Chiefs fall, 5-1, at RailRiders

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, fell short in a 5-1 loss on Sunday afternoon to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The RailRiders grabbed two runs in the fifth inning and added three in the eighth to claim their second win in three games in this series. Syracuse will look to complete a tie of the four-game set on Monday night.

The Chiefs and RailRiders traded zeroes for the first four-and-one-half innings, due to stellar pitching performances from Syracuse's Danny Rosenbaum and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre's Vidal Nuno. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (7-8) finally added some offense with a pair of fifth-inning runs. After a leadoff single from Addison Maruszak, second baseman Corban Joseph doubled to right field, plating the RailRiders' shortstop for the game's first run. Two batters later, Joseph scored from third base on a sacrifice fly from left fielder Zoilo Almonte.

Syracuse (7-9) answered quickly for its lone run in the top of the sixth inning. Jerad Head started the game with a walk before being forced out at second base on a Jeff Howell fielder's choice. Chris Rahl then reached on a fielding error by third baseman David Adams, putting two runners on with one out. That set the stage for left fielder Jeff Kobernus, who punched a single into left field, scoring Howell and cutting the RailRiders' lead to 2-1.

The RailRiders, however, would shut down Syracuse from that point on, allowing just three further singles among their three pitchers - Nuno, right-hander Sam Demel and right-hander Cody Eppley.

Meanwhile, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre added three more runs against Chiefs hurler Tanner Roark in the eighth inning. Adams drove in the inning's first tally with a double, before right fielder Thomas Neal punched a run-scoring single to center field. A Maruszak sacrifice fly would cap the scoring.

The Chiefs and RailRiders will finish their four-game series on Monday evening at 6:35. Syracuse right-hander Ross Ohlendorf will take the hill against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right-hander Chris Bootcheck.