Syracuse breaks free for 4-0 victory over Worcester on Independence Day

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets celebrated Independence Day with a shutout victory over the Worcester Red Sox, 4-0, on Friday night in front of an electric, sold-out crowd of 10,815 at NBT Bank Stadium. The Mets have won nine of their last 11 games and have the best record in the International League in the second half of the season.

The Fourth of July victory was headlined by another fantastic start from Brandon Sproat. The right-hander pitched five scoreless innings, allowed just two hits and one walk, and struck out a Triple-A career-high eight batters.

Syracuse (39-46, 8-2) and Worcester (44-40, 2-8) were scoreless until the bottom of the sixth inning. Francisco Alvarez led off with a walk, Pablo Reyes singled, and David Villar drove home the first run with an RBI single to right field that put the Mets in front, 1-0. Then, with two runners on, Gilberto Celestino blew the game open with a three-run homer over the right-field wall, extending the lead to 4-0.

That was all the offense Syracuse's pitching staff needed. After Sproat's start, Brooks Raley pitched a scoreless sixth in his first Major League rehab appearance in Triple-A. Dylan Ross struck out two batters in a 1-2-3 seventh, José Castillo worked around two walks and a hit to pitch a scoreless eighth, and Felipe De La Cruz closed the game out in the ninth without allowing a run.

Syracuse continues its six-game series with the Worcester Red Sox on Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium with game five. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.