After Losing Walk-Off at Home, Chiefs Rally Back for Victory Behind Strong Effort from Maya

Chiefs starter Yunesky Maya delivers the first pitch of the
second game to RailRiders leadoff hitter Melky Mesa.

By Jonathan Gault

Despite an odd beginning to the night – a walk-off loss in their own ballpark – the Syracuse Chiefs were able to come away with a victory on Tuesday as Cuban righty Yunesky Maya fired eight strong innings in a 3-2 victory over the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at NBT Bank Stadium.

The night began with the resumption of a game that began on July 12 at PNC Field in Moosic, Pa., but was suspended after 11 innings due to rain. That contest ended quickly in the bottom of the 13th when Railriders second baseman Alberto Gonzalez blooped a one-out single into left field off Chiefs pitcher Mike Crotta, sending Melky Mesa home with the winning run.

Though Chiefs players had no way of knowing when the first game would end, they were able to respond well and rally for a victory in the second contest.

“You have to prepare yourself for whatever happens,” said Chiefs second baseman Josh Johnson, who had two steals on the night – and four total – in the first game and drove in the game-winning run in the second. “I kept the same routine today, most of the guys kept their same routine. You have to be ready for anything.”

Maya (7-7), who entered the All-Star break with a 4-6 record and 4.73 ERA for Syracuse, posted his fourth straight dominant start in the second game, allowing two runs on five hits over eight innings while striking out five to earn the victory. In his four starts since the All-Star Game, Maya has gone 3-1 with a 1.52 ERA. Opposing hitters are batting just .159 against him in that stretch, as opposed to .308 before the break.

It doesn’t hurt that the 31-year-old, who has spent time in the big leagues in three of the past four seasons, worked quickly during what had the potential to be a long night at the ballpark.

“Maya was awesome,” said Chiefs closer Erik Davis, who pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning on Tuesday to record his 12th save of the season. “I love when he pitches because he works fast, throws strikes. It’s just fun to watch that. It’s great to be out of here before 10:00 p.m.”

Maya was able to fool several hitters by mixing his fastball with an effective curveball that ran in the low 70s.

“Maya’s been good for a long time,” Chiefs first baseman Tyler Moore said. “He was locating his heater getting a handle on his curveball.”

Though both Maya and RailRiders starter David Huff ran into some trouble early, both were able to regain control quickly. The starters’ performance, coupled with effective bullpens on both sides, resulted in no scoring after the fourth inning.

The fourth was the key inning in the game, as Syracuse scored twice on four hits to take a 3-2 lead they would not relinquish. Corey Brown began the rally by lofting a two-out single to center off Huff. Third baseman Zach Walters worked the count full before lining one up the middle which allowed Brown, running hard all the way, to advance to third.

After catcher Jhonatan Solano drove in Brown with a single to right, Johnson unloaded on a pitch from Huff, sending it to the left field wall and scoring Brown from second. The RailRiders were lucky to escape without further damage, as Solano made the final out on the play after he was gunned down at the plate following a strong relay throw from Gonzalez.

“[Huff] is really good,” Johnson said. “Good hard fastball, good off-speed breaking ball. He kind of fooled me 2-0 – I wasn’t prepared to see that pitch on the outer half. He came back [inside] and I kind of set him up a bit, but it worked out.”

The Chiefs got on the board first earlier in the game when Moore drove in center fielder Eury Perez with a sacrifice fly. Maya’s sole blemish came in the third inning, when he allowed a two-run homer to center fielder Melky Mesa.

Brown was the only Chief to record more than one hit, going 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. DH Randy Ruiz went 3-for-4 in a losing effort for the RailRiders. Danny Espinosa – who began the season as the everyday second baseman for the Washington Nationals – continued his season-long slide, going 0-for-5 on the night with two strikeouts, including one in the first game. He is now batting .185 this season between Syracuse and the majors.

Though the split will do little to help Syracuse’s cause this season – like their parent club, the Nationals, they sit eight games back in the wild-card race – how the Chiefs players perform over the next month will go a long way toward deciding which players will get the call to the big club once major league rosters expand September 1. As of now, they have 28 games in 27 days to show Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo what they can do. The clock is ticking.