Megill shines, Clifford homers twice, and Syracuse shuts out Indianapolis, 5-0, on Friday night

Syracuse, NY – Behind a two-homer game by Ryan Clifford and a gem on the mound from Tylor Megill, the Syracuse Mets took down the Indianapolis Indians, 5-0, on Friday night at NBT Bank Stadium in front of an electric crowd of 8,834.

In the bottom of the first inning, Syracuse (63-61, 32-17) opened the scoring with a solo homer from Ryan Clifford, his first in Triple-A, to give the Mets a 1-0 lead.

After a scoreless second, Syracuse added to its advantage. To start the frame, Luis De Los Santos reached base on an error by third baseman Cam Devanney. Next, Jett Williams reached on a fielder’s choice that led to a pair on base. Back-to-back RBI singles by Clifford and Pablo Reyes put the Mets ahead, 3-0.

Syracuse continued to show its power when Joey Meneses led off the bottom of the seventh with a homer, extending the lead to 4-0.

To add some insurance, Clifford left the yard for the second time in the eighth, an opposite-field blast that stretched the advantage to 5-0.

On the mound, Syracuse got a dominant start from Major League rehabber Tylor Megill. The big right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, allowing just one hit, and striking out four batters. In relief, Justin Hagenman tossed three innings without allowing a run or a walk, while fanning six batters. To close it out, Richard Lovelady pitched a scoreless ninth with a pair of strikeouts.

Syracuse continues its six-game series with the Indianapolis Indians on Saturday night. Right-hander Jonah Tong is slated to start on the mound for the Mets. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.