Mets winning streak ends with 4-1 RailRiders win on Saturday

Moosic, PA –The Syracuse Mets fell to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, 4-1, on Saturday evening at PNC Field, ending Syracuse’s three-game winning streak. Despite the loss, Daniel Palka went 2-for-4 in the game for the Mets.

Syracuse (13-21) struck first in the top of the first inning. With two outs, Palka worked a full count before launching a solo home run over the wall in left-center field for a 1-0 Mets lead.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre (12-22) responded in the bottom of the first. Estevan Florial led off with a double. With Oswald Peraza batting, Florial stole third base. Peraza then struck out for the first out of the frame. Next, with Miguel Andújar at the plate, a wild pitch allowed Florial to score and tie the game up, 1-1.

The RailRiders took the lead in the third. Evan Alexander led off with a walk, and Florial followed with a single to put runners at first and second base. A Peraza single to left field brought home Alexander to put the RailRiders in front, 2-1.

Scranton/Wilkes-Barre extended its lead in the fifth when Armando Alvarez led off with a solo home run down the left-field line, giving the RailRiders a 3-1 edge. Alvarez only has nine hits this season but five of them are extra-base hits.

The RailRiders finished the scoring in the seventh with a two-out run. With one out, Alexander singled and stole second base. Two batters later, with two outs, Peraza doubled off the left-field wall to plate Alexander and push the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre advantage to three, 4-1.

Pitching carried the day for the RailRiders who had starter Hayden Wesneski pitch six innings of one-run baseball with two hits allowed, no walks, and four strikeouts. The right-hander retired 18 of the 20 batters he faced. Trevor Lane, José Mujica, and Shelby Miller all came out of the bullpen for Scranotn/Wilkes-Barre to combine for three scoreless innings with just one hit allowed, no walks, and five strikeouts.

The Mets and RailRiders conclude their six-game series on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Thomas Szapucki is scheduled to start on the mound for Syracuse opposite Scranton/Wilkes-Barre left-hander JP Sears. First pitch is slated for 1:05 p.m.