Carlos Rincon ninth-inning grand slam powers Mets to 9-5 win in road finale at Worcester on Sunday

Worcester, MA – The Syracuse Mets celebrated the last road game of the season in style, utilizing some late power to grab a 9-5 win at the Worcester Red Sox in a Sunday matinee at Polar Park. The Mets finished the year with a winning record against the WooSox, taking 16 of the 27 total meetings. Syracuse now heads home to wrap up the series with a quick, three-game series against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs from Monday through Wednesday.

Early on, the two teams played a mini home run derby, slugging four combined home run in the first two innings. Worcester (74-72) had three of the dingers, solo shots from Jarren Duran, Johan Mieses, and Jaylin Davis to power the WooSox to an early lead. Nick Dini had a solo shot of his own for Syracuse (63-84) in the top of the second, his 11th total home run of the season and his fifth in his last nine games overall.

It stayed a 3-1 lead in favor of Worcester entering the top of the fifth when the Mets made a big charge. Syracuse plated four runs on four hits in the frame, sending eight men to the plate in an inning that saw the Mets surge in front, 5-3. The big blow of the inning was a two-run triple from Jake Mangum that gave the Mets a 4-3 lead. Mangum had hits in each of the final five games of the series, and he now has hits in 17 of his last 19 games. Mangum also has multiple hits in nine of his last 15 games overall.

It remained a 5-3 game into the bottom of the eighth inning when the ballgame threatened to get away from the Mets. Worcester scored twice in the frame to knot the game up at five, sending eight men to the plate of their own and taking advantage of unforced errors by the Mets. The WooSox had just one hit in the inning as four walks by the Mets pitching staff coupled with a single and two productive groundouts allowed the two runs to cross home plate, knotting the game up, 5-5. Johan Mieses scored the eventual tying run in the inning. He finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate with two runs scored. On the season, Mieses hit .380 (19-for-50) against the Mets with 12 runs scored.

In the top of the ninth, the Mets powered their way in front for good. With the bases loaded and two outs, Carlos Rincon strode to the plate and provided one of the signature moments of the season, launching a go-ahead grand slam way beyond the left-field fence to make it a 9-5 game and cap off the day’s scoring. Rincon finished the game 2-for-5 at the plate and is certainly finishing the season strong. This week in Worcester, Rincon had three doubles and a home run with five runs driven in. Rincon returned to the lineup last week after having not played for Syracuse since early June due to injury. Since his return, Rincon has three doubles and two home runs.

Syracuse wraps up its season against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs in a three-game series from Monday through Wednesday. The first game in the series is set for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch on Monday evening. Right-hander José Butto is scheduled to start on the mound for the Mets.