By Darryl Harding Sr –
A muggy overcast day at Polar Park is not a reason to forgo MiLB baseball. After a spectacular display of Independence Day fireworks, last night, the Syracuse Mets battle the Worcester Redsox in the second game of a short homestand.
Losing for the first time in their four year stint on the 4th of July, Woosox look to rebound and draw closer to the 1st place Rochester Red Wings. Woosox batters face big league pitching in Mets RHP Tylor Megill, recently optioned down from the majors.
Taking the mound for the Woosox is RHP Grant Gambrell with a 4.72 ERA after 15 games. Walks plagued both pitching staffs and in a low scoring game it was crucial to capitalize on the errant throws out of the strike zone.
Literally starting with a walk and totaling 15 walks overall, between the two clubs, the Mets struck first In the second with an RBI double hit by former Woosox player RF Yolmer Sanchez. The Woosox answered right back, scoring a run in both the 3rd and the 4th innings.
Megill walked three batters in the 3rd, the last scoring 3B Chase Meidroth and an CF Eddy Alvarez RBI single scored Nick Kavadas, who consequently walked all four times up to bat. Megill completed 3.1 innings throwing 88 pitches, 49 for strikes. Ending with a 1.42 ERA, hits were of a premium and the Woosox as well as the Mets only recorded five hits each.
Gambrell was also afflicted by walks and after loading the bases a C Hayden Senger double batted in three runs. Considering that this accounted for all the scoring and the final was 4-2, the pitching wasn’t horrible and if one could subtract all of the walks it would have been a pitching duel for the ages.
“When you look at the game,” noted Woosox manager Chad Tracy after the defeat, “pretty well pitched on both sides, but the walks got us.”
Unfortunately unable to produce the Woosox slipped to Syracuse with LHP Tyler Jay chalking up the win and left handed closer Josh Walker coming in for the save. Woosox face Syracuse in the last of their homestand on Saturday at 4:05 pm