BY JONATHAN SKUZA
ROCHESTER, N.Y.– Good teams find ways to win no matter the circumstances.
Carter Kieboom found that way to win for the Rochester Red Wings with a 12th-inning walk-off two-run home run into the visitors’ bullpen to clinch the series against the Syracuse Mets 6-4, Friday evening.
“It was pretty similar to my at-bat I had in the 10th inning where I was not trying to do too much,” Kieboom said. “I was trying to move the runner over from second base with less than two outs. I was looking for a base hit and hoped that he would give me a heater to do damage with.”
The Red Wings started the game hot when Nomar Mazara jumped on the very first pitch he saw and smashed it to right center field 395 feet with two outs in the first inning. Erick Mejia added to the lead the following inning on a sacrifice fly to left field that drove in Matt Adams who led off the inning with a base hit. Meija drove Adams in again for his second RBI of the contest in the fourth inning on a base hit. The switch hitter got into scoring position by swiping his bag of the year.
Meija doubled his RBI totals in Friday’s contest and has shined for the Wings in the three games he has appeared in. The Dominican Republic native is currently hitting .333 with a home run and four RBI in the three games with Rochester.
“He’s proven he can play at the Triple-A level,” Red Wings manager Matt LeCroy stated about Meija’s impact in the lineup. “He’s got value because he can move around. He’s a switch hitter. He’s really gonna help us get some length in our lineup.”
The Rochester offense went cold from the fourth inning until the 12th. The Wings got runners on base via the walk and fielder’s choice, but could not mustard up a hit until Derek Hill extended his hitting streak to 15 games with a game-tying RBI double that set up the Kieboom walk-off blast that sent the 8,407 fans in attendance into a frenzy. Kieboom hit his third homer of the season and second of the series.
“He’s been killing it,” Kieboom stated about his teammate’s ability to get on base. “He started off in the nine-hole and he would go 2-for-3, 3-for-4 every single day and he’d been driving the ball to all parts of the field as well. He’s been getting on base a ton and to have somebody at the top of the lineup who can get on base and get things rolling for all of us. Then late in games be able to drive in runs like that and get into scoring position. That’s a huge key to have on a team.”
Right-hander Wily Peralta got the start for Rochester as he pitched a solid six-and-one-third innings where he struck out two, walked one, and gave up three runs on seven hits. Tyler Danish, Alberto Baldonado, Jordan Weems, Jose Ferrer, and Luis Reyes kept the Syracuse offense at bay for the most part until an unearned run was scored in the 12th inning. The bullpen combined for five strikeouts and only gave up one hit in the five-and-two-thirds innings they pitched.
“That’s the key to the bullpen,” Kieboom said. “They kept the damage to a minimum. They’ve been doing that for a while now. I said the other night that they continue to show up and continue to get the ground balls, shallow fly balls, and getting outs. They’re allowing the defense to work behind them.”
Syracuse got on the board in the third inning when Nick Meyer tallied an RBI base hit that drove in Lorenzo Cedrola who led off the inning with a double. The big inning for the Mets came in the seventh when they tied the ballgame. Jaylin Davis led off the inning with a base hit then was driven in by Jonathan Arauz who collected his first triple of the season. Cedrola knocked Arauz with a base hit to tie the game. Syracuse didn’t get on the board until the 12th inning when a fielding error got Luis Guillorme to third base with no outs in the inning and then scored on a sacrifice fly from Arauz.
The walk-off win extended the Red Wings’ season-long winning streak to six games. Rochester has now won nine of its last 10 including two extra-inning walk-offs against Syracuse and has brought the Wings to just a game under .500.
“I like where we’re headed,” LeCroy stated about the current play of his team. “We just got to keep going and keep fighting and hopefully we stay on the road we are currently on.”
Rochester will look to make seven in a row overall and five straight against Syracuse when the series continues on Saturday at 6:45 p.m.
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