with back-to-back singles, and Lambo slammed a two-run double to deep left field to cut the lead to two runs. Two batters later, catcher Nevin Ashley singled to left field, scoring Lambo to cut the deficit to 5-4. Laffey, however, would recover after walking the next batter, Michael Martinez. He retired the final eight batters of his outing and left with a 5-4 lead.
But the Indians had some ninth-inning magic in their bats for the second night this series. Martinez started the inning with a triple to the right-centerfield gap off of Delcarmen. After inducing a Chris Dickerson groundout, Delcarmen tossed a wild pitch while throwing to d'Arnaud, bringing home Martinez to tie the game.
Syracuse aims for a split of the four-game series on Tuesday morning at 11:05 am. Chiefs right-hander Taylor Hill and Indians left-hander Adam Wilk are the scheduled starters.