Late comeback seals Chiefs' fifth straight win

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, used a late comeback to win their fifth straight game with a 4-2 victory over the Rochester Red Wings on Sunday afternoon. The Chiefs trailed 2-0 going into the bottom of the sixth inning, but four runs over the next two frames sent Syracuse into a lead it would not relinquish.

In an unsurprising duel between two strong starting pitchers, Rochester (14-22) struck first against Chiefs left-hander Zach Duke. With one out, Ben Revere dropped down a bunt to the right side for a single and advanced to second base on a fielding error by Jarrett Hoffpauir. Shortstop Pedro Florimon then lined Duke's next pitch into left-center field for a single, scoring Revere to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead.

In the fourth inning, the Red Wings added a second run with a rally early in the inning. Matt Carson doubled to start the frame and advanced to third on a bunt single from Clete Thomas that hugged the third base line. Aaron Bates then hit a ground ball to shortstop, scoring Carson to double the Rochester advantage.

Meanwhile, Syracuse (16-21) had trouble scoring early against Red Wings starter Liam Hendriks. The right-hander, who carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning in his last Triple-A start, allowed just one hit, a Jarrett Hoffpauir first-inning single, in the first five frames.

But the Chiefs' bats finally retaliated in the sixth. With one out in the inning, Corey Brown doubled for the Chiefs' second hit. Two batters later, team RBI leader Mark Teahen lined a single to right field, scoring Brown to put the Chiefs on the scoreboard.

Hendriks was replaced by Deolis Guerra in the seventh inning, and the Chiefs soon exploded to take the lead. After a Carlos Rivero groundout, designated hitter Jim Negrych slammed a 1-0 pitch over the right field fence for a solo home run, tying the game at 2. The home run was Negrych's second in Syracuse.

The Chiefs then kept up their rally when Brett Carroll followed with a single. Guerra then walked Carlos Maldonado and Josh Johnson, both on 3-2 pitches, to load the bases with one out for Brown. The left-hander then hit a ground ball to first that Aaron Bates picked up and attempted to throw to second base. But Bates threw wildly into left field for an error, with Carroll and Maldonado scoring on the play to give the Chiefs a 4-2 advantage.

Duke exited the game after seven innings, allowing just six hits and one earned run. Right-hander Josh Wilkie then entered to pitch the final two innings, collecting his second save of the season.

The Chiefs and Red Wings will close out their four-game series on Monday afternoon at 12:00. Right-hander Chien-Ming Wang will make his second rehab start for Syracuse against Red Wings right-hander Cole DeVries.