Brown homers again in Chiefs rout
Brown's first-inning blast to right field gave Syracuse (23-24) a 1-0 lead. Columbus (21-25) answered quickly against Chiefs starter Zach Duke with a pair of runs in the top of the second. However, the Chiefs batted around in the second inning, scoring five runs, and sent 11 hitters to the plate in a six-run third inning to take control of the game.
After Jhonatan Solano, Brett Carroll, and Carlos Rivero led the second inning off with consecutive hits to score two runs, Seth Bynum belted a two-run homer to give the Chiefs a 5-2 edge. Syracuse added on one more in that second inning when Mark Teahen plated Josh Johnson on a sacrifice fly.
In the third, Solano, Carroll, and Rivero all reached base again, and Bynum delivered another big hit. This time, he shot a double to right field which scored Solano and Carroll, while moving Rivero to third. That gave the Chiefs a 7-3 lead and forced Clippers starter Eric Berger out of the game. Jarrett Hoffpauir and Xavier Paul both tacked on run-scoring singles later in the inning, while Teahen added another run by drawing a bases-loaded walk. The Chiefs led 12-3 after three frames.
Syracuse scored once more in the seventh. Bynum led off with a single and Brown brought him home with a triple to center field. The Chiefs' offense finished the night with 14 hits, highlighted by three each from Bynum and Brown.
Though Duke allowed four runs in six innings, Syracuse's bullpen trio of Austin Bibens-Dirkx, Pat Lehman, and Josh Wilkie teamed up for three innings of scoreless relief.
Syracuse has now won seven in a row at home and 11 of its last 14 overall.
The Chiefs continue their series with the Clippers at Alliance Bank Stadium on Friday night at 7:00 when John Lannan faces off against Columbus' David Huff.