Things got a bit sideways in the bottom of the ninth, but not enough to prevent the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders from picking up their third straight win on Tuesday night.
The RailRiders allowed three runs to score in the final frame, but Rafael Montero was able to get the final out and strand the tying and winning runs on base in a 6-5 win over the Syracuse Mets at NBT Bank Stadium.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre entered the bottom of the ninth with a 6-2 lead and got two outs before the Mets began to threaten.
A base hit from Jackson Cluff made it 6-3. After the Mets were able to load the bases, Yonny Hernández singled in two more runs to make it a 6-5 game with runners on first and second.
Montero, a multi-year MLB veteran, was able to stop the bleeding just in time. He got Kevin Parada to lift a fly ball into left field for the third and final out, preserving the win for the RailRiders and picking up his second save of the season with the club.
The RailRiders entered Tuesday’s series opener with Syracuse with some momentum after taking the final two games in their previous series against Worcester.
The two teams traded runs across the first couple innings, with a homer from Ernesto Martinez putting the RailRiders in front 3-2 in the top of the sixth.
Seth Brown doubled in a run to make it 4-2 in the seventh, and the RailRiders added two more in the eighth on a bases-loaded walk from Spencer Jones and a sacrifice fly from Oswaldo Cabrera.
Dom Hamel earned the win with five strong innings for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, allowing two runs on four hits.
New York Yankees top prospect George Lombard Jr. had one hit, one RBI and drew three walks for the RailRiders. Jones had two hits and two walks, driving in one run and scoring another.
The RailRiders will be back in action Wednesday with a doubleheader in Syracuse, making up a rainout from April.
First pitch in the opening game is set for 4:05 p.m, with the second game to follow shortly after the conclusion of the first game.