IL Syracuse Mets

Syracuse Loses Six-Run Lead, Falls to Norfolk, 12-7, on Saturday Night

Published on May 20, 2023 under International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Syracuse Mets' Ronny Mauricio at bat
Syracuse Mets' Ronny Mauricio at bat
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Rick Nelson)

Norfolk, VA - The Syracuse Mets came out swinging early but did not hold the momentum, falling 12-7 to the Norfolk Tides (Triple-A Baltimore Orioles) on Saturday night at Harbor Park. Syracuse now has a disappointing 9-8 record this season when scoring at least seven runs.

Early on, Syracuse (18-26) roared out to a lead with five runs in the first two innings. In the top of the first, the Mets scored twice to jump in front. Danny Mendick and Ronny Mauricio started the frame with singles, and although DJ Stewart struck out, Mendick and Mauricio swiped third and second base respectively to put two runners in scoring position with one out. The next batter, Jaylin Davis, singled sharply into left field to score both runners and make it a 2-0 ballgame.

In the second, the Mets added to the lead with three more runs. The fun all began with two outs. Branden Fryman reached on an error that extended the inning, followed by singles from Oscar Campos and Mendick that plated Fryman and put Campos on third and Mendick on first with still two outs in the inning and a 3-0 Syracuse lead. The biggest blow was yet to come. After a wild pitch moved Mendick to second, Mauricio slashed a double to left field that scored both runners and made it a 5-0 game. Mauricio had another multi-hit game on Saturday, finishing the evening with two more hits. Remarkably, Mauricio has multiple hits in 22 of his 44 games in Triple-A this season.

Norfolk (31-12) briefly crawled closer in the bottom of the second via a solo home run from Josh Lester to make it 5-1, but Syracuse answered right back with two runs in the top of the third to take a 7-1 lead. Luis Guillorme walked to start the third, and after a Jonathan Araúz popout, Guillorme sprinted all the way home when Lorenzo Cedrola tripled to left field to give the Mets a 6-1 edge. Later in the inning, Campos singled home Cedrola to push the cushion to six runs for the Mets, 7-1. Campos made his season debut with Syracuse on Saturday night. Guillorme was also brilliant on Saturday night, going 3-for-4 with two doubles, a walk and a run scored.

From there, everything went downhill. The Tides tied up the game seemingly in the blink of an eye, scoring six runs in the bottom of the third to make it a 7-7 game. Norfolk sent ten men to the plate in the pivotal inning, utilizing some powerful hitting to score their flurry of runs. The Tides only had four hits in the frame, but they made them count. Jordan Westburg, Lester, and Anthony Bemboom all doubled in the inning, driving in a combined three runs in the process. The biggest blow of the frame, however, came off Lewin Díaz's bat. The former member of the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp pounded a three-run homer that capped off the inning's scoring and tied the game with one swing, 7-7.

In the bottom of the fourth, the Tides went right back to work, scoring two more times to take their first lead of the night at 9-7. The inning got off to an inauspicious start. Connor Norby doubled to start the inning. However, he was promptly picked off second base for the first out of the frame. From there, Westburg walked and moved to second base on a one-out single from Kyle Stowers. A strikeout of Lester had the Mets dreaming of escaping the frame unscathed, but it wasn't to be. Daz Cameron doubled to left field with two outs, scoring Westburg and Stowers in the process and giving the Tides a lead they would never relinquish.

Norfolk capped off their scoring with two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning and a final lone run in the eight. Díaz walked with one out in the seventh to reach base, promptly moving to third on a two-bagger from Robbie Glendinning. Bemboom then singled to score both baserunners and turn it into an 11-7 game. In the eighth, a Westburg single followed by a Lester double later in the inning capped off the night's scoring and made it a 12-7 game. By the end of the ballgame, all but one of the Tides starters had at least one hit and four of them had at least two hits. Five different Norfolk batters also drove in runs in the game.

While the Norfolk offense hummed in the later innings, the Syracuse offense felt silent after the early onslaught. The Mets did not score in the game's final six innings, recording just four hits in the process. An old problem reared its ugly head once again on Saturday night as well as Syracuse left 12 runners on base. The Mets have left 28 runners on base combined in their three losses so far this week.

Syracuse finally finishes its two-week, 12-game long road trip on Sunday afternoon. The final game of the six-game series at the Norfolk Tides is set for 1:05 p.m.

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Images from this story

Syracuse Mets' Ronny Mauricio at bat
Syracuse Mets' Ronny Mauricio at bat
(Rick Nelson)		   



International League Stories from May 20, 2023


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