SYRACUSE, NY (July 14, 2019) - For the second straight game, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders surrendered four runs in the bottom of the eighth, falling 5-3 to the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon.
SYRACUSE, NY (July 14, 2019) - For the second straight game, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders surrendered four runs in the bottom of the eighth, falling 5-3 to the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium Sunday afternoon.
The RailRiders opened the scoring in the first. Thairo Estrada doubled to the right field corner and Tyler Wade matched the hit, doubling to right off of Mets starter Ervin Santana to plate Estrada for a 1-0 edge.
Ben Heller made an Allied Integrated Health Systems rehab appearance for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, striking out the first two batters in the bottom of the first and needing only nine pitches, eight strikes, to dispatch Syracuse in a three-batter first.
Brody Koerner relieved Heller in the second and retired the first five men he faced. The Mets tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Travis Taijeron doubled, advanced to third on a Colton Plaia single and scored on an infield groundout by Rajai Davis.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre answered quickly and with some help in the top of the sixth. With two outs and a 3-1 count on Erik Kratz, Santana was charged with a ball for a pitch clock violation, putting the RailRiders DH on first. Zack Zehner hit the next pitch over the left field wall to give Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 3-1 lead.
Koerner made the lead stick through the sixth and seventh, but the Syracuse scored four times in the eighth off of David Sosebee. Davis reached on an error and moved to third on an Arismendy Alcantara double. Rubén Tejada singled in the pair to tie the game at three. René Rivera lifted a fly to right and the wind carried it out; Rivera's 15th home run of the season gave the Mets a 5-3 lead. The Mets scored four times in the eighth on Saturday to top the RailRiders 6-2.
In the ninth, Stephen Nogosek retired the side in order to seal Syracuse's third win of this four-game series.
Sosebee (3-1) was tagged with a blown save and took the loss while Nogosek (3-0) notched the win with two perfect innings. Despite dropping three of four, the RailRiders lead the I-81 Series 11-6. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre and Syracuse meet for a two-game series on July 29 and 30 at PNC Field to close their season match-up.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre opens a seven-game homestand against Columbus and Louisville on Monday evening at PNC Field. Deivi Garcia is slated to make his Triple-A debut on Monday against the Clippers. Garcia pitched in the Futures Game last weekend and is the New York Yankees 6th best prospect according to Baseball America. Visit swbrailriders.com for tickets or promotional information.
