Chiefs fall in road-trip finale

The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, dropped a 7-1 series finale to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Sunday afternoon. The RailRiders scored runs in each of the first four innings en route to the win.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (5-5) struck first with an opening-inning run against Chiefs right-hander Omar Poveda. Ramon Flores led off the game with a double, and three batters later, first baseman Russ Canzler scored him with a single to left field.

The RailRiders ignited their offense with a three-run second. John Ryan Murphy's double and Austin Romine's walk started the rally, and three batters later, Flores walked to load the bases with two outs. Third baseman Scott Sizemore followed with a two-run single to center field for a 3-0 RailRiders lead. Left fielder Zoilo Almonte then lined a single to left field, bringing home Sizemore for the game's fourth run.

In the third inning, the RailRiders added a two-out run. Romine singled, advanced to second base on a wild pitch and scored on a single by center fielder Antoan Richardson.

Syracuse (3-7) grabbed its first run in the fourth inning against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starter Bruce Billings. Second baseman Will Rhymes started the frame by reaching on an error by Canzler at first base. Rhymes subsequently advanced to second base on a groundout, moved to third on a wild pitch and scored on a groundout by catcher Jhonatan Solano.

The RailRiders responded in the bottom of the frame. With one out, Flores tripled to right field. Sizemore immediately followed with a triple of his own to straightaway center, putting the RailRiders ahead 6-1.

Syracuse returns to NBT Bank Stadium on Monday to begin an eight-game homestand against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at 6:00. Chiefs left-hander Danny Rosenbaum and IronPigs southpaw Greg Smith are the scheduled starters.