St. Paul, MN — The Syracuse Mets scored five runs over the third through fifth innings, and held the St. Paul Saints scoreless over the final seven frames, in a 6-2 victory Thursday at CHS Field.
Syracuse (36-29, 74-66) opened the scoring in the first inning when D’Andre Smith doubled and later scored on an MJ Melendez groundout. St. Paul (36-30, 78-62) answered in the second, taking a 2-1 lead on a two-run double from Tanner Schobel.
The Mets regained the lead in the third when Kevin Parada hit a two-run home run, scoring Nick Lorusso, to put Syracuse ahead 3-2. Syracuse added two more runs in the fourth on an RBI double from Ryan Clifford and an RBI single from Lorusso, extending the lead to 5-2.
Syracuse added its final run in the fifth. Émilien Pitre and Melendez drew back-to-back walks before Vidal Bruján singled home Pitre to make it 6-2.
Syracuse’s pitching staff kept St. Paul off the scoreboard the rest of the way. Jack Wenninger worked five innings, allowing two runs with seven strikeouts. Dylan Ross tossed an inning with a strikeout. Cameron Weston threw an inning and a third perfect, recording all 11 batters faced out as a Syracuse Met thus far. Ryan Lambert made his first appearance since coming off the injured list, recording the final out in the eighth. Ben Simon got the first out of the ninth before manager Dick Scott brought in left-hander Matt Turner to retire two lefties and secure the win.
Clifford doubled twice and drove in a run, while Lorusso knocked in an RBI single. Parada’s two-run homer was his second of the season, and Bruján added an RBI single. Pitre also recorded a double and scored a run.
With the win, the Mets jump the Saints in the International League second half standings. Syracuse is 2.5 games back of Rochester for the second half lead with nine games remaining in the regular season.
The Mets and Saints continue their series on Friday. First pitch is slated for 7:37 p.m. ET.