Tatusko, Chiefs Ace Bats in Opener
April 22, 2014 - International League (IL1)
Syracuse Mets News Release
The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, defeated the Louisville Bats, 4-1, in the first game of a four-game set. Right-hander Ryan Tatusko led Syracuse to victory with six strong innings, and the Chiefs backed him with a three-run fifth.
Both teams first scored in the third inning, with Syracuse (8-10) starting the action. Tatusko began the frame by walking against Bats starter Chien-Ming Wang. Two batters later, Will Rhymes doubled Tatusko to third base. The Syracuse starter then scored on an RBI groundout by Steven Souza, Jr.
Louisville (9-9) retaliated in the bottom of the inning with some offensive help from its pitcher, when Wang singled on an 0-2 pitch with one out. After Jason Bourgeois grounded into a fielder's choice and stole second base, second baseman Ruben Gotay lined a run-scoring single to left field, evening the game at 1-1.
The Chiefs broke the deadlock with three runs - two unearned - in the fifth. Eury Perez started the inning by reaching on a two-base fielding error by former Chief Mike Costanzo at third base. Rhymes followed with a single, advancing Perez to third base. He'd score from there on an RBI single by Souza, Jr. for a 2-1 lead. After a Brock Peterson single loaded the bases, catcher Jhonatan Solano hit a ground ball to third base that got away from Costanzo for another error, plating Rhymes for the Chiefs' third run, though Souza was thrown out after rounding third base on the play. Syracuse scored its final run one batter later on a throwing error by Wang after a ground ball from Brian Goodwin, giving the Chiefs a 4-1 lead.
Those runs were enough for Tatusko, who pitched six walk-free innings for the second straight start. He surrendered just four hits and struck out three to lower his ERA to 2.18 after four starts. Left-hander Zach Jackson relieved Tatusko with two scoreless innings in his first Syracuse game in nine years, and southpaw Tyler Robertson ended the night with a 1-2-3 ninth.
Syracuse and Louisville resume their four-game set with game two, beginning at 6:35 on Wednesday night. Chiefs left-hander Aaron Laffey is scheduled to start.
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