Syracuse Chiefs Split Two Games with Railriders

By: David Britt – Syracuse, New York – It was a back and forth affair at NBT Bank Stadium tonight. The players stepped on the field at 6:00 PM Eastern Time to continue a game that started on July 12^rh in Moosic, Pennsylvania. The first game was being finished in Syracuse yet the Chiefs were the visiting team for the first game. Though the teams played two games, it was not a traditional doubleheader.

The game went two innings before RailRiders second basemen Alberto Gonzalez drove in the winning run.

Mark Montgomery (2-1) picked up his second win of the season while Michael Crotta (4-7) took the loss in the 7-6 game.

Once that game concluded, both teams were given a half hour intermission before the second game began.

RailRiders SP David Huff

The second game was just as close as the first. The Chiefs and the RailRiders combined to put five runs on the board through the first four innings. That is where the scoring stopped.

Tyler Moore put the Chiefs up early with a sacrifice fly in the 1st. Two innings later, Melky Mesa hit a two run home run which temporarily put the RailRiders up 2-1.

That did not last long. In the bottom of the fourth, the Chiefs got three straight singles from Corey Brown, Zach Walters and Jhonatan Solano before Josh Johnson hit the go ahead RBI double. The inning ended when Solano was thrown out at the plate on Johnson’s double.

Yunesky Maya was dominant, pitching eight innings of two run ball, allowing only five hits including the two run home run. The home run was his only mistake of the night. Maya improved to 7-7 on the year.

His counterpart for the RailRiders, David Huff, was not as lucky. Huff allowed numerous hard hit balls throughout the game, but it was the fourth inning that was his undoing.

After five, Huff, who fell to 4-6 on the season, was replaced by Yoshinori Tateyama. Tateyama threw two innings of relief allowing only two base runners while striking out another two.

It has been a tough year for the Chiefs, who moved to 53-63 with the win tonight. Chiefs’ second basemen, Josh Johnson, says this could be exactly what they needed.

“A game like this can really get the ball moving,” Johnson said.

Johnson was one for three with an RBI double. Johnson also singled and stole two bases in the continuation game, making him two for five on the night.

The game had a little of everything, from a pitcher’s duel early on to timely hits.

“We did everything we needed to do [to win],” Johnson said.

While most of the hitters for the RailRiders were struggling, designated hitter Randy Ruiz had a good game. Ruiz went three for four, raising his average to .304 through 48 games with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

On the other end, the Chiefs’ Danny Espinosa’s tough season continued. Espinosa went 0-4 in the second game and 0-5 on the day, including the continuation game. Espinosa’s average fell to .202 on the season. Espinosa and DH Chris Marrero were the only two Chiefs not to record a hit during the game.

Erik Davis came in to close the game for the Chiefs. It was shut down 1-2-3 inning for Davis as he recorded his 12^th save of the season.

The Chiefs finish off their series with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre tomorrow before starting a four day, five game home series with the Pawtucket Red Sox.