Wang leads hot Chiefs to sixth straight

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, extended their win streak to a season-high six games Monday afternoon at Alliance Bank Stadium with a 6-4 win over the Rochester Red Wings. Chien-Ming Wang, making his second start in Syracuse on a rehab assignment, became the first Chiefs starter to throw into the ninth inning in 2012.

Syracuse (17-21) took control of what was a 1-1 game in the bottom of the sixth. That's when center fielder Corey Brown cranked his sixth home run of the year down the right field line to give the Chiefs a 2-1 lead and one they would not relinquish.

Josh Johnson batted after Brown and reached on a Rochester (14-23) error. The Syracuse second baseman stole second and moved to third when Mark Teahen singled to the left side. Xavier Paul then struck out, but Brett Carroll and Jim Negrych both provided run-scoring hits to extend the Chiefs advantage to 4-1.

An inning later in the seventh, Bynum belted his third homer of the year over the wall in left. Brown proceeded to double to right, knocking Red Wings starter Cole DeVries from the game. Two batters later, Teahen drove in his 30th run of the year with a single to left to put the Chiefs ahead 6-2. The Syracuse first baseman ended the game in third place in the International League in RBI.

Meanwhile, Wang surrendered four runs in nine-plus innings. The groundball pitcher allowed 11 hits and only struck out one, but induced three double plays to help his cause.

The righty started the ninth looking to become the first Chief to throw a complete nine-inning game this season, but the Red Wings showed life with a Sean Burroughs single and Ray Chang double. Wang then left the game with two runners in scoring position. The Alliance Bank Stadium crowd gave the Major League veteran a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

Cory VanAllen came on in relief of Wang. Although the southpaw allowed both inherited runners to score, as Rochester crept to within 6-4, VanAllen shut the door from there to earn his first save of the season.

Syracuse goes on the road to start an eight-game road trip Tuesday night at the Columbus Clippers. Mitch Atkins is scheduled to start for the Chiefs against the Clippers' Corey Kluber. Tuesday's first pitch is set for 6:35 PM.