Mets fall to Tides, 8-6, on Saturday night

Norfolk, VA - The Syracuse Mets had three separate leads evaporate as part of an 8-6 loss to the Norfolk Tides on Saturday night at Harbor Park. Arismendy Alcantara and René Rivera both had two hits and two RBIs for the Mets in the game.

Syracuse (59-59) jumped on the board in the top of the first. With one out, Alcantara and Rubén Tejada both singled, putting runners at first and third base. Dilson Herrera followed with a double that scored Alcantara for a 1-0 Mets lead. Rivera then singled home both Tejada and Herrera to give Syracuse a 3-0 advantage.
Norfolk (47-70) responded in the bottom of the first. With the bases loaded and one out, a wild pitch allowed Christopher Bostick to score from third, and Ryan Mountcastle scored from second on the play when Mets catcher Ali Sanchez made an errant throw to the plate to try and throw out Bostick as the Tides cut the Mets lead to one, 3-2. Austin Wynns followed with a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Williams from third to tie the game, 3-3.
The Mets struck right back in the second. Grégor Blanco led off the frame by crushing a ball over the right-field wall for a home run and a 4-3 Syracuse edge.
The Tides retied the game in the third. With one out and runners at second and third, Wynns collected an RBI on a groundout, knotting the game, 4-4.
Syracuse again took the lead back, this time in the fourth. With two outs and runners at second and third, Alcantara grounded a ball to center field for a single that brought home both runners to give the Mets a 6-4 advantage.
Norfolk again came from behind though. Austin Hays and Mountcastle hit back-to-back home runs to lead off the bottom of the fifth, tying the game, 6-6. Williams and Wynns followed with singles, placing runners at first and third. José Rondón then grounded a ball to third base, and a fielding error, allowed Williams to score from third on the play, giving Norfolk its first lead of the game, 7-6.
The Tides extended their lead in the seventh. With runners at first and second and two outs, Jack Reinheimer singled to center field, scoring Rondón from second for an 8-6 Norfolk lead.
The Mets struggled offensively over the game's last five innings. Syracuse managed just one base runner after the fourth inning, and 16 of Syracuse's last 17 batters were retired in the game.
Syracuse and Norfolk conclude their three-game series on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 4:05 p.m.