Kodai Senga stars as Syracuse beats Worcester, 3-1, on Friday night

Syracuse, NY - Kodai Senga struck out eight batters and allowed just one run in six innings pitched on Friday night to lead the Syracuse Mets to a 3-1 victory over the Worcester Red Sox on Friday night in front of an electric crowd of 7,671 at NBT Bank Stadium.

Worcester (71-70, 30-37) struck first in the top of the second inning. Jhostynxon Garcia led off with a single. Moved to second base on a Nathan Hickey ground out, and Garcia scored on a Max Ferguson double for a 1-0 Red Sox lead.

Syracuse (72-70, 41-26) responded in the bottom of the fifth. Jose Azocar led off with a walk, and Kevin Parada doubled to put runners at second and third base. Azocar scored on a Yonny Hernandez ground out, tying the game up, 1-1. Gilberto Celestino followed with a single that brought home Parada and gave Syracuse a 2-1 lead.

The Mets added to their advantage in the seventh. Hernandez led off with a single. Celestino followed with a ground ball to shortstop, but a bad throw to second base resulted in an error that allowed Hernandez to score for a 3-1 Mets edge.

Senga was awesome on the mound for Syracuse, allowing three hits and one run with no walks and eight strikeouts in six innings. Austin Warren followed with two scoreless and hitless innings, and Richard Lovelady pitched a 1-2-3 ninth inning to earn his eighth save of the season.

The Mets and Red Sox continue their six-game series on Saturday with the fifth game. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.