IL1 Syracuse Mets

Chiefs Falter Late in 4-3 Loss to Red Sox

July 19, 2012 - International League (IL1)
Syracuse Mets News Release


The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, fell short in the finale of a four-game series on Thursday afternoon with a 4-3 loss at Pawtucket. Right fielder J.C. Linares broke a 3-3 tie with his second home run of the game, an eighth-inning solo shot, to give the Red Sox the lead for good.

Syracuse (45-53) got on the scoreboard first thanks to Corey Brown. The center fielder blasted off on a 3-2 pitch from right-handed starter Zach Stewart to lead off the game with a home run beyond the left-center field fence. The homer was Brown's 21st of the season and seventh leadoff shot of the year.

But Pawtucket (55-45) answered immediately with a pair of first-inning tallies against right-handed starter Tanner Roark. Scott Podsednik singled to right field to begin the bottom of the frame, Che-Hsuan Lin reached on a bunt single and Lars Anderson scorched a single to left field, loading the bases for Andy LaRoche. The Red Sox third baseman then scorched a two-run double down the left-field line, scoring Podsednik and Lin for a 2-1 lead. Roark, however, would recover to exit the inning without allowing another run.

The Red Sox then added a third run courtesy of Linares in the third inning. He drilled a two-out pitch from Roark for a low laser just over the five-foot-high left field wall, giving the Red Sox a 3-1 advantage.

Meanwhile, Stewart shut down the Chiefs from the game's second batter until the seventh inning. But with two outs, he ran into some trouble. Designated hitter Carlos Maldonado walked to bring up catcher Koyie Hill, who crushed a 1-0 pitch into the bleachers beyond the right-center field wall for a game-tying two-run home run. Both of Hill's extra-base hits on the season have now been home runs against Pawtucket.

But Linares answered for Pawtucket in the bottom of the eighth inning. With one out and reliever Erik Arnesen on the mound, the right fielder out of Cuba knocked a 1-0 pitch onto the berm in left-center field. The long ball snapped Arnesen's scoreless-innings streak at 21 and one-third frames, and it gave the Red Sox a 4-3 lead.

Syracuse rallied in the ninth with a leadoff walk from Maldonado and a sacrifice bunt from Hill, moving pinch-runner Seth Bynum to second base with one out. However, right-hander Chris Carpenter recovered to strike out pinch-hitter Jesus Valdez and Brown.

Syracuse heads home next to begin a four-game series with the Norfolk Tides at 7:00 on Friday night. Chiefs left-hander Zach Duke is scheduled to start against Tides southpaw Brian Matusz.

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