Almanzar, Long lead Chiefs past Clippers

Columbus, OH (July 21, 2017) - The Syracuse Chiefs beat the Columbus Clippers, 9-4, Friday night at Huntington Park. Jaron Long held the Clippers to a lone run in seven strong innings. Michael Almanzar led the way offensively with four hits, including a home run, in his first four-hit game in nearly five years.

Syracuse (34-63) started the scoring in the first inning. Andrew Stevenson led off the game with a single off Travis Banwart, followed by an Irving Falu walk. Neftali Soto then singled up the middle, scoring Stevenson from second for a 1-0 lead.
The Chiefs added another run in the third. Stevenson started the inning with a ground-rule double to left field. Three batters later, Clint Robinson doubled to center to stretch the lead to two. 
Almanzar added a third run in the fourth on his first home run as a Chief over the right-center field fence, stretching the lead to 3-0.
Columbus (53-45) could not solve Long in the first six innings, but cracked the scoreboard in the seventh inning. After loading the bases in the sixth without scoring, Erik Kratz doubled with one out in the seventh. Ronny Rodriguez followed with a doubled to right field to score Kratz to cut the deficit to 3-1.
But the Chiefs added two more in the seventh. Robbie Aviles hit both Robinson and Brandon Snyder to start the inning, and Alejandro De Aza singled to load the bases. After a force out at the plate, Almanzar continued his big day with a two-run single up the middle, platting Snyder and De Aza for a 5-1 Chiefs lead. Almanzar's four-hit game was his first sine July 24, 2012 with the Class-A-Advanced Salem Red Sox.
In the ninth, the Chiefs broke the game open, with the first six batters reaching. Stevenson walked and Irving Falu singled, though Stevenson was thrown out at third on the play. Falu moved to second on the throw, stole third base and scored on Soto's RBI single for a 6-1 lead. The steal was the Chiefs' first since Stevenson on July 5th. Robinson then continued his strong road trip with a double to right to score Soto. Snyder followed with a single to put runners on first and third. De Aza became the sixth consecutive Chief to reach to start the inning on a double to right to score Robinson for an 8-1 lead. Snyder scored a batter later on Kieboom's groundout to third, capping a four-run ninth and 9-1 lead.
In the bottom of the ninth, Columbus scored three runs against Trevor Gott, with a bases-loaded walk from Nellie Rodriguez and a two-run single from Tyler Naquin. However, Neal Cotts closed out the game on a pop out from Daniel Robertson.
The Chiefs and Clippers continue their series Saturday night at 7:15 p.m. Sean O'Sullivan is scheduled to start for Syracuse opposite Jarrett Grube for Columbus.