Jacksonville, FL – The Syracuse Mets used a flurry of home runs and 15 strikeouts from their pitching staff to beat the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp, 6-3, on Tuesday night at VyStar Ballpark.
Syracuse (18-21, 56-58) opened the scoring in the second inning. Ryan Clifford walked with one out before MJ Melendez lined an RBI triple to center field, scoring Clifford for a 1-0 lead.
Jacksonville (15-24, 57-56) answered in the bottom half. Bennett Hostetler hit a one-out solo home run off Jonah Tong to tie the game, 1-1. The Jumbo Shrimp put two more runners aboard later in the inning, but Tong escaped without further damage.
Melendez put Syracuse back in front in the fourth, launching a two-out solo home run to right field. The homer was his 12th of the season and gave the Mets a 2-1 advantage.
The Mets added two more runs in the fifth. Hayden Senger led off with a single, and two batters later Vidal Bruján hit a two-run home run to right field, his second of the season, extending the lead to 4-1.
Jacksonville threatened in the bottom of the fifth after two Syracuse errors and a walk loaded the bases with nobody out. Austin Warren replaced Tong and struck out Kemp Alderman, Brayden Taylor and Hostetler in succession to strand all three runners and preserve the three-run lead.
Syracuse continued to add on with the long ball. Andy Ibáñez hit a two-out solo home run in the sixth, his fourth of the season, to make it 5-1. Nick Morabito followed with a leadoff solo home run in the seventh, his 11th of the season, stretching the advantage to 6-1.
The Jumbo Shrimp cut into the lead in the bottom of the seventh. Jonathon Long singled before Alderman hit a two-run home run off Matt Turner, trimming the Syracuse advantage to 6-3. Brian Metoyer entered later in the inning with one out and two runners aboard and struck out Brendan Jones and Jared Serna to end the threat.
Zach Peek took over in the eighth and closed out the victory with two scoreless innings, allowing one hit and striking out three to earn his first save of the season.
On the mound, Tong started for Syracuse and worked four-plus innings, allowing one run on four hits with four walks and six strikeouts. Warren earned the win with one perfect inning and three strikeouts. Turner allowed two runs on two hits with two walks and one strikeout in 1.1 innings. Metoyer recorded two outs, allowing one hit with no runs or walks and two strikeouts, earning his first hold. Peek tossed two scoreless innings, allowing one hit with no walks and three strikeouts.
Syracuse finished with eight hits, with Melendez and Bruján each collecting two. Melendez went 2-for-4 with a triple, home run and two RBIs, while Bruján went 2-for-5 with a two-run homer. Ibáñez and Morabito each added solo home runs as the Mets hit four homers in the win.
The Mets and Jumbo Shrimp continue their series Wednesday night with game two at 7:05 p.m. Right-hander Jacker Wenninger is scheduled to start for Syracuse with lefty Patrick Monteverde slated to pitch for Jacksonville.