IL1 Syracuse Mets

Chiefs Come Back for Win in Pawtucket

Published on August 23, 2011 under International League (IL1)
Syracuse Mets News Release


The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, completed a four-game series victory with a 4-2 win over the Pawtucket Red Sox. The Chiefs took their third win in the four games, with the teams set to begin a two-game series at Syracuse on Wednesday night. Syracuse scored two sixth-inning runs to take a lead it would never relinquish, with Brad Peacock earning his fourth Triple-A win in eight starts.

Syracuse (59-68) and Pawtucket (73-57) traded runs for four consecutive half-innings early on. Pawtucket took a lead in the bottom of the second thanks to some wildness from Peacock. Hector Luna and Will Middlebrooks walked, and a wild pitch advanced both runners. With men on second and third base and one out, Brett Carroll hit a sharp ground ball off of Matt Antonelli's glove at third base for an infield single, scoring Luna.

The Chiefs answered in the top of third against right-handed Pawtucket starter Alex Wilson. Steve Lombardozzi reached on an infield single to lead off the inning, and Matt Antonelli walked with one out. A double steal then advanced the runners with Jesus Valdez at the plate. The right fielder bounced a 1-1 pitch to third base, and Will Middlebrooks fired an off-target throw to first. Lombardozzi scored, Antonelli advanced to third base, and Valdez went to second. But Syracuse failed to capitalize with one out and two runners on, as Tug Hulett flied out and Jhonatan Solano grounded out.

Pawtucket answered in the bottom of the frame. Daniel Nava doubled with two outs, and Lars Anderson's single to center field put the Red Sox back on top.

But Syracuse re-tied the game in the top of the fourth with a two-out rally. Corey Brown, Steve Lombardozzi, and Roger Bernadina laced three consecutive singles, the latter of which scored Brown to even the game at two apiece.

Brown would leave the game soon after, suffering an injury in center field. He tracked down a Luis Exposito fly ball in the bottom of the fourth for the second out, but came up lame in the outfield. After trainer Atsushi Toriida and manager Randy Knorr examined Brown, they removed the center fielder from the game. Chris Marrero entered in Brown's spot to play first base, with Jeff Frazier moving to left and Bernadina to center.

The Chiefs took over the lead for the first time in the top of the sixth inning against right-hander Jason Rice. With one out, Bernadina singled to left field, Antonelli walked, and Valdez singled to right field, loading the bases for Hulett. The Chiefs' designated hitter lifted an 0-2 pitch to deep left-center field, where center fielder Che-Hsuan Lin tracked it down. Lin dove and got his glove on the ball, but couldn't make the catch. Bernadina scored and the other runners each advanced a base, with Syracuse taking a 3-2 lead on the RBI single. The Chiefs tacked on another run when Rice threw a wild pitch, scoring Antonelli from third.

Syracuse's bullpen did the rest. Right-hander Garrett Mock retired all seven batters he faced, with lefty Atahualpa Severino getting back-to-back outs to end the eighth.

But Pawtucket rallied in the ninth inning against Chiefs closer Josh Wilkie. Anderson led off with a single to left field, giving the Red Sox their first base runner since the third inning. Luna and Middlebrooks then followed suit with singles, loading the bases with nobody out in a 4-2 game.

But Wilkie recovered to strike out Brett Carroll for the first out. Luis Exposito then worked the count full before hitting a sharp ground ball to third base. Matt Antonelli fired to second base for the second out, with Steve Lombardozzi turning to first for the game-ending double play.

The Chiefs return home to play the Red Sox in a two-game home series starting on Wednesday night at 7:00. Two left-handers, Syracuse's Tommy Milone and Pawtucket's Greg Smith, are scheduled to start.

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International League Stories from August 23, 2011


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