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[ed. note - "This is the sixth (and perhaps final) piece from Federalbaseball.com intern Patrick Kenney. For much more from him on the Syracuse Chiefs follow him on Twitter @PRyKenney."]
By Patrick Kenney
SYRACUSE | The Syracuse Chiefs have struggled at home this season (22-35), but Scranton Wilkes-Barre and was 2-8 coming into NBT Bank Stadium on Wednesday. Something had to give.
It was the Chiefs' pitching.
After Danny Rosenbaum was lifted after four innings in a 2-0 game, the bullpen of the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals struggled in a 7-2 loss to the Triple-A affiliate of the New York Yankees.
"We didn't pitch very well and were not able to get anything going. We didn't pitch well enough tonight to win the game," said Syracuse manager Tony Beasley.
The Chiefs have the third highest ERA in the International League, at 4.32.
Cole Kimball gave up four runs on four hits in two innings before Drew Storen allowed a run on a hit in 1 1/3 innings of work. Both struck out two.
Offensively, Tyler Moore hit his eighth home run of the season in Syracuse and Zach Walters belted No. 25. Walters is third in the league in home runs this season, while Moore is the reigning IL Batter of the Week.
"We just couldn't get back into the game. Tonight the story is all about the poor pitching. It was just a tough hole to climb out of," said Beasley.
Over the past six games, the Chiefs' hitters have produced at least eight hits per game while scoring 27 runs. However, their opponents have also scored 27 runs during that span.
Although they avoided the sweep, the Chiefs look to pick things back up again on Thursday when the Pawtucket Red Sox (4-6 in last 10) come to town and highly anticipated Washington pitching prospect, Taylor Hill, takes the mound.
Hill, who was called up on Tuesday, pitched 15 games for Single-A Potomac and Double-A Harrisburg with a record of 8-7 and an ERA of 2.80. Hill might just be a spark for the staff.
"This is my first time seeing him pitch. He just needs to relax and throw strikes," said Beasley about the call up.
Syracuse Snapshot, a home game with the Syracuse Chiefs
Photo © Ben Meyers/Federal Baseball
There are rumors swirling that the start may be Hill's only appearance in Syracuse even though the staff could use the support.
• Update: Taylor Hill's Triple-A debut lasted 4 2/3 IP in which the right-hander gave up eight hits and three runs while striking out four and throwing 86 pitches, 55 for strikes while inducing six ground ball outs.