Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets jumped out to a six-run lead and held off a late Rochester rally for a 7-4 win over the Red Wings on Tuesday night at NBT Bank Stadium.
Syracuse (31-26, 69-63) opened the scoring in the bottom of the first when Ronny Mauricio launched a solo home run, his 17th of the season, for a 1-0 lead.
The Mets broke the game open with four runs in the second. Eric Wagaman and Billy Amick started the inning with back-to-back solo home runs to make it 3-0. Nick Lorusso then singled and Hayden Senger doubled before Zack Short drove both home with a two-run double, extending the Syracuse lead to 5-0.
Syracuse added another run in the third. MJ Melendez led off with a double, moved to third on a groundout and scored on an Amick sacrifice fly for a 6-0 advantage.
Rochester (35-23, 80-51) began its comeback in the fourth when Cayden Wallace and Liover Peguero each hit solo home runs, cutting the Mets’ lead to 6-2.
In the seventh, the Red Wings brought the game closer when Phillip Glasser hit a two-run home run.
The Mets added an insurance run in the bottom of the eighth. Lorusso singled, stole second and scored on Senger’s RBI single to give Syracuse a 7-4 lead.
Santucci earned the win, allowing two runs on five hits over five innings with one walk and six strikeouts. Matt Seelinger followed and allowed two runs on one hit and one walk while striking out three over one and two-thirds innings.Ben Simon entered to record the final out of the seventh and then worked a scoreless eighth, allowing one hit and striking out two.
Brian Metoyer closed it out in the ninth, allowing one hit and striking out two in a scoreless inning to earn the save.
Syracuse finished with 12 hits, led by three-hit games from Lorusso and Senger. Amick drove in two runs, while Short also had two RBIs.
The Mets and Red Wings continue their six-game series on Wednesday night at NBT Bank Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m., with RHP Xzavion Curry scheduled to start for Syracuse against RHP Jack Cebert for Rochester.