The Rochester Red Wings trimmed a six-run deficit to two, but Syracuse answered with an insurance run in the eighth inning and held on for a 7-4 victory Tuesday night at NBT Bank Stadium.
Despite the loss, Rochester (35-23 in the second half, 80-51 overall) remained atop the International League second-half standings, maintaining a one-game lead over Indianapolis with less than three weeks remaining in the regular season.
Syracuse Mets strike early against Herz
Syracuse grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first when Ronny Mauricio launched a two-out solo homer to left-center field. The Mets added four more runs in the second inning on back-to-back solo home runs from Eric Wagaman and Billy Amick, then a two-run double by Zack Short that scored Nick Lorusso and Hayden Senger for a 5-0 advantage.
The Mets made it 6-0 in the third when MJ Melendez doubled, advanced to third on a groundout and scored on Amick's sacrifice fly.
Three homers help Rochester Red Wings climb back into game
The Red Wings got on the board in the fourth when Cayden Wallace connected for a solo homer to left field, his ninth of the season. Two batters later, Liover Peguero drilled a solo shot to left-center, cutting the deficit to 6-2.
Rochester pulled closer in the seventh. Maxwell Romero Jr. worked a walk before Phillip Glasser homered to right field, a two-run blast that brought the Red Wings within 6-4.
Glasser finished 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a run scored.
Syracuse adds insurance
The Mets answered in the bottom of the eighth. Nick Lorusso singled, stole second and scored on Hayden Senger's RBI single to right field, extending the lead to 7-4.
Syracuse reliever Ben Simon recorded four outs before Mets closer Brian Metoyer worked a scoreless ninth inning for his first save. Jonathan Santucci earned the win after allowing two runs on five hits over five innings while striking out six.
DJ Herz (0-1) took the loss for the Red Wings, allowing six runs on seven hits over 2 1/3 innings. Andry Lara, Ben Grable, Jake Bird, Jack Sinclair and Connor Van Scoyoc combined to cover the final 5 2/3 innings.
By the numbers
- The Red Wings hit three home runs: Wallace, Peguero and Glasser.
- Syracuse outhit Rochester 12-8.
- Nick Lorusso went 3-for-4 with two runs scored for the Mets.
- Hayden Senger finished 3-for-4 with a double, RBI and run scored.
- Rochester struck out 13 times.
Information gathered from milb.com.
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This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Red Wings can't complete comeback, remain atop second-half standings
