Nolan McLean strikes out ten batters as Mets beat Red Sox, 7-4, on Thursday

Worcester, MA – Behind a ten-strikeout performance from Nolan McLean and a two-homer game by Drew Gilbert, the Syracuse Mets beat the Worcester Red Sox 7-4 on Thursday night at Polar Park. The ten strikeouts were a career high.

Worcester (43-40, 3-6) struck first with some soft hits in the bottom of the first inning. After a fielder’s choice put Masataka Yoshida at first base, Kristian Campbell was hit by a pitch, then Blaze Jordan hit an RBI bloop single that scored Yoshida and gave the Red Sox a 1-0 lead.

It didn’t take long for Syracuse (38-46, 7-2) to respond, getting on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. For the second time in as many days, Pablo Reyes crushed a solo homer out to left field and tied the game, 1-1.

In the top of the third inning, the Mets pulled away. To start the frame, Luisangel Acuña reached base on an error, Jared Young walked, and a double steal put both runners in scoring position. With two on and one out, Reyes smacked a two-run double scoring the pair and putting Syracuse in front, 3-1. Next, Drew Gilbert stepped up and hit a two-run homer to right field and extended the Mets advantage to 5-1.

The Red Sox battled back, starting with a run in the fifth. After Nick Sogard doubled, Kristian Campbell brought him home with an RBI double that cut the Syracuse lead to three, 5-2.

Worcester’s second run was the last Nolan McLean would allow. The Mets starter pitched five innings, allowed just two runs, only walked one batter, and struck out a career-high ten batters. The right-hander has pitched at least five innings without allowing more than four earned runs in all eight of his Triple-A starts.

After Syracuse reliever Alex Carillo struck out the side in the sixth, the Red Sox tightened the gap in the seventh against new bullpen arm Douglas Orellana. It started with a pair of walks and a wild pitch, then Jhostynxon Garcia hit a sacrifice fly that scored Phillip Sikes and made it 5-3. With a runner at second, Campbell hit an RBI single to score Corey Rosier and cut it to a one-run game, 5-4.

In the eighth inning, Syracuse added some cushion with a pair of runs. To lead off, Gilbert blasted his second home run of the game, and fifth in his last five games, putting the Mets in front 6-4. Later on, José Azocar walked, and Yonny Hernandez ripped an RBI double off the wall in right-center field that put Syracuse on top 7-4.

To close it out, Dom Hamel tossed two scoreless frames with five strikeouts and earned his first career save.

Syracuse continues its six-game series with the Worcester Red Sox on Friday night with game four back in Syracuse at NBT Bank Stadium. Right-hander Brandon Sproat is slated to start for the Mets with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.