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Syracuse Drops Series-Opening Slugfest, 9-7, to Lehigh Valley on Chilly Tuesday Night

May 2, 2023 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Herm Card)

Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Mets battled the rain, cold, and hot bats of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A Philadelphia Phillies) on Tuesday night, dropping the series opener by a 9-7 final on a mid-40s evening in the Salt City. The Mets have now lost three games in a row. The game was also delayed by 17 minutes in the top of the third inning due to a passing rain shower.

Early on, the game was a bit of a pitchers' duel, as it was a 4-2 lead for Syracuse (14-14) entering the top of the seventh inning. Lehigh Valley (13-14) had taken an initial 2-0 lead in the top of the fourth inning when Dustin Peterson took a hanging breaking ball and hit it over the left-field fence, a two-run shot that drove in Simon Muzziotti and gave the IronPigs a two-run lead. However, that would be all the offense that Lehigh Valley would get off Humberto Mejía, who turned in one of the better starts for a Syracuse Met all season. The right-hander allowed just the two runs on five hits in six innings, striking out four while not walking a single batter.

While Mejía was holding the IronPigs in check, his offense warmed up as the evening went along. First, in the top of the fourth, the Mets tied the game up in a flash. Ronny Mauricio doubled, and then Mark Vientos homered, tying the game up at two in nearly an instant. Vientos now has nine home runs in 26 Triple-A games this season.

In the bottom of the sixth, Syracuse took the lead with a little late-inning dramatics. Mauricio stood at third after hitting another double earlier in the inning, and Jonathan Araúz danced off second with two outs, bringing Jaylin Davis to the plate. Davis, who went just 2-for-19 at Toledo last week, provided a slump-busting swing, lining a drive down the right-field line that scored the two baserunners and powered Syracuse to a 4-2 lead entering the game's final three innings.

From there, the night unraveled for the Mets. Lehigh Valley scored six runs on six hits in the seventh inning to take the lead for good, highlighted by consecutive two-run doubles from Jim Haley and Esteban Quiroz to power the IronPigs in front. They'd add on to their lead in the eighth, scoring their ninth and final run of the night on another RBI double from Quiroz. By the end of the game, Lehigh Valley had scored their nine runs on 12 hits, eight of which came in the game's final four innings.

Syracuse did have some late life offensively on Tuesday night, not going down without a fight. First, in the bottom of the eighth, Jaylin Davis continued his offensive turnaround, crushing a two-run home run over the right-field fence to slim the deficit to 9-6. It remained a 9-6 game into the bottom of the ninth, when the Mets tried to conjure some two-out magic. First, Danny Mendick singled to get on first and keep the game alive, followed by a Ronny Mauricio single to put two runners on base with two outs. Vientos strode to the plate representing the potential tying run, and he promptly singled into center field to score Mendick and make it a 9-7 game. That brought Araúz to the plate, but he could not keep the game alive, popping out to third base to end the game.

Syracuse returns home to NBT Bank Stadium all week, playing a six-game series against the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The second game in the week-long series is set for 1:05 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon.

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Images from this story

Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
Syracuse Mets' Mark Vientos at bat
(Herm Card)		   



International League Stories from May 2, 2023


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