Lagrange hits 102.8 mph, Syracuse rallies past RailRiders in 13 innings

Carlos Lagrange lit up the radar gun at 102.8 mph, struck out eight and gave Scranton/Wilkes-Barre five strong innings, but the RailRiders still watched a two-run lead disappear before Syracuse ground out a 7-4 win in 13 innings at PNC Field.

The game stretched 4 hours and 11 minutes and turned into a bullpen test that Syracuse survived better. It was the longest game of the season for both clubs, Syracuse’s longest since becoming the Mets affiliate in 2019, and its first trip to the 13th inning since July 30, 2018, against Pawtucket. For a Tuesday night in Moosic, it had the feel of a game that kept changing shape every few innings.

Lagrange, the Yankees’ No. 2 prospect, worked around early traffic before settling in. The 22-year-old right-hander from Bayaguana, Dominican Republic, allowed only one run, and the lone damage came on a bases-loaded walk to Nick Morabito. He topped out with the hardest-thrown pitch in Triple-A this season and reached triple digits 15 times, a power display that underlined why his start mattered even in defeat.

Jack Wenninger gave Syracuse a chance to stay close after his own recent run of form, including a six-inning shutout outing with five strikeouts and a 1.27 ERA heading into the week. The RailRiders still built a lead in the middle innings. A sacrifice fly brought them within range, Payton Henry drew a walk and Ornelas followed with a two-run homer to push Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in front 3-2. Seth Brown added a solo shot in the eighth to make it 4-2 and put the home club one inning away from a clean finish.

Instead, the ninth inning flipped the game. Ryan Clifford doubled home a run, then Yonny Hernández delivered the tying hit and sent the contest into extras, shifting the burden onto a pair of bullpens already stretched thin. Syracuse finally broke through in the 13th and never gave the RailRiders another opening.

The result added another layer to a game already full of roster intrigue. George Lombard Jr., promoted to Triple-A on April 29 after starting the year at Double-A Somerset, was in the lineup as one of the Yankees’ top infield prospects. At 20, he is part of the next wave, while Lagrange’s fastball and the late collapse made this one of the week’s most revealing tests for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. The RailRiders fell to 20-17, Syracuse improved to 21-18, and the scoreboard told the story of a game that swung from showcase to survival.