After Losing Game 1 in "Doubleheader", Chiefs Strike Back Against RailRiders

Syracuse Chiefs vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (c) 2013 Julianne Dellorso

By Julianne Dellorso

It's the bottom of the 13th inning; the sun is shining over NBT Bank Stadium with 2 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre runners on base.  The RailRiders’ Alberto Gonzalez drills a pitch from Syracuse’s Mike Crotta to left. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, playing as the home team, wins the game.

The Syracuse Chiefs took the field not once but twice Tuesday night and split games with the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The first game, ending in a 7-6 defeat, was a continuation of an extra-innings game that was suspended on July 12th in at the RailRiders home stadium in Moosic, Pennsylvania.

Chief’s DH Will Rhymes, who left two runners stranded after play resumed in the 12^th, told reporters after the game, “It didn’t work out. I just missed the pitch. That’s how it goes.” 

"That’s a situation there where I really want to give us a chance to win the game," said Rhymes, who was not scheduled to play in the second game. "So I was a little frustrated.”

The second game got underway around 7:15PM, 30 minutes after the end of the first game. Announced attendance was 6,000 for the second game, a little more than half the 11,000 capacity of NBT Bank Stadium.

The Chiefs’ Yunesky Maya (7-7, 3.94) retired three batters in a row to give the game a quick 1-2-3 start. The pitcher would throw for eight innings with four K’s and five hits.

The Chiefs, returned to home-team status, struck early with a leadoff double from Eury Perez. A single to left from Jeff Kobernus advanced Perez to third. A sacrifice fly from Tyler Moore drove Perez home, putting the Chiefs up 1-0.

The RailRiders would answer back in the bottom of the third with a two-run bomb from Melky Mesa over the centerfield wall. Mesa drove in Brendan Harris who had singled to right field.

The Chiefs rallied in the bottom of the 4^th when Corey Brown singled on a fly to center field.  Zach Walters drilled a ball up the middle, allowing Brown to reach third. Jhonatan Solano then singled to right, driving Brown home and advancing Walters to second. Josh Johnson stepped up to the plate, connected, and sent the ball flying to deep left field. Walters scored easily from second. Jhonaton Solano came hustling around from first to try to score, but was thrown out at the plate on a close call, ending the inning.

“I was just looking for a pitch I could handle," Johnson said of his game-winning hit. "[I] got something elevated. He [pitcher David Huff] kind of fooled me. I wasn’t prepared to see that pitch on the outer-half, I was looking for something inside, and then he came back with it. I kind of set him up a little bit, but it worked out.”

As for Solano trying to score from first and ending the inning, Johnson said he thought that was “awesome.”

The Chiefs are 56-63 on the season, last place in the standings of International League North. They take on Scranton/Wilkes-Barre again for the last time during the regular season on Wednesday night.