IL1 Syracuse Mets

Goodwin's Grand Slam Leads Chiefs Past Tides

Published on May 19, 2016 under International League (IL1)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Brian Goodwin of the Syracuse Chiefs at the Plate
Brian Goodwin of the Syracuse Chiefs at the Plate
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Jeff Irizarry/Syracuse Chiefs)

Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Chiefs earned a come-from-behind victory Thursday night over the Norfolk Tides by a score of 7-4. Brian Goodwin slugged a grand slam as part of a six-run seventh inning that led the Chiefs to victory.

Syracuse (21-18) scored the game's first run in the bottom of the first inning. The Chiefs loaded the bases on three consecutive singles from Brian Goodwin, Matt den Dekker and Matt Skole. Kevin Keyes came to the plate with two outs and scored Goodwin on an infield single, giving Syracuse a 1-0 lead. The run would be the last that Syracuse would score until the seventh inning.

The score stood until the fourth inning, when Norfolk (14-28) finally got to Chiefs starter A.J. Cole. Prior to the fourth Cole had sat down the first nine Tides batters. The streak was halted with a leadoff double from Xavier Avery, who then went to third on a wild pitch. With one out, Mike Yastrzemski laced a single to center, plating Avery to tie the game at 1-1.

The score remained at 1-1 until a Tides rally in the sixth. Yastrzemski started the inning with a walk and moved to second when Trey Mancini singled to center. Following a fly out, Audry Perez singled, which scored Yastrzemski and gave the Tides a 2-1 lead. Corban Joseph then followed Perez's single with a double to right, scoring Mancini for a 3-1 lead. Perez moved to third on the hit. Cole was then replaced by reliever Sam Runion, who allowed a two-out single to Michael Almanzar which scored Perez for a 4-1 lead.

Syracuse answered in a big way in the bottom of the seventh inning. Tides pitcher Chaz Roe came on in relief and allowed a leadoff single to Matt Skole. Pedro Severino and Keyes then struck out, bringing up Scott Sizemore with two outs. Sizemore worked a walk from Roe, setting the stage for Caleb Ramsey. Ramsey singled, scoring Skole to cut the lead to 4-2. Sizemore went to second on the hit. Jose Lozada followed the single with a double down the left-field line, plating Sizemore and bringing the Chiefs within one, 4-3. With runners on second and third, Roe then intentionally walked Trea Turner to load the bases. After Norfolk reliever Zach Phillips took over on the mound, Goodwin welcomed the southpaw to Syracuse with a grand slam to deep right-center, pushing the Chiefs' lead to 7-4. The grand slam was the first of Goodwin's career and the first for the Chiefs since August of last season.

Runion threw scoreless seventh and eighth innings to earn the win in relief. He allowed just one hit while striking out two in two and one-third total innings of work. It was his first win of the season. Rafael Martin entered the ninth and pitched a perfect frame while striking out two Norfolk batters.

The Chiefs are home again Friday evening for game two of the series against Norfolk. Taylor Hill is scheduled to get the start for Syracuse opposite Tides starter T.J. McFarland. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35.

Check out the Syracuse Mets Statistics

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



Images from this story

Brian Goodwin of the Syracuse Chiefs at the Plate
Brian Goodwin of the Syracuse Chiefs at the Plate
(Jeff Irizarry/Syracuse Chiefs)		   



International League Stories from May 19, 2016


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