Syracuse Mets vs Worcester

Syracuse starter Jack Wenninger was masterful, spinning five hitless innings with six strikeouts and two walks. He faced just one batter over the minimum and retired the final nine he saw. Ofreidy Gómez added two more hitless frames with five strikeouts, and for seven innings the Mets' pitching staff had held Worcester without a hit.

Syracuse broke through in the fifth. Hayden Senger walked, advanced to third on a single by Zack Short, and scored on Ronny Mauricio's line-drive single to centre — the first of three runs the catcher would score. The Mets added two more in the sixth on an RBI single by Senger and a run-scoring groundout by Nick Morabito, building a 3-0 lead.

The script flipped in the eighth. Matt Turner walked two Worcester hitters, and Franklin Arias greeted him with a game-tying two-run double to left. Ben Simon entered and stranded the tying run at second, preserving the 3-2 deficit.

Worcester tied it in the ninth on Romy Gonzalez's leadoff double and Allan Castro's RBI single. But Simon induced a critical double play from Vinny Capra, keeping the score 3-3.

In the bottom of the ninth, Ronny Mauricio singled, Billy Amick was hit by a pitch, and after Mauricio was caught stealing third, Melendez smashed a 1-2 pitch from Sam McWilliams off the left-field wall for the game-winner.

Simon's escape in the eighth was enormous — he allowed an inherited runner to score on Arias's double, then got Trevor Story to line out and Kristian Campbell to ground out, limiting the damage to two runs instead of a potential bigger inning. But the decisive sequence came in the ninth: after Capra grounded into a double play to erase Castro, Simon walked Brett Harris and then retired Nate Baez on a groundout. Those two outs with runners on kept the Mets within one swing.

Jack Wenninger (SYR): 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 6 K. Dominant outing. Lowered his ERA to 4.17 and set the tone for Syracuse's seventh straight scoreless frame dating to Wednesday.

MJ Melendez (SYR, Player of the Match): 2-for-5 with two doubles, including the walk-off. Both extra-base hits were sharply struck (106.5 mph and 100.5 mph exit velocities). His ninth-inning double had a +39.0% win-probability added, the highest of any play in the game.

Hayden Senger (SYR): 2-for-2 with two walks, two runs scored, an RBI and a stolen base. Reached base in all four plate appearances.

Franklin Arias (WOR): 1-for-4 with a game-tying two-run double in the eighth. His +17.7% WPA swing was Worcester's biggest moment.

The final line — Syracuse out-hit Worcester 11-3 — tells the story of a game that was never close on the stat sheet, only on the scoreboard. The Mets stranded 11 runners and went 7-for-11 with runners in scoring position, but left the bases loaded twice (second and fifth innings). Worcester's three hits produced three runs because they came in bunches: Arias's double scored two, Castro's single scored one. The xG-style picture: Syracuse's 11 hits and four walks created constant pressure that Worcester's pitchers (eight strikeouts) could not fully suppress.

Syracuse (63-61) has won three straight and climbed back to two games over .500 for the first time since mid-July. The Mets improved to 3-1 in the six-game series, which continues Saturday. Worcester (62-55) lost for the third time in four games and slipped further in the International League East standings. Syracuse's next game is Saturday evening against Worcester (same venue, 6:35 p.m. ET).

A game that felt like a blowout for seven innings turned into a late-inning thriller. Syracuse's bullpen wobbled — Turner and Simon combined to allow three runs in 2.0 innings — but Wenninger's gem and timely hitting in the ninth meant the Mets walked off winners. Three straight wins after dropping the opener marks Syracuse's best stretch of the second half.

Attendance: 6,896. First pitch: 6:36 p.m. Duration: 2:44. Weather: 82°F, clear. Umpires: HP Casey James, 1B Kaleb Martin, 3B Josiah Shepherd.