The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (27-35) started a six-game road trip on Tuesday night from NBT Bank Stadium against the Syracuse Mets (39-24). Lehigh Valley starter Michael Mercado (0-1, 0.99 ERA) was on the mound against Syracuse’s Blade Tidwell (0-1, 4.38 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Syracuse had a runner on first base with one out when third baseman Brett Baty hit Mercado’s fastball for a two-run home run over the wall at right field for a 2-0 lead. Mercado struck out Luke Ritter and a flyout by Trayce Thompson ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley designated hitter Simon Muzziotti hit Tidwell’s slider for a solo home run over the wall at right-center field and the score was now 2-1 Syracuse. It was Muzziotti’s fourth home run of the season and 20th RBI of the year.
Next, Lehigh Valley catcher Aramis Garcia hit Tidwell’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at right field and the game was tied 2-2. It was Garcia’s fourth home run of the season and 15th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley left fielder Ruben Cardenas hit Tidwell’s cutter for a solo home run over the wall at right-center field to take a 3-2 lead. It was Cardenas’s 14th home run of the year and 35th RBI of the year.
Lehigh Valley starter Michael Mercado pitched five innings, allowing four hits, two runs, two walks, and four strikeouts throwing 91 pitches, of which 54 were strikes. Zac Houston was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the sixth inning.
Houston loaded the bases for Hayden Senger. He walked Senger scoring Mike Brosseau and the game was tied 3-3. He was replaced by Taylor Lehman. Two batters later, Syracuse shortstop Rylan Bannon hit a two-run RBI single to left field for a 5-3 lead. Then, Syracuse third baseman Brett Baty hit an RBI single to left field scoring Hayden Senger for a 6-3 lead. With two outs, Lehman struck out Trayce Thompson to end the inning.
Zac Houston (0.1 IP, 4 R, 3 BB, 1 K) threw 21 pitches, of which five were strikes while Taylor Lehman (0.2 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 2 K) threw 19 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Jonah Dipoto was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning. With a runner on first base with two outs, Syracuse catcher Hayden Senger hit a two-run home run over the wall at center field extending the Mets lead to 8-3. Two batters later, a ground out by Rylan Bannon ended the inning. Dipoto (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 28 pitches, of which 13 were strikes.
Andrew Bellatti was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bellatti (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 10 pitches, of which six were strikes to get three outs.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth inning against Syracuse pitcher Cole Sulser. With two outs Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson hit a slow ground ball single to third baseman Brett Baty. Scott Kingery struck out swinging and the game was over.
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs lost to the Syracuse Mets by the final score of 8-3. Lehigh Valley finished the night with five hits and committed one error. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Zac Houston for his first loss of the season while the win went to Syracuse pitcher Matt Festa for his first win of the season.
The IronPigs and Mets play game two on Wednesday at 11:05 am on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics and Rally House.
