Chiefs keep playoffs in sight with 4-1 win
Rochester (48-93) took the lead on a Brian Dinkelman double in the first inning. With Matt Macri on base, Dinkelman knocked a Mock pitch into center field and gave the home team a 1-0 lead. In the third though, the Chief would answer.
Syracuse (75-65) got a leadoff triple from Leonard Davis to place the tying run just one base away with nobody out. Carlos Maldonado used a lofty sacrifice fly to right to score Davis and tie the game at one.
The early portion of the ballgame proved to be difficult for the Chiefs facing Triple-A rookie Chris Province. In just his second ever start at this level, he struck out twelve batters while walking one. He did allow three runs to score over his 6 2/3 innings.
Once the Chiefs got to the bullpen, Kyle Waldrop specifically, the offense came easier. In the seventh, with two out and Seth Bynum aboard, Chase Lambin doubled to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead as Bynum Crossed the plate. Pete Orr came up next and stroked a ground rule double to right field and Lambin scored increasing the lead to 3-1 in favor of the Chiefs.
Seth Bynum led off the top of the ninth with his 14th home run of the year to give Syracuse what would end up being their final advantage of 4-1. Adam Carr pitched a perfect ninth inning for his 8th save of the year and his second in four days.
With three games remaining in the regular season, the Chiefs are still alive in the hopes for a wild card crown. Syracuse trails Louisville by three games, and could still make the playoffs as the wild card winner if Louisville loses three straight games, and it wins three straight games. That would then force a September 7th playoff at Louisville because of their 5-3 advantage in the season series between the two teams.
On Saturday, the Chiefs will send Andrew Kown (2-4, 3.79) to the hill for their season finale with the Red Wings. Rochester has not yet named a starter. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at Frontier Field in Rochester.