Syracuse Mets rally for 5-3 win over Buffalo

The score of the box

Syracuse, New York – The Syracuse Mets did not hold back Wednesday night, beating the Buffalo Bisons by a 5-3 final at NBT Bank Stadium. The six-game series is now tied at one game apiece and the Mets remain three games out of first Omaha with 22 games remaining in the first half of the International League season.

Syracuse (32-20) got off to a good start, scoring two points in the bottom of the first to take an early lead. Luisangel Acuña led off the game with a single, marking his 13th consecutive game reaching base. Acuña then moved to second on a groundout by Rylan Bannon, worked his way to third (Bannon also stole second on the play) and scored on an RBI single by Luke Ritter for a 1- 0 for the Mets. Bannon advanced to third on the single, then scored on a Trayce Thompson RBI groundout to make it 2-0. The Mets scored first in each of two games to start this week’s series.

Syracuse reached Buffalo again (28-25) late in the second, scoring another point to make it a 3-0 game. A one-out walk to Yolmer Sánchez put a runner on base. Hayden Senger quickly brought Sanchez all the way home, hitting a double down the left field line that scored Sánchez from first base.

This brought plenty of support to Blade Tidwell, and the right-hander thrived in his Triple-A home debut. The highly touted Tidwell pitched six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits in the process. The 22-year-old was remarkably good at brushing off potential trouble as Tidwell stranded six Bisons runners on base in his outing.

The game remained 3-0 until the top of the eighth when the Bisons finally got on the scoreboard. Buffalo had danced around the entire game, leaving nine runners on base in total through the first seven innings. In the top of the eighth, against a rehabbing Big Leaguer in Drew Smith, the Bisons surged for three runs on four hits to tie the game. An RBI single by Will Robertson and a two-run double by Cam Eden brought home the tying runs.

In the bottom of the eighth, the Mets bounced back, scoring twice to take the lead for good. Acuña walked to start the inning, moved to second on a wild pitch, then to third on an infield single by Rhylan Thomas. That put runners at first and third base with no one out, and after a Bannon strikeout, another Ritter RBI plated Acuña with the winning run, 4-3. Later in the eighth, the Mets got insurance on a José Iglesias sacrifice fly that scored Thomas for a 5-3 advantage.

In the top of the ninth, Grant Hartwig sealed the deal with a scoreless frame for his second save of the season. The Bisons left another runner on base in the ninth, ultimately stranding 11 total runners on base in the loss. Syracuse has lost just once this season when leading after seven innings, thanks to the Mets’ stable and resilient bullpen.

Syracuse is home all week playing the Buffalo Bisons. The third game of the six-game series will take place Thursday at 6:35 p.m. Right-hander Mike Vasil is expected to start for the Mets, opposite right-hander Paolo Espino for the Bisons.