Severino's blast pushes Chiefs past Stripers

Syracuse, NY (August, 11, 2018) - The Syracuse Chiefs used two big swings to beat the Gwinnett Stripers, 3-2, on Saturday night in front of an energized crowd of 5,638 at NBT Bank Stadium. The Chiefs never trailed in the game, and two of their four hits were home runs.

Syracuse (50-68) scored the game's decisive run in the bottom of the eighth inning off Gwinnett relief pitcher Phil Pfeifer. With two outs, Pedro Severino powered the second pitch of his at bat past the left-center-field wall to push Syracuse in front, 3-2.

The Chiefs got on the board in the bottom of the third inning against Stripers starter Connor Johnstone. Bengie González led off with a single. Austin Voth followed with a sacrifice bunt that moved Gonzalez to second base. Two batters later, with two outs, Andrew Stevenson crushed a pitch over the right-center-field wall for a two-run home run that gave the Chiefs a 2-0 lead. That homer was Stevenson's career-high fifth home run of the season.

Gwinnett (55-60) tied the game in the top of the fourth. Austin Riley began the inning with a home run to left field, cutting the Syracuse advantage to one, 2-1. Rio Ruiz followed with a double, and Dustin Peterson also doubled, scoring Ruiz to knot the game, 2-2.

Those were the only two runs allowed by Syracuse starting pitcher Austin Voth. The right-hander pitched seven innings with three strikeouts while allowing six hits and one walk. Chiefs reliever Austin Adams picked up two strikeouts in a scoreless inning, and Trevor Gott pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning with a pair of strikeouts en route to the save. 

The Chiefs and Stripers play the finale of their three-game series on Sunday afternoon. RHP Jefry Rodriguez is scheduled to pitch for Syracuse opposite RHP Andres Santiago for Gwinnett. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m.