The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (68-59, 32-22) took on the Syracuse Mets (52-74, 19-33) in game three of a six-game series on Thursday night from Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs lead the series 2-0.
Tyler Phillips (0-1, 3.80 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his sixth start of the season against Syracuse’s Jose Chacin (0-0, 8.31 ERA).
Lehigh Valley struck first in the bottom of the first inning. Kody Clemens started the inning hitting a high fly ball that hit the top of the wall at right field for a triple. It was Clemens’s second triple of the season.
Weston Wilson was next. He grounded toward third baseman Chase Estep, who made a long throw to first baseman Mateo Gil for the first out but Clemens scored to put Lehigh Valley up 1-0. It was Wilson’s 71st RBI of the season. Then, Darick Hall and Dustin Peterson both grounded out which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Tyler Phillips pitched well in the first three innings allowing one hit and five strikeouts. However, he ran into trouble at the top of the fourth inning. He gave up a single to Carlos Cortes, followed by walking Brandon McIlwain. Next, he loaded the bases by walking Michael Perez with Joe Suozzi up to bat.
Suozzi lined out toward right fielder Dustin Peterson. Peterson threw a dart toward catcher Rafael Marchan but Cortes did not attempt to score. Chase Estep was next for Syracuse. Phillips walked him which forced in a run and the game was tied 1-1.
Two batters later with two outs, Jaylen Palmer was next for Syracuse. On a 1-0 count, Phillips threw a sinker at Palmer. He hit it into left field for a two-run double to put Syracuse up 3-1. However, Chase Estep tried to run toward third base but left fielder Simon Muzziotti threw the ball to shortstop Weston Wilson, who then threw it to third baseman Drew Ellis before tagging Estep out which ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the sixth inning, Tyler Phillips got Michael Hernandez to pop out toward third baseman Drew Ellis, who had to chase the ball before making the catch. Next, Joe Suozzi lined out toward right fielder Dustin Peterson, and Chase Estep flew out toward left fielder Simon Muzziotti to end the inning. That was it for Phillips. He pitched six innings, allowing five hits three runs, two walks, and seven strikeouts in 84 pitches, of which 52 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley battled back in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Weston Wilson crushed Hunter Parsons’s fastball for a solo home onto the berm at center field which made it 3-2 Syracuse. It was Wilson’s 27th home run of the season and 72nd RBI of the season.
The home run went 418 feet with an exit velocity of 105.9 mph. Next, Darick Hall worked a four-pitch walk before Dustin Peterson put the ball down for a base hit to left field with Simon Muzziotti up to bat.
During his at-bat, Parsons threw a wild pitch which moved both runners up a base. Then, Muzziotti hit Parsons’s sinker for a base hit to center field bringing home Hall and Peterson that put Lehigh Valley up 4-3. It was Muzziotti’s 57th RBI of the year.
After that, Syracuse changed pitchers with Nate Lavender replacing Hunter Parsons. Esteban Quiroz struck out, and Rafael Marchan flew out toward center fielder Brandon McIlwain to end the inning.
Hector Perez was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the seventh inning. He pitched one inning with one strikeout throwing 11 pitches, of seven were strikes to get three outs.
Noah Skirrow was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the eighth inning. He walked Nick Meyer to start the inning. Two batters later with one out, Skirrow walked Brandon McIlwain with Michael Perez up to bat. During his at-bat, Skirrow threw a wild pitch and both runners advanced. Skirrow struck out Perez with Joe Suozzi up to bat with two outs.
Suozzi hit a chopper toward third baseman Drew Ellis, He beat Ellis’s throw to first baseman Darick Hall while Nick Meyer scored tying the game 4-4. Then, Chase Estep doubled on a sharp line drive over the head of Dustin Peterson in right field to score two more runs for a 6-4 lead.
Daniel Palka was next. He put the ball down for a base hit to left field which brought Estep’s home that made it 7-4. That was it for Skirrow, who was replaced by Taylor Lehman. He got Jaylen Palmer to ground out toward third baseman Drew Ellis, who threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Darick Hall worked a four-pitch walk, followed by a Dustin Peterson base hit to center field with Simon Muzziotti up to bat. Muzziotti put the ball down for a base hit to left field which loaded the bases for Drew Ellis.
Unfortunately, Ellis struck out. Esteban Quiroz was next. Quiroz singled on a sharp line drive to center field which scored Hall and Peterson to make it a one-run game 7-6.
Rafael Marchan was next to work a four-pitch walk which reloaded the bases for Cal Stevenson. Stevenson worked a four-pitch walk which forced in a run that tied the game 7-7.
Kody Clemens was next but he grounded toward first baseman Daniel Palka, who made a heads-up play to throw the ball toward catcher Michael Perez for the forceout at home plate. Weston Wilson was next but he struck out swinging which ended the inning.
The game remained tied 7-7 and went into extra innings. Jeremy Walker was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the tenth inning with Brandon McIlwain at second base. Walker got Michael Perez to ground out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall for the first out while McIlwain went to third base.
Then, Joe Suozzi grounded out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, which brought McIlwain home to give the Mets an 8-7 lead. Walker got Chase Estep to ground out toward second baseman Esteban Quiroz, who threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall, which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance in the bottom of the tenth inning. Simon Muzziotti went to second, and Tyler Jay was the new pitcher for Syracuse. Drew Ellis started the inning, putting the ball down for a base hit to center field, with Muzziotti scoring from second that tied the game 8-8.
Next, Aramis Garcia moved Ellis to third base with a single to right field with Rafael Marchan up to bat. Marchan hit a line drive to left field, and Ellis scored, which ended the game, and the IronPigs defeated the Mets by the final score of 9-8. The IronPigs take a commanding 3-0 series lead.
Marchan became the seventh different IronPigs player to drive in a walk-off win. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 13 hits, went 6 for 14 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Jeremy Walker earned his sixth win of the season, while Tyler Jay lost his first game of the season for Syracuse.
The IronPigs and Mets play game four on Friday 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.
