Syracuse, NY — The Syracuse Mets hit three home runs, and scored five runs in the sixth inning, but surrendered seven runs in the eighth inning, falling to the Rochester Red Wings, 14-9, Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium.
Rochester (37-25, 82-53) struck first in the second inning when Sam Petersen reached on a fielding error by Vidal Bruján, allowing Leandro Pineda to score. Syracuse (33-28, 71-65) answered in the third when Émilien Pitre singled home Hayden Senger to tie the game at 1-1.
Pineda put Rochester back in front in the fourth with his ninth home run of the season. The Red Wings added two more runs in the sixth on Andrew Pinckney’s 14th homer and an RBI single from Petersen, taking a 4-1 lead.
The Mets responded with five runs in the sixth. Ronny Mauricio and MJ Melendez opened the inning with back-to-back solo home runs, cutting the deficit to 4-3. After Vidal Bruján walked and Hayden Senger reached on catcher’s interference, Nick Lorusso singled home both runners to give Syracuse its first lead of the night. D’Andre Smith followed with an RBI single, putting the Mets ahead 6-4.
Rochester regained the lead in the seventh. Three consecutive walks loaded the bases before two passed balls allowed one run to score. Cayden Wallace then singled home Trey Lipscomb and Buddy Kennedy, putting the Red Wings ahead 7-6.
Syracuse answered immediately. Pitre led off the bottom of the seventh with his first home run of the season to tie the game. After a Melendez single, Jose Ramos singled him home and advanced to third on a throwing error. Ramos then scored on a wild pitch, giving the Mets a 9-7 lead.
The two-run advantage disappeared in the eighth. Maxwell Romero Jr. led off with his ninth home run of the season, and Rochester tied the game when Petersen scored on a fielder’s choice. Kennedy then delivered the biggest blow, launching a three-run homer to put Rochester ahead 12-9. Wallace followed with a solo homer, and Pineda added his second home run of the night to make it 14-9.
Syracuse put two runners on in the bottom of the ninth when Bruján singled and Ramos was hit by a pitch, but Rochester retired the next three batters to close out the win.
As a result, Syracuse dropped to three and-a-half games back of Rochester for the International League Second Half standings.
Pitre finished with two hits, including his first home run of the season and two RBIs. Lorusso recorded two hits and two RBIs, while Melendez and Ramos each had two hits. Mauricio and Melendez each homered in the sixth inning.
Kevin Herget started for Syracuse and allowed one unearned run over three innings. Matt Seelinger followed with three innings, allowing two runs, before Brian Metoyer, Joe Jacques and Zach Peek handled the final three innings. Rochester hit six home runs, setting a new season high.
The Mets and Red Wings will continue their series Sunday at NBT Bank Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 5:35 p.m.