SYRACUSE EDGES BULLS 5-4

	9:47 PM (1 hour ago)
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Jason Krizan had a home run and two RBIs for Syracuse on Wednesday night (Danny Tripodi).

Syracuse, NY (August 14, 2019) - The Syracuse Mets withstood a ninth-inning rally from the Durham Bulls in a 5-4 victory on Wednesday night at NBT Bank Stadium. René Rivera and newly promoted outfielder Jason Krizan launched back-to-back homers in the bottom of the eighth inning for the Mets that proved to be the difference. 

Syracuse (60-61) opened things up with a big two-out rally in the bottom of the third. With the game scoreless, Rajai Davis and Grégor Blanco hit back-to-back singles. Dilson Herrera followed with a single of his own, scoring both Blanco and Davis to give Syracuse a 2-0 lead. Danny Espinosa kept things going with the fourth straight Mets single before Rivera reached on an error to load the bases for Krizan. Fresh off a promotion from Binghamton, Krizan walked to bring home Herrera and extend the Mets advantage to 3-0. The 30-year-old batter went 1-for-3 with two RBIs in his second game at the Triple-A level this season.  

Mets right-hander Corey Oswalt turned in another strong start Wednesday night. The 25-year-old went five full innings without allowing a run on four hits, three strikeouts, and one walk. Oswalt is now 8-3 on the season for Syracuse with a 3.15 ERA.

Durham (68-53) chipped in to the deficit in the top of the seventh. Singles from Daniel Robertson, Kevin Padlo, and Nathan Lukes loaded the bases for the Bulls. With one out, Emilio Bonifacio walked in a run making it 3-1 Syracuse. Kean Wong drove in another for Durham on a fielder's choice to cut the Syracuse lead to one, 3-2. 

In the bottom of the eighth, Syracuse produced two insurance runs on the back-to-back bombs from Rivera and Krizan, making it 5-2 Mets.  Rivera has now hit six home-runs in his last 11 games. 

Those two runs proved to be pivotal as Durham rallied in the top of the ninth. Kevin Padlo led off the frame with a double before Jason Coats sent a two-run homer over the right-field wall, suddenly making it just a one-run lead for Syracuse at 5-4 with no outs in the ninth. Mets reliever Tim Peterson hung tough though, retiring the next three batters in order to preserve the victory. 

Syracuse hosts Durham in the rubber match, game three of the series on Thursday night. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.