Christian Scott fans nine in Triple-A debut as Syracuse rallies back for 5-4 win at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

Moosic, PA – The Syracuse Mets finally got the chance to play again on Thursday night, and their return to action did not disappoint. The Mets rallied back from a three-run deficit in the top of the ninth inning to top the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 5-4, on another rainy night in the Electric City. The first two scheduled games in the series on Tuesday and Wednesday night were both postponed by rainy weather.

The headliner for Syracuse (2-2) on another rainy night in Northeastern Pennsylvania was Christian Scott, who was making his Triple-A debut on the mound for the Mets. The 24-year-old, widely considered one of the top pitching prospects in the New York Mets minor-league system, spent most of his shorter start wowing the crowd. Scott fanned nine batters in his four-inning outing, including seven batters on swinging strikeouts. He struck out at least two batters in each inning that he worked.

However, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (2-2) got their cuts in against Scott as well, tagging him for three runs on five hits. The scoring for the RailRiders off Christian Scott was highlighted by two solo home runs in the fourth inning from Everson Pereira and Jeter Downs. Caleb Durbin also tagged Scott with an RBI single in the third – Durbin finished the game 3-for-4 with two singles and a triple.

On the other side, Edgar Barclay turned in a quality shorter short in his own right for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The lefthander allowed just one run in four and one-third innings, allowing four hits and two walks with four strikeouts. The Mets did get a run off Barclay in the third when Mark Vientos singled in Rylan Bannon, but that was it off of Barclay. The 25-year-old utilized a wicked changeup to keep the Mets off balance throughout his outing.

From there, the game shifted to the bullpen, and the Mets relievers kept the team in the ballgame. Dedniel Núñez, Cole Sulser, and Grant Hartwig allowed just one run on five hits in the fifth through eighth innings, walking one and striking out three combined batters. Hartwig was the most impressive of the bunch – the Michigan native tossed two scoreless innings on two hits with a strikeout.

However, the RailRiders’ relievers also did the job on the other side. Anthony Misiewicz, Duane Underwood, Jr., and Yerry De Los Santos held the 4-1 lead intact into the top of the ninth inning, and appeared like it just wouldn’t be the Mets’ night. Syracuse left ten batters on base in the first eight innings and struck out 14 times in those frames.

Then came the ninth when the story completely changed. Clayton Andrews entered the game trying to earn the save, but it was a nightmare right from the outset. Rylan Bannon and Luisangel Acuña walked to start the inning, followed by a Drew Gilbert fielder’s choice groundout to put runners on first and third base with one out. Then, Mark Vientos chopped a groundball just fair down the third-base line, plating both runners on a two-run double that made it a 4-3 game in the blink of an eye. From there, things got a little goofy. Four of the next five Syracuse batters drew walks with a wild pitch in between, helping to plate two go-ahead runs that would eventually hand the Mets a 5-4 comeback victory. A wild pitch scored a pinch-running Ben Gamel to tie the game, followed by a bases-loaded walk from Luke Ritter that provided the eventual winning run.

Yacksel Ríos pitched a clean bottom of the ninth to ensure the Syracuse Mets would walk away 5-4 winners on this gloomy and rainy Thursday night. It was the first time a Mets reliever earned a save in the 2024 season. The win also continued an encouraging trend from the 2023 season when the Syracuse Mets had a flair for the dramatic. The Mets had a franchise-record 14 walk-off wins last season.

Syracuse continues its week at the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders with a Friday night game tomorrow. Game two of the six-game series is set for a 6:35 p.m. start. Right-hander Dom Hamel is slated to start for Syracuse, opposed by right-hander Yoendrys Gomez for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.