On Wednesday night at NBT Bank Stadium, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (40-34) were looking for retribution against the Syracuse Mets (30-43). Instead, they shot themselves in the foot for the second straight night.
Corey Oswalt (2-2, 4.58 ERA) was on the mound for the IronPigs, while the Mets started Connor Grey (3-3, 5.49 ERA).
Before the game, the IronPigs took a hit on offense when the Philadelphia Phillies called up first baseman Darick Hall. Will Toffey started the game playing first base.
In the bottom of the first inning, Mets’ shortstop Kramer Robertson reached first base on a fielding error when Drew Maggi missed the ball that went underneath his glove in what should’ve been an easy first out.
Then, Khalil Lee doubled to left field, scoring Robertson and the Mets jumped to a 1-0 lead, followed by a Mark Vientos opposite field two-run home run off the Salt City Deck at right field for a 3-0 lead. Travis Blankenhorn came to bat and singled on a ground ball to second base with no outs.
IronPigs pitcher Corey Oswalt struck out Patrick Mazeika, got Nick Dini to ground out, and struck out Luke Ritter to retire the side.
IronPigs’ catcher Donny Sands started the top of the second inning with a double. After Jorge Bonifacio struck out, designated hitter Rafael Marchan doubled to center field, scoring Sands to cut the Mets’ lead 3-1. Two batters later, Connor Gray walked Scott Kingery. However, Daniel Robertson lined out to third base for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Gosuke Katoh singled before moving to second base on a wild pitch by Corey Oswalt. Then, Quinn Brody doubled on a line drive to the corner of right field, scoring Katoh and the Mets got that run back, 4-1. Corey Oswalt returned to get the next three outs that retired the side.
Moving ahead to the top of the fourth inning, the IronPigs stormed back. Jorge Bonifacio started the inning with a double, followed by a strikeout from Rafael Marchan and a fly-out from Drew Maggi. Then, Scott Kingery walked before Daniel Robertson’s two-run double to center field made it a one-run game, 4-3.
Next up, Dalton Guthrie walked, and a two-run double by Will Toffey put the IronPigs in the lead, 5-4. Then, Dustin Peterson singled on a ground ball to third baseman Luke Ritter, and that would be it for Mets’ starter Connor Gray. Yennsy Diaz replaced Connor Gray, who was able to get Donny Sands to ground out and retire the side.
Before the bottom of the fourth inning started, the IronPigs made several switches. First, Drew Maggi left the game for unknown reasons that led to Will Toffey moving from first base to third base, catcher Donny Sands moved from catcher to first base, and Rafael Marchan was now the IronPigs catcher.
James Marvel was the new pitcher. Corey Oswalt pitched three innings, allowing five hits, four runs, one walk, and three strikeouts on 66 pitches. Marvel threw nine pitches to get the three outs that ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Marvel gave up a single to Khalil Lee before striking out Mark Vientos. Then, he hit Travis Blankenhorn, preceded by a single from Patrick Mazeika, tying the game 5-5. James Marvel got Nick Dini to line out and Luke Ritter to ground out that retired the side.
At the top of the sixth inning, Rob Zastryzny was the new Mets pitcher. He got Scott Kingery to ground out for the first out. Then, Daniel Robertson doubled, followed by a fielder’s choice from Dalton Guthrie after a throwing error by Kramer Robertson moved both runners to second and third base. Rob Zastryzny threw a wild pitch, and Daniel Robertson scored, putting the IronPigs back up 6-5. Zastryzny struck out both Will Toffey and Dustin Peterson to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Jeff Singer replaced James Marvel. Marvel went three innings, allowing two hits, one run, one walk, and one strikeout. For Singer, he pitched one inning, allowing no hits, no runs, one walk, and no strikeouts.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the eighth inning, Michael Kelly replaced Jeff Singer. Kelly struck out Luke Ritter, and then the game fell apart for the IronPigs. First, he gave up back-to-back hits to Gosuke Katoh and Quinn Brodey. Then, Kramer Robertson reached first base on a messy play when Scott Kingery flipped the ball that missed Donny Sands. However, they got Katoh out at home for the second out.
Kelly then walked Khalil Lee and Mark Vientos, tying the game 6-6, followed by Travis Blankenhorn clearing the bases with a three-run double over Dalton Guthrie at center field for a 9-6 lead. Patrick Mazeika added another run with a single on a line drive to left field, bringing home Blankenhorn for a 10-6 lead. Finally, Mets’ catcher Nick Dini doubled on a fly ball to center field, and the IronPigs got the runner out a home to end the inning.
Usually, in late innings, you want your best closers in the game. Michael Kelly should not have been in that situation, and Anthony Contreras should’ve put Jakob Hernandez in when he gave up those walks. He would’ve protected the one-run lead. Instead, they allowed five runs.
At the top of the ninth inning, Michel Otanez closed out the game for the Mets. Dalton Guthrie started the inning with a double, but Otanez got the last three outs, and the IronPigs lost again, 10-6.
The win went to Mets pitcher Stephen Nogosek (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO), while the loss went to IronPigs pitcher Michael Kelly (1.0 IP, 5 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 1 SO).
Game three between the Mets and IronPigs is tonight at 6:35 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
