Mets comeback falls short in 5-3 loss to RailRiders on Tuesday night

Moosic, PA – In the first game of their six-game series, the Syracuse Mets came up short in a 5-3 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday night at PNC Field.

The Syracuse (29-35) offense started off flat, going scoreless for the first five innings against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (30-31) starter Anthony DeSclafani.

Meanwhile, the RailRiders scored their first run in the bottom of the second inning with an RBI double by Jose Rojas that put Scranton/Wilkes-Barre ahead, 1-0.

In the bottom of the fourth, the RailRiders tacked on two more with solo homers by T.J. Rumfield and Bryan De La Cruz that gave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 3-0 lead.

The Mets finally cracked the egg on the scoreboard with their first run in the top of the sixth inning. With the bases loaded, Jon Singleton drew a walk, scoring Gilberto Celestino and making it a 3-1 ballgame.

Syracuse added another run in the seventh when Luis De Los Santos and Yonny Hernandez drew walks to put two on base for Celestino. The Mets’ leadoff man smacked an RBI double and cut the deficit to 3-2.

In a one-run game, the RailRiders offense responded in the bottom of the seventh. Bryan De La Cruz singled and Jose Rojas left the yard with a two-run homer, giving Scranton/Wilkes-Barre a 5-2 lead.

The Mets only scored one more run, a solo shot by Jon Singleton, his team-leading 12th of the season. The homer made it a 5-3 game but the RailRiders didn't relinquish the lead in game one of the series.

On the mound, Dedniel Nuñez got the start, throwing one scoreless inning with two strikeouts. Blade Tidwell followed with five innings, giving up three runs, walking one batter and striking out five. Max Kranick recorded two outs but gave up the two-run homer to Rojas, and Tyler Zuber tossed one and one-third scoreless innings with three strikeouts.

Syracuse continues its six-game series with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday night with game two. Left-hander Brandon Waddell is scheduled to pitch for the Mets opposite right-hander Allan Winans for the RailRiders. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.