The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (32-29) concluded a five-game road trip on Sunday afternoon against the Syracuse Mets (24-38) from NBT Bank Stadium. Lehigh Valley came into this game on a three-game winning streak and were looking to end the weekend on a winning note.
Drew Hutchison (2-2, 5.66 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Syracuse’s Alex Valverde (1-2, 6.75 ERA).
After a scoreless first inning, the IronPigs struck first at the top of the second inning. It started when Alex Valverde walked Cristian Pache with Jordan Qsar due up. Valverde threw a fastball at Qsar and he crushed it for a two-run home run onto the Salt City Deck at right field for a 2-0 lead. It was Qsar’s tenth home run of the season.
Next, catcher Rafael Marchan was hit by a pitch, followed by a double from Scott Kingery still with nobody out for Vimael Machin. However, he was called out on strikes. Esteban Quiroz was next. He grounded toward first baseman Tyler White for the second out but Marchan scored for a 3-0 lead as Simon Muzziotti was coming to the plate.
Muzziotti singled to right field, scoring Kingery and it was now 4-0 Lehigh Valley. Dustin Peterson grounded toward second baseman Danny Mendick for a forceout at second base, ending the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley added more runs. For the second consecutive inning, Cristian Pache walked with one out for Jordan Qsar. Qsar singled to right field, moving Pache to third base with Rafael Marchan next. Marchan singled on a line drive to right field, scoring Pache and it was now 5-0 Lehigh Valley.
Two batters later with two outs, Vimael Machin doubled to left field, scoring Qsar for a 6-0 lead. Then, Esteban Quiroz singled on a line drive to right field, scoring Marchan and Machin for an 8-0 lead. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Lehigh Valley was having a good game and then, the bottom of the fourth inning happened. It started when Drew Hutchison gave up back-to-back singles to Carlos Cortes and Nick Meyer with nobody out for Michael Perez.
Perez doubled to left field, scoring two runs and it was now 8-2 Lehigh Valley with Tanner Murphy next. Murphy hit a ground-rule double to right-center field, adding another run. It was now 8-3. Lehigh Valley changed pitchers afterward with Jeremy Walker in for Hutchison.
Two batters later, Walker walked Jonathan Arauz with one out for Tyler White. White singled just passed first baseman Darick Hall and into right field, scoring Murphy and it was now 8-4. The run was charged to Hutchison. He finished the afternoon pitching three innings, allowing five hits, four runs, four walks, and two strikeouts in 69 pitches, of which 37 were strikes.
DJ Stewart was next. He singled to right field, scoring Arauz and suddenly, it was now 8-5 with Jaylin Davis next. The Mets erased an eight-run deficit when Davis hit a three-run home run to left field, tying the game 8-8. Walker picked up the last two outs that ended the inning. The Mets sent nine men to the plate with seven hits to score eight runs. The Lehigh Valley players left the field in disbelief.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the sixth inning, the Mets took the lead. Connor Brogdon was pitching for Lehigh Valley. He gave up a double to DJ Stewart with one out. Two batters later with two outs, Brogdon walked Carlos Cortes with Nick Meyer next. Meyer hit Brogdon’s hanging breaking ball just clearing the left field wall for a three-run home run. It was now 11-8 Mets. Brogdon struck out Michael Perez which ended the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had a chance to get back into the game. Scott Kingery singled with one out. Two batters later, Esteban Quiroz singled, moving Kingery to third base with two outs for Simon Muzziotti. Unfortunately, Muzziotti struck out swinging which ended the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Ben Bowden was pitching for Lehigh Valley. With one out, DJ Stewart hit a solo home run off the foul pole at right field to give the Mets an insurance run of a 12-8 lead. It was Stewart’s 13th home run of the year, seven of them against Lehigh Valley.
Two batters later with two outs, Carlos Cortes hit a solo home run over the wall at center field for a 13-8 lead. Bowden struck out Nick Meyer which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance at the top of the ninth inning against T.J. McFarland. Scott Kingery singled with one out, followed by another single from Vimael Machin, moving Kingery to third base. Esteban Quiroz was next but he grounded into a double play that ended the game. The IronPigs lose the finale by the final score of 13-8 to the Mets.
Lehigh Valley’s pitching continues to be an Achilles heel. The game should not have gotten out of hand. They have blown a lot of games this year and this one will sting for a while. The good news is the IronPigs won the series 3-2 and are now 8-2 against the Mets this year.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with 15 hits, went 4-15 with runners in scoring position, and left ten men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Connor Brogdon lost his first game of the season, while Hunter Parsons won his game of the year for the Mets.
Lehigh Valley returns to Coca-Cola Park to begin a six-game homestand against the Toledo Mud Hens starting on Tuesday at 7:05 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
