Moosic, Pa. – Christopher Morel's ninth-inning home run brought the tying run to the plate, but the Syracuse Mets couldn't complete the comeback in a 3-2 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Sunday afternoon at PNC Field.
The Mets split the six-game set with the RailRiders and won the regular season series 14-10.
Syracuse struck first in the opening inning. Nick Morabito singled and Ronny Mauricio followed with a base hit before Morel lined an RBI double to center field, scoring Morabito for a 1-0 lead.
Jack Weisenburger kept the RailRiders off the scoreboard through three perfect innings with two strikeouts.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre broke through in the fourth after Joey Gerber entered in relief. George Lombard Jr. walked and J.C. Escarra doubled before Marco Luciano tied the game with an RBI single. Tyler Hardman then reached on a fielder's choice that brought home Escarra, with a throwing error on the play allowing the RailRiders to take a 2-1 lead.
The Mets threatened in the sixth against Elmer Rodriguez when Morabito reached second on a throwing error and advanced to third on Mauricio's groundout, but Jake Bird came in relief and struck out Morel and Ryan Clifford to strand the tying run.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre added an insurance run in the eighth when Abrahan Gutierrez hit a solo home run to left field, extending the lead to 3-1.
Syracuse made one final push in the ninth. Morel opened the inning with a solo home run to left-center field, his fifth of the season, cutting the deficit to one. However, Yovanny Cruz retired the next two batters on strikeouts to end the game.
Weisenburger faced just one turn in the order and retired all batters with two strikeouts. Gerber was charged with the loss after allowing two runs in the fourth inning. Xzavion Curry, Dedniel Núñez, and Jefry Yan combined to cover the final four innings, with Yan surrendering the eighth-inning home run.
Morel paced the offense, finishing 2-for-4 with a double, a home run, and both Syracuse runs batted in. Morabito went 1-for-4, scored a run, and reached base twice, while Mauricio added a hit in the loss.
The Mets continue their 12-game road trip on Tuesday to begin a six-game series against the Rochester Red Wings at ESL Ballpark. First pitch is scheduled for 6:05 p.m.