Buffalo, N.Y. ― The Syracuse Mets jumped out to an early lead and held on late in a 4-3 win over the Buffalo Bisons on Sunday afternoon at Sahlen Field.
Syracuse continues to pace the International League in the second half of the season with a 26-7 record. The Mets have won 12 of their last 13 games.
Syracuse got the scoring started in the top of the second inning. Yonny Hernandez walked and moved to second base on a balk. Later in the inning, with two outs, Omar De Los Santos singled to right field, scoring Hernandez for a 1-0 Syracuse lead.
The Mets extended their advantage in the third, when Luke Ritter hit an opposite-field home run over the wall in right-center field.
Both of those runs were scored off Major League rehabber Shane Bieber. The former Cy Young Award winner and two-time All-Star was making his first rehab appearance with Buffalo. Bieber allowed two runs in five innings with six strikeouts.
Syracuse doubled its lead in the sixth. Ritter led off with a single, and Joey Meneses had a one-out double that put runners at second and third base. Hernandez followed with a two-run single to right-center field, giving the Mets a 4-0 advantage.
Meanwhile, Buffalo struggled against Syracuse’s pitching again. On a bullpen day for the Mets, Kevin Herget, Richard Lovelady, Justin Garza, and Dylan Ross combined to pitch the first six innings in scoreless fashion while allowing just one hit, no walks, and striking out six batters.
The Bisons trimmed into the Mets’ lead in the seventh against Daniel Juarez. Michael Stefanic worked a one-out walk, and Buddy Kennedy worked a two-out walk. Yohendrick Pinango followed with a two-out single, scoring Stefanic to make it a 4-1 ballgame. Juarez proceeded to get the final out of the seventh inning and pitch a 1-2-3 eighth.
In the ninth, TJ Shook came out of the bullpen for Syracuse. After getting the first out, Shook gave up a single to Stefanic and a two-run home run to RJ Schreck, slashing the Syracuse lead to one, 4-3. After Kennedy flied out, Pinango walked, and Brandon Valenzuela singled, putting the tying run at second base and the winning run at first. Shook locked in and induced a pop out from Riley Tirotta to the catcher to end the game and secure the win for the Mets.
After an off day on Monday, Syracuse returns home to begin a six-game series against the Charlotte Knights on Tuesday night at NBT Bank Stadium. First pitch on Tuesday is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
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