Tim Tebow, who had only one base hit in his previous 33 plate appearances, hit a pinch-hit double off the centerfield wall to provide what proved to be the winning run as the Syracuse Mets defeated Louisville 6-5 last night at Slugger Field in Louisville.
Tebow, who entered the game hitting .120 on the season, had been struggling mightily in recent weeks, but came up with a run-producing hit to give the Mets a 6-2 lead in the eighth inning.
Right-fielder Raj Davis had three hits and drove in a pair of runs for Syracuse.
Trailing 6-2, Louisville mounted a furious ninth-inning rally when Luis Gonzalez and Christian Colon both singled, followed by a walk to Brian O’Grady to load the bases and bring the potential tying run to the plate.
A subsequent two-run single to center field by Phillip Ervin cut the Louisville deficit to 6-4.
With one out, the Bats pulled off a rare double steal to put runners on second and third.
An infield single moments later put Louisville within a run at 6-5 before Syracuse reliever Arquimedes Caminero, a right-hander from the Dominican Republic, forced the next batter to ground into a game-ending double play to preserve the win for Syracuse.
With the victory, the Mets improved to 19-14, one-half game behind Lehigh Valley in the International League’s North Division.
Louisville, the Triple-A affiliate of the Cincinnati Reds, dropped to 14-20, six games behind the division-leading Columbus Clippers in the West Division.
