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Syracuse Walks off Winners over Rochester for Second Straight Day with 7-6 Wednesday Win in Ten Innings

September 6, 2023 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Daniel Palka hit two home runs for the Syracuse Mets on Wednesday afternoon
Daniel Palka hit two home runs for the Syracuse Mets on Wednesday afternoon
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Herm Card)

Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Mets, remarkably, did it again on Wednesday afternoon. Syracuse rallied back for a second straight walk-off win against the Rochester Red Wings, this time taking a 7-6 win in ten innings on a warm day at NBT Bank Stadium. It was the 12th walk-off win of the season for the Mets. Nearly half of Syracuse's 25 home wins this season have been won on a walk-off play.

Syracuse (54-77, 21-36), for the second straight day, entered the bottom of the ninth down a run, 6-5. For the second straight day, Syracuse had a little late game magic. Joe Suozzi got it started with a sharp single, and promptly moving to second on a sacrifice bunt from Jaylen Palmer. Then, in the blink of an eye, the game was tied. Wyatt Young laced a single into left field to score Suozzi and tie the game, 6-6. Young finished Wednesday's game with two runs driven in, good for his second multi-RBI game in his last four games. Young also drove in two runs in Saturday's game at Lehigh Valley.

The game went into extra innings, and after Rochester went scoreless in the top of the tenth, Syracuse finished the job in the bottom of the tenth. Nick Meyer started as the free runner on second base with nobody out. A Carlos Cortes single leading off the inning moved Meyer to third. Brandon McIlwain briefly quelled the momentum with a strikeout, but then Michael Pérez ended the proceedings with a fly ball deep enough into right field for a sacrifice fly out to score Meyer and end the game, 7-6, for Syracuse's 12th walk-off win of the season and thee Mets' second in less than a 24-hour span.

In the top of the second, Rochester (60-71, 26-32) roared in front at the last possible instant in the inning. With two runners on base and two outs, Jordy Barley took a two-strike hanging breaking ball and crushed it over the left-field fence for a three-run home run that made it a 3-0 game. It would prove to be the only earned runs in Joey Lucchesi's shorter outing. The Syracuse starter allowed three runs on six hits in four innings while walking three and striking out three. Lucchesi struggled at times throwing strikes on Wednesday afternoon. Among the 87 total pitches that he threw, 48 of them were strikes.

The Mets rallied right back, scoring the next four runs in the game to briefly take a 4-3 lead. Syracuse got its first run in the bottom of the third. Joe Suozzi singled to start the inning, moved to third on a Jaylen Palmer double, and scored on an RBI groundout from Wyatt Young to make it a 3-1 ballgame.

Syracuse would double the fun in the fourth, scoring twice to tie the game. After Abraham Almonte and Carlos Cortes walked to start the inning, Brandon McIlwain doubled in Almonte to make it a 3-2 game. McIlwain also had two hits and an RBI in Tuesday night's game. After Michael Pérez popped out and Suozzi walked to load up the bases, Palmer drew a bases-loaded walk to knot the game up, 3-3. Palmer had a productive day at the plate as he had previously doubled in his first at-bat in the third inning.

In the fifth, the Syracuse Mets took the lead via a familiar formula. With nobody on base and one out, Daniel Palka smashed a 453-foot homer way beyond the fence in right-center field to hand Syracuse its first lead of the day at 4-3. Palka led the Syracuse Mets with 26 home runs in 109 games last season. The left-handed slugger rejoined the Mets organization last week after spending the entirety of this season previously with the Worcester Red Sox.

In the top of the sixth, the lead evaporated into the muggy late-summer air for the Syracuse Mets. Rochester scored three runs to take a 6-4 lead. The frame starting with a bang. Erick Mejia launched a solo home run over the right-field fence to tie the game, 4-4, leading off the inning. Mejia finished the game 2-for-2 at the plate with a single, a home run, two walks, two runs scored, and a run driven in. The inning was just getting started from there. After Onix Vega grounded out, Cody Wilson doubled, and Barly walked to put two runners on base with one out. A Darren Baker strikeout and a Jeter Downs walk loaded up the bases with two outs, bringing Jake Noll to the plate. Once again, the Mets were on the precipice of escaping the inning, but it wasn't to be. On a two-out, two-strike pitch, Noll laced a two-run single into right field that gave the Red Wings a 6-4 lead. Both Wilson and Barley scored on the two-run single.

It remained a 6-4 game into the bottom of the eighth when Palka did it yet again. Palka crushed yet another bomb over the right-field fence, this time a 440-foot shot to pull Syracuse within one, 6-5. Palka now has five home runs in his first eight games back with the Syracuse Mets. Wednesday afternoon marked his second two-homer game of the season. Palka also hit two home runs in a game on May 5th against Buffalo while playing with the Worcester Red Sox. That eighth-inning home run set the stage for Syracuse's comeback and walk-off win.

Syracuse is home at NBT Bank Stadium this entire week, hosting the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, the Rochester Red Wings. The third game of the series is slated for a 6:35 p.m. start on Thursday evening. Right-hander Mike Vasil is slated to start for the Mets against right-hander Jackson Rutledge for the Red Wings.

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Daniel Palka hit two home runs for the Syracuse Mets on Wednesday afternoon
Daniel Palka hit two home runs for the Syracuse Mets on Wednesday afternoon
(Herm Card)		   



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