Syracuse Mets Recap: Mets Come Up Short in Wednesday Morning Battle against Norfolk

Box Score

Syracuse, NY – The Mets played tactical small ball, but couldn't keep up with the Tides' long ball. Syracuse gave up four homers in a 6-5 loss to Norfolk on Wednesday morning.

Syracuse (35-36) struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Nick Morabito doubled and later scored when Cristian Pache stole second base and a throwing error by shortstop Luis Vázquez allowed Morabito to race home, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.

Norfolk (27-44) answered in the second. After Creed Willems drew a walk, José Barrero launched a two-run home run to left field to put the Tides in front, 2-1.

The Mets tied the game in the third. Jackson Cluff tripled to begin the inning, his second straight game with an extra base-hit and Jihwan Bae followed with a sacrifice fly, evening the score at 2-2.

Norfolk regained the lead in the fourth when Barrero hit his second homer of the game. Later in the inning, Jud Fabian added a solo shot of his own, stretching the Tides advantage to 4-2.

Syracuse responded with a three-run fifth inning to take the lead. Cluff walked and stole second before Bae lined an RBI single to right field. Later in the frame, Cristian Pache delivered a game-tying RBI single and Yonny Hernández drew a bases-loaded walk to force home the go-ahead run, giving the Mets a 5-4 advantage.

The score remained unchanged until the eighth. Enrique Bradfield Jr. drew a walk and advanced to second before Fabian crushed a two-run homer to right-center field, putting Norfolk back in front, 6-5.

The Mets threatened in the ninth when Morabito worked a one-out walk, but Norfolk retired the final two batters to secure the victory.

On the mound, Jack Wenninger allowed four runs over four innings, with all four runs coming on three home runs. Joey Gerber followed with two scoreless innings and four strikeouts. Dylan Ross tossed a perfect seventh inning before Ben Simon was charged with the go-ahead runs in the eighth. Simon was tabbed with the loss.

Bae finished with an RBI single, a sacrifice fly, and his team-leading 24th stolen base of the season. Cluff reached base three times, tripled, stole two bases, and scored twice, while Pache collected two hits, an RBI, and two stolen bases. Syracuse worked a season-best 10 walks for the third time this season and the first time since June 3 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Syracuse continues its series against Norfolk on Thursday night at NBT Bank Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.