Syracuse Beats Worcester, 12-3 in Opener of a 6-Game Series at Polar Park

Syracuse SS Ronny Mauricio homers three times for 5 RBI; Mets starter Jonah Tong tosses 5.1 innings with 9 strikeouts

April 22nd, 2026
Syracuse shortstop Ronny Mauricio had plenty of reasons to smile as he homered three times to lead the Mets to a 12-3 win over the Worcester Red Sox on Tuesday night at Polar Park.
Syracuse shortstop Ronny Mauricio had plenty of reasons to smile as he homered three times to lead the Mets to a 12-3 win over the Worcester Red Sox on Tuesday night at Polar Park.Tayla Bolduc

Worcester, MA – The Worcester Red Sox (11-10) suffered their worst defeat of the season as they fell to the Syracuse Mets, 12-3 on Tuesday night in the opener of a 6-game series at Polar Park.  The Syracuse victory broke a tie between the clubs atop the IL East as the Mets (12-9) now own a 1-game lead over the WooSox in the division. 

Syracuse shortstop Ronny Mauricio belted three home runs off three different Worcester pitchers.  The 25-year-old who returned from New York one week ago, had a solo HR in the 4th inning, a 2-run blast in the 5th inning, and another 2-run homer in the 8th inning.

The Mets used the long ball to account for 9 of their 12 runs.  Mauricio, who was optioned to Syracuse from the New York Mets on April 13, broke a scoreless tie with a long solo HR with one out in the bottom of the 4th inning.  His blast came off WooSox starter and tough-luck loser Isaac Coffey (0-1) who struck out 6 in 3.2 innings while allowing 2 runs on 4 hits – the last an RBI single by Christian Pache (4 hits) with two outs in the 4th to make it 2-0. 

With one out in the 5th inning, Mets CF Nick Morabito took reliever Seth Martinez deep for a solo HR (his 4th of the season).  After a walk, Mauricio struck again belting a 2-run HR to straightaway centerfield.  When Pache delivered his second straight RBI single to cap the inning it was 6-0 Mets. 

Syracuse broke things wide open in the 6th inning thanks to a Ryan Clifford grand slam off Reidis Sena. 

The WooSox scored their first run in the bottom of the 6th inning when Nick Sogard doubled and came home on an RBI single by Mickey Gasper.  That knocked Syracuse starter and winner Jonah Tong (1-1) from the game after an impressive outing for the 22-year-old Canadian who went 5.1 innings with 9 strikeouts.

Mauricio would cap his tremendous night with his third homer of the game (and his 6th overall with Syracuse) taking Noah Song out to centerfield for a 2-run shot in the 8th inning.

Sogard led the WooSox with 3 hits and 2 runs scored while Gasper had a pair of RBI singles and Matt Thaiss chipped in with two singles.  Worcester’s only pitcher to throw scoreless ball was newcomer Angel Bastardo who struck out the side in the 7th inning in his WooSox debut.   

The 6-game set continues tomorrow (Wednesday) afternoon at Polar Park with a special School Vacation Week start time of 3:05 pm.  WooSox lefty Jake Bennett (2-1, 0.55), who leads the International League in ERA, looks to add to his impressive start to the season when he takes the mound vs. Syracuse southpaw Brandon Waddell (2-0, 5.40).  The game is live on NESN+ and on radio on NASH 98.9 FM.