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IL Syracuse Mets

Mets Drop Wild and Wacky Series Opener to Durham, 9-8, in Ten Innings

April 18, 2023 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Rick Nelson)

Syracuse, NY - The series opener between the Syracuse Mets and the Durham Bulls (Triple-A Tampa Bay Rays) was one of the more memorable baseball games in more ways than one. The Bulls eeked out a 9-8 win in ten innings in a game that featured 25 hits, three ties, three lead changes, ten pitchers, and was played in mid-30s temperatures with occasional snowflakes.

Syracuse (10-6) looked destined to win early on, scoring five runs in the first two innings combined. The Mets plated four runs in the first inning on four hits, highlighted by a two-run double from Mark Vientos and a two-run home run from Jaylin Davis. Davis, the Appalachian State alum, has hits in each of his first six games as a Syracuse Met, including a home run in two of the last three games.

As would become custom in this game, Durham (9-6) would not be held down for long. The Bulls scored one run in the top of the second via a Tristian Gray solo home run and then promptly scored the next six runs in the game to grab a 7-5 lead. First, Durham scored four times on four hits in the top of the third with a two-run single from Gray highlighting the big frame. The Bulls then followed it up with another pair of runs in the top of the fourth to take their first lead of the night at 7-5. Curtis Mead led off the inning with a double, and that would be the only hit Durham would need in the inning to score twice. Three walks coupled with a sacrifice fly brought the two runs home.

The lead for the Bulls didn't even last a half inning. With two outs and a runner on first base in the bottom of the fourth, Vientos continued his amazing tear at the plate. On a 2-2 pitch, the Floridian lined a game-tying blast over the fence in right-center field, which traveled off of his bat and over the fence at 111 miles per hour. In his last three games, Vientos is 7-for-9 with three doubles, two home runs, eight driven in, and six runs scored.

Syracuse would take its final lead of the night in the bottom of the fifth inning. Davis led off the inning with a walk, swiped second, and then scored on a single from Michael Perez for an 8-7 Mets edge.

Durham tied it right back up in the top of seventh on a Ruben Cardenas solo home run that led off the inning. The game remained knotted up at eight into extra innings, as neither team could cross home plate in the eighth or ninth innings. Each team had their chances, however. Durham left two runners on base in the top of the ninth, and Syracuse left single runners on base in the eighth and ninth.

In the top of the tenth, the Bulls scratched across a run to take the lead for good. Niko Hulsizer began the inning as the free runner at second base, remaining there after a one-out walk by Curtis Mead. Jonathan Aranda then came to the plate and singled home Hulsizer, making it a 9-8 game. Durham would not score again in the tenth, yet it would prove to be enough. The Mets went down in order in the bottom of the tenth for just the third loss for Syracuse in the last 11 games.

Syracuse is home all this week, playing six games from Tuesday through Sunday against the Triple-A affiliate of the Tampa Bay Rays, the Durham Bulls. Game two in the week-long series is set for 6:35 p.m. on Wednesday night. Left-hander Joey Lucchesi is scheduled to start for the Mets, opposed by right-hander Luis Patiño for the Bulls.

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Images from this story

Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
(Rick Nelson)		   



International League Stories from April 18, 2023


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