IL1 Syracuse Mets

Chiefs Drop 13-Inning Thriller to Bisons

Published on June 28, 2014 under International League (IL1)
Syracuse Mets News Release


The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, lost a 7-6, 13-inning game to the Buffalo Bisons on Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium. The Chiefs rallied from four runs down in the seventh, but catcher Erik Kratz finished a four-hit, six-RBI game with the go-ahead sacrifice fly in the 13th.

Buffalo (42-38) struck first in the top of the second inning against right-hander A.J. Cole. Designated hitter A.J. Jimenez led the inning off by reaching base on an error by third baseman Brandon Laird. After two fly outs, Kratz drove a 1-1 pitch over the wall in left-center to put the Bisons up 2-0. The home run was Kratz's second of the year.

Syracuse (49-33) tied the score in the bottom of the fourth inning against right-hander Esmil Rogers. With one out in the inning, first baseman Tyler Moore singled to right field. The next batter, Laird, homered to left-center field, tying the game at two. Laird now leads the Chiefs with 44 RBIs on the season.

The Bisons retook the lead in the top of the fifth inning against Cole. Kratz doubled past a diving Brian Goodwin center field and was moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by shortstop Jonathan Diaz. Right fielder Kenny Wilson then singled to center field, allowing Kratz to score. The inning ended with a Bisons lead, 3-2.

Buffalo tacked onto its lead in the top of the sixth inning off Cole. With two outs in the inning, Jimenez singled to center field and left fielder Ryan Schimpf singled to right field to put two runners on for Ryan Goins. The second baseman reached first on a fielding error by Emmanuel Burriss to load the bases. Kratz continued his incredible day with a bases-clearing double to increase the lead to 6-2.

The Chiefs cut into the lead in the bottom of the seventh inning against left-hander Mike Zagurski. With one out in the inning, Burriss reached base for the third time with a single to left field. After a Zach Walters strikeout, right fielder Steven Souza, Jr. hit a two-run homer to left-center field. Souza's 11th home run of the season tied him with Walters for the team lead.

Syracuse continued its rally in the bottom of the eighth inning against right-hander Ryan Tepera. Laird began the inning by reaching base on an error by Diaz at shortstop, Destin Hood singled to right field and Tepera threw a wild pitch to advance the runners to second and third. Goodwin then slapped a 1-0 pitch into center field for a two-run single, scoring Laird and Hood, and tying the game at six.

The teams remained tied until the 13th inning, when the Bisons took the lead against left-hander Mike Gonzalez. Jimenez singled to right-center field to lead off the inning and Schimpf bunted him over to second. Goins laid down a bunt down the third-base line for a single. Kratz then continued his career night with a sacrifice fly to Souza in right field, scoring Jimenez for the game's final run.

The Chiefs will play the Bisons Sunday night at 5:00 at NBT Bank Stadium. Syracuse left-hander Aaron Laffey and Buffalo right-hander Liam Hendriks will start the game.

Check out the Syracuse Mets Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



International League Stories from June 28, 2014


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central