Moosic, Pa. – The Syracuse Mets play complimentary baseball to pull away for an 8-1 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Friday night at PNC Field.
Syracuse wasted little time jumping in front. Nick Morabito was hit by a pitch with one out in the first inning before Mauricio launched a two-run home run to right-center field, his ninth in Triple-A this season, to give the Mets an early 2-0 lead.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre answered with a run in the second when Tyler Hardman drove in Yanquiel Fernández with a groundout, trimming the deficit to 2-1.
The Mets broke the game open in the fifth. Ben Rortvedt doubled and later scored on Jihwan Bae's RBI single. Bae and Morabito then executed a double steal to move into scoring position before Ryan Clifford lined a two-run single to right, extending Syracuse's lead to 5-1.
Syracuse added three more runs in the sixth. Christopher Morel, Rortvedt, and Cristian Pache loaded the bases with consecutive singles before Bae's groundout plated Morel. After Morabito reached on catcher's interference, Mauricio lined a two-run single to right field, scoring Rortvedt and Pache to make it 8-1.
Tong turned in a brilliant performance, allowing one run on five hits while striking out nine over 4.2 innings. Joe Jacques escaped a bases-loaded jam in the fifth before tossing 1.1 scoreless innings and earning the win. Nate Lavender worked two perfect innings and Dan Hammer retired the side in order with three strikeouts in the ninth to close out the victory.
Mauricio finished 2-for-5 with a home run, a two-run single, and four runs batted in. Clifford went 1-for-4 with two runs batted in, while Bae drove in two runs, stole two bases, and scored twice. Morabito reached base four times, stole his 32nd base of the season, and scored two runs, while Rortvedt collected two hits and scored twice.
The Mets continue their six-game series against the RailRiders on Saturday night at PNC Field. Right-hander Robert Stock is slated to get the ball for the Mets against right-hander Alexander Cornielle. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.