On Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on the Syracuse Mets in game three of the series. The IronPigs came into the game-winning four straight. They came into the game in a three-way tie for first place along with Durham and Jacksonville in the International League East Division.
Cristopher Sanchez (2-1, 3.03 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while the Mets started Nate Fisher (1-3, 3.52 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Mets starter Nate Fisher walked Dalton Guthrie and Nick Maton before getting Johan Camargo to fly out. IronPigs’ right fielder Justin Williams was up next, and Fisher hit him, loading the bases for Rafael Marchan.
Marchan hit a two-run single to center field, scoring Guthrie and Maton for a 2-0 lead with Jorge Bonifacio coming to the plate. Bonifacio hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Williams for a 3-0 lead. Finally, Will Toffey grounded out that ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the fourth inning with two outs, IronPigs starter Cristopher Sanchez gave up a double to Nick Plummer with Gosuke Katoh coming to bat. Katoh singled in a sharp ground ball to center field, scoring Plummer and cutting the IronPigs’ lead to 3-1. Sanchez got JT Riddle to fly out that retired the side.
At the top of the fifth inning, Sanchez gave up a triple to Deven Marrero, followed by striking out Michael Perez. Then, Sanchez got Tzu-Wei Lin to ground out for the second out. However, Sanchez walked three straight batters, forcing in a run that made it a one-run game, 3-2. Sanchez was done, going 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, four runs, four walks, and three strikeouts in 81 pitches. Jonathan Hennigan was the new pitcher.
Hennigan gave up a two-run single to Nick Plummer, and the Mets took a 4-3 lead. Cristopher Sanchez was charged for those runs. Finally, Hennigan struck out Gosuke Katoh to end the inning.
For the next three innings, Michael Kelly (0.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 1 SO, 24 pitches), Sam Coonrod (1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 10 pitches), and Jakob Hernandez (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, 14 pitches) all made appearances.
Nick Duron was the new IronPigs pitcher at the top of the ninth inning. Duron gave up a home run to Michael Perez with one out that extended the Mets’ lead, 5-3. He struck out Francisco Alvarez and Daniel Palka to retire the side.
Bryce Montes de Oca was the new Mets pitcher in the bottom of the ninth inning. He hit Jorge Bonifacio before walking Will Toffey. IronPigs’ first baseman Josh Ockimey was up next. He doubled off the wall at right field, scoring Bonifacio that cut the Mets’ lead 5-4 with no outs.
Then, Oca walked Scott Kingery, loading the bases for Dalton Guthrie. Guthrie grounded towards second baseman Gosuke Katoh, who tagged Kingery out at second base, and Guthrie beat the throw to be safe at first. Meanwhile, Will Toffey scored, tying the game 5-5. The IronPigs were unable to score the winning run when Johan Camargo and Nick Maton struck out, sending the game to extra innings.
In extra innings, each team starts with a player at second base. Nick Duron gave up a single to Nick Plummer with one out, scoring Terrance Gore that put Syracuse back up 6-5. Duron struck out Gosuke Katoh, and Nick Plummer got caught stealing second, ending the inning.
IronPigs’ third baseman Johan Camargo started the bottom of the ninth at second base. IronPigs’ right fielder Justin Williams singled, moving Camargo to third base with Donny Sands coming in to pinch hit. Donny Sands singled to center field, scoring Camargo that tied the game, 6-6. After Chris Sharpe singled that loaded the bases, Mets pitcher Phillip Diehl walked Will Toffey, and the IronPigs won their first extra-inning game of the season, 7-6.
The IronPigs had nine hits in the game. They remained tied with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp for first place as the Durham Bulls lost 12-0 to Worcester. The IronPigs are now 57-45 for the season.
The win went to IronPigs pitcher Nick Duron, who went two innings, allowing two hits, two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts for his fourth win of the season. Meanwhile, Mets pitcher Phillip Diehl lost his second game of the year.
The series continues tonight at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
