Syracuse Mets Recap: Late Rally Melts Away in 3-2 Loss to Norfolk Saturday

Box Score

Norfolk, VA – Syracuse nearly erased a three-run deficit in the ninth inning, but the comeback fell just short as the Mets fell to the Norfolk Tides, 3-2, on Saturday night at Harbor Park.

Norfolk (5-11, 33-58) broke a scoreless tie in the bottom of the fourth inning when Christian Encarnacion-Strand launched a solo home run to left-center field, his second on the week, giving the Tides a 1-0 lead.

The Tides added to their advantage in the fifth. Bryan Ramos and Enrique Bradfield Jr. drew consecutive walks before a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. Johnathan Rodríguez brought home Ramos with a groundout, and Heston Kjerstad followed with a sacrifice fly to score Bradfield, extending Norfolk's lead to 3-0.

Syracuse (8-9, 46-45) struggled to solve Norfolk starter Nestor German, who held the Mets scoreless over seven innings while allowing just four hits and striking out six.

The Mets mounted one final push in the ninth inning against Andrew Magno. MJ Melendez drew a leadoff walk before Christian Arroyo ripped an RBI double to right field to score Melendez. Yonny Hernández followed with a groundout that plated Arroyo from third, trimming the deficit to 3-2. Christopher Morel then lined a two-out single into left field to bring the tying run aboard. Hayden Senger struck out and Cristian Pache popped out in foul territory to end the game.

Jack Weisenburger started for Syracuse and allowed one run on two hits while striking out eight over four innings. Ryan Lambert surrendered two runs in the fifth inning. Joey Gerber and Dedniel Núñez held Norfolk hitless in the final three innings and a third.

The Mets conclude their six-game series against the Tides on Sunday afternoon. First pitch from Harbor Park is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.