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McIlwain Homers Twice and Gives Syracuse 9-7 Walk-off Win Over Buffalo in Ten Innings on Friday Night

August 25, 2023 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Syracuse Mets' Brandon McIlwain at bat
Syracuse Mets' Brandon McIlwain at bat
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Herm Card)

Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Mets became the Syracuse Salt Potatoes on Friday night and came from behind three times to beat the Buffalo Bisons, 9-7, in ten innings at NBT Bank Stadium. A Brandon McIlwain walk-off home run punctuated a three-run bottom of the tenth inning for the Salt Potatoes, marking Syracuse's ninth walk-off win this season.

Syracuse (51-70, 18-29) trailed, 6-4, entering the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out, Lorenzo Cedrola doubled. Ronny Mauricio followed with a double that scored Cedrola to pull the Salt Potatoes within one, 6-5. Then, Brett Baty snuck a single through the infield, allowing Mauricio to score from second base, tying the game, 6-6, and sending it to the tenth.

In the top of the tenth, Buffalo (60-62, 26-21) regained the lead. Orelvis Martinez was the free runner at second base and moved to third on a Tanner Morris single. Then, Jamie Ritchie hit a sacrifice fly out to right field, scoring Martinez from third to give the Bisons a 7-6 edge. That was the only run Buffalo scored in the tenth though.

In the bottom of the tenth, the Salt Potatoes had Carlos Cortes as the free runner at second base. Wyatt Young led off with a single to right-center field that scored Cortes, knotting the game up, 7-7. Three batters later, with two outs and Young still at first, McIlwain crushed a ball over the wall in left-center field for a walk-off, two-run home run that gave Syracuse a 9-7 win. McIlwain is the ninth different Syracuse player with a walk-off hit this season.

At the start of the game, the Bisons didn't waste much time taking a lead. For the third straight game, Buffalo scored multiple runs in the first inning. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases, but there were two outs when Morris came to the plate. With a 3-2 count, Morris hit a pitch over the right-field fence for a grand slam to give Buffalo a 4-0 lead.

Those were the only runs Syracuse starting pitcher Denyi Reyes allowed though. After the grand slam, Reyes retired 14 batters in a row and 16 of the last 19 batters that he faced. On the night, Reyes pitched six innings of four-run, four-hit baseball with three walks and six strikeouts.

Meanwhile, the Salt Potatoes began to chip away at the deficit. In the fourth, Mark Vientos led off with a double. Two batters later, Young crushed a ball over the right-field wall for a two-run home run, slashing the deficit to two, 4-2. The homer is Young's first home run in 20 Triple-A games this season.

Syracuse crawled closer in the sixth. With one out, Vientos walked. Cortes followed with a double down the right-field line to the corner that allowed Vientos to score all the way from first base to make it a 4-3 ballgame.

Then, in the seventh, McIlwain foreshadowed what he would do later in the game as he hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning that brought Syracuse all the way back to tie the game, 4-4.

After Eric Orze pitched two scoreless innings out of the Syracuse bullpen, Grant Hartwig came into the game for the top of the ninth. Hartwig pitched a scoreless top of the ninth on Tuesday, but he didn't have the same success on Friday. A double, walk, and single loaded the bases for Buffalo in the ninth. Rafael Lantigua then doubled to the right-field corner, scoring two runs to give Buffalo a 6-4 advantage. Those runs just set the stage for Syracuse's comebacks in the ninth and tenth innings.

With Syracuse's 9-7 win, the series is tied at two games apiece. The fifth game of the six-game series is on Saturday. Right-hander Mike Vasil is slated to start on the mound for Syracuse. First pitch at NBT Bank Stadium is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

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Syracuse Mets' Brandon McIlwain at bat
Syracuse Mets' Brandon McIlwain at bat
(Herm Card)		   



International League Stories from August 25, 2023


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