Chiefs power past Gwinnett 13-4

The Syracuse Chiefs (55-65), the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, scored in five of the first six innings on the way to a 13-4 blowout of the Gwinnett Braves (67-57) Tuesday at Alliance Bank Stadium. The Chiefs blasted four homers and seven different players drove in runs in the romp.

Both offenses caught fire early on. After the Braves tallied one run in the first, Roger Bernadina gave Syracuse its first lead with a two-run blast to right center field. Gwinnett's Jeff Fiorentino answered with a solo blast to start the second, but the Chiefs took the lead for good in the bottom of the frame on a Yunesky Maya RBI single.

Syracuse dominated the rest of the way. Seth Bynum and Matt Antonelli hit back-to-back blasts in the third to give the Chiefs a 5-2 edge. Gwinnett got one back in the fourth on Brandon Hicks' solo homer, but Syracuse just kept thriving on offense. Braves reliever Dustin Richardson took over for starter Steven Shell in the bottom of the inning, but the Chiefs built the lead back to 6-3 on a Jesus Valdez bloop single.

Fiorentino drove in another run for Gwinnett in the top of the sixth, but Syracuse exploded for their biggest frame of the game in the bottom of the inning. Five straight Chiefs reached to start the inning, ballooning the lead to 9-4 in the process.

Corey Brown then walked to load the bases between strikeouts, bringing pinch hitter Adam Fox to the plate. Lefty Ben Swaggerty took over for Richardson on the mound, but Fox still launched a two-out grand slam over the left field wall, giving Syracuse an insurmountable 13-4 lead.

Chiefs relievers Lee Hyde, Garrett Mock and Atahualpa Severino held the Braves scoreless over the final three innings to secure the blowout win.

Syracuse and Gwinnett battle again Wednesday at 7:00 at Alliance Bank Stadium. Chiefs righty Brad Peacock will pitch against Braves righty Julio Teheran.