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| Luisangel Acuña doubled and homered for Syracuse on Wednesday afternoon (Herm Card). |
By Michael Tricarico, Syracuse Mets Broadcaster
Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets and Worcester Red Sox engaged in a wacky Wednesday afternoon matinee at NBT Bank Stadium. In a ballgame that featured 15 combined runs and 26 combined hits while taking more than three hours to complete, the WooSox scored the game's final seven runs in a 9-6 win that evened up the series at a game apiece. The start of the series has certainly not lacked offense. The Mets won the series opener by an 8-6 final on Tuesday evening.
In the bottom of the first, Syracuse (63-46, 17-18) jumped on top first when Luisangel Acuña doubled to start the frame and then raced home a two-out double from Luke Ritter for a 1-0 lead.
After Worcester (51-59, 16-19) scored twice in the top of the third on a pair of RBI singles from Jamie Westbrook and Eddy Alvarez, the Mets roared back in front with a huge bottom of the third. A five-run frame jolted the home team out to a 6-2 cushion with both Acuña and Ritter both again playing a pivotal role in the scoring fun. Acuña homered leading off the inning to tie the game in the blink of an eye, his sixth homer of the season. After two straight outs, Ritter hit a chopper to shortstop that Alvarez misplayed, reaching base on the error to extend the inning. From there, the floodgates opened. The next five men reached base for the Mets, as they pounced with four more runs on four hits plus a walk. All the runs came with two outs, with a pair of pivotal RBI hits from Logan Porter and Yolmer Sánchez. Both of those RBI singles came with two strikes on them.
From there, the Red Sox flipped the script. Worcester scored the final seven runs in the game, steadily putting runners base and consistently bringing them home. Worcester scored at least one run in five of the last seven innings of the game, including runs in three of the last four innings. In the fourth, the Red Sox got a run back via an RBI single from Vaughn Grissom that plated Tyler McDonough to make it a 6-3 ballgame.
In the sixth, Worcester took the lead for good with four runs that put the Red Sox in pole position at 7-6. While the WooSox did have three hits in the sixth, the pivotal play of the frame was an error by the Mets. With the score at 6-5 and two runners on base with two outs, Mark Contreras hit a slow groundball to second base that looked like it would get the Mets out of the inning with the lead intact. However, Acuña' throw to first base was wide and skittered into the Worcester dugout, allowing both runs to score and the Red Sox to take the lead for good.
Insurance runs for the WooSox came in the seventh via an RBI double from Jamie Westbrook and in the ninth on a wild pitch with the bases loaded that scored Mickey Gasper. By the game ended, everyone got in on the fun for Worcester. Each of their nine hitters in the starting lineup reached base at least twice and eight of those nine had hits. Five different hitters had multi-hit games, including the rehabbing Big Leaguer Triston Casas who smoked two more doubles, adding to his strong week at NBT Bank Stadium.
While the Worcester offense grabbed the headlines, their bullpen was the real hero. They held Syracuse off the scoreboard in the last six innings, racking up six strikeouts while the Mets had just four hits and zero extra-base hits during that span.
After the loss, Syracuse was only left to bemoan their missed opportunities. The Mets left ten runners on base in the game, including five men left in scoring position. Nine of the final 11 batters Syracuse sent to the plate also went down in order.
The Syracuse Mets are back home after their two-week road trip with a six-game homestand against the Triple-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, the Worcester Red Sox, all week long. The series continues on Thursday at NBT Bank Stadium. Game three of the six-game series is set for a 6:35 p.m. first pitch.
No matter what time of day it is, Luke Ritter will rake. pic.twitter.com/Q0OiHy0g3z
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 7, 2024
Lunchtime homers from Luisangel hit different 😍 pic.twitter.com/5PXXjvxerM
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 7, 2024
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