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IL1 Syracuse Mets

Chiefs Fall Short in Norfolk, 5-3

June 30, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Syracuse Mets News Release


The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, lost for just the second time in 13 games on Saturday night with a 5-3 defeat at the Norfolk Tides. Norfolk plated five runs against starting pitcher Mitch Atkins in the first four innings and a slew of relievers held on for the win. The game ended after a rain delay with two outs and no runners on in the top of the ninth inning.

The game was delayed by nearly 50 minutes after Norfolk arrived late to the ballpark. The Tides' flight out of Columbus earlier in the day had been delayed, causing the game to be pushed back. Norfolk (41-43) also scratched its scheduled starter, Miguel Gonzalez, right before first pitch. The Tides would dip into their bullpen and tab right-hander Oscar Villarreal as the game's spot starter.

But Norfolk's offense was up to the task early. In the bottom of the first inning, Nate McLouth doubled with one out and Steve Tolleson walked. Two batters later, Bill Hall hit a ground ball to third base that went through the legs of Carlos Rivero for an error. McLouth scored the unearned run and the Tides led 1-0.

Syracuse (43-39) responded with one swing of the bat in the top of the second. With two outs, right fielder Brett Carroll launched a solo home run to left field off of Villarreal, evening the score at one.

The Chiefs then tacked on a pair of runs against former Syracuse left-hander J.C. Romero in the third inning. After Villarreal retired Seth Bynum to start the inning, Romero entered and allowed a single to Corey Brown. Two batters later, Jim Negrych singled in Brown from second. The base hit was one of four for Negrych on the night. Syracuse added a second run when Carlos Rivero walked in a run with the bases loaded, through Romero induced a pop-up from Carroll to end the inning.

Then, it was Norfolk's turn to retaliate. McLouth singled with one out in the bottom of the frame and moved to third on a Tolleson double. Joe Mahoney then grounded out to first base, scoring a run, and Hall followed with an RBI single to left field, tying the game at 3-3.

In the fourth inning, the Tides piled on. Jamie Hoffmann reached on a Bynum error to begin the inning and stole second. After a one-out walk to Lew Ford, McLouth slammed a double into the left-center field gap, scoring both runners. The former major league All-Star gave Norfolk a 5-3 lead it would not relinquish.

Meanwhile, reliever Erik Arnesen would enter and strand McLouth at third base in the fourth. The right-hander retired all 11 batters he faced, before Pat Lehman tossed a 1-2-3 eighth.

But the Tides' bullpen did the rest. Syracuse stranded the bases loaded two more times - in the fifth inning against winning pitcher Steve Johnson and in the seventh against Greg Burke. Right-hander Pat Neshek recorded the final five outs to earn the save.

Syracuse will look to rebound on Sunday night at 6:15 when the Chiefs and Tides duel in the second game of a four-game series. Syracuse left-hander John Lannan and Norfolk southpaw Zach Britton are the scheduled starters.

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