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Syracuse Powers to Series Win with 9-3 Victory over Lehigh Valley on Father's Day

June 16, 2024 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets watches one of his home runs
Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets watches one of his home runs
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Kylie Richelle)

Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Mets hit five home runs en route to a 9-3 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Sunday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium with more than 7,000 fans in attendance. The Mets now have a 9-3 record against the IronPigs this season while Syracuse has outscored Lehigh Valley, 91-37, in those 12 games.

Syracuse (42-26) jumped on top in the bottom of the second inning. Luke Ritter led off with a home run over the left-field wall to give the Mets a 1-0. After Austin Allen struck out, Pablo Reyes singled. Rhylan Thomas followed with a two-run home run to make it a 3-0 ballgame.

Lehigh Valley (29-38) responded in the top of the third. With Matt Kroon at third base and Ruben Cardenas at first, Buddy Kennedy launched a home run to left field, tying the game up, 3-3. Kennedy finished the series 7-for-17 with three doubles, a home run, and six RBIs.

The Mets bounced back in the fourth. Reyes led off with a double, and Thomas followed with another two-run homer that put Syracuse back in front, 5-3. This is the first multi-home run in Thomas's professional career. The 24-year-old didn't have a home run this season until Friday, but Thomas has hit three home runs in his last three games. Later in the inning, with two outs, Luisangel Acuña homered to left field, pushing the Mets' lead to three, 6-3. Acuña had two hits on Sunday and has multiple hits in five of his last seven games.

Syracuse hit its fifth home run of the game in the fifth inning. With one out, Ritter hit his second home run, this time over the right-field wall to make it a four-run game, 7-3. This is the second time in three days Ritter has hit multiple home runs in a game. The 27-year-old leads the team with 16 homers and 50 RBIs this season.

The Mets put an exclamation point on the day in the sixth. Thomas doubled, Sanchez walked, and both players stole third and second base respectively to put two runners in scoring position. Hayden Senger followed with a two-run single to left field to extend the Syracuse lead to six, 9-3.

While the Syracuse offense churned, the Mets' pitching staff was awesome again. Blade Tidwell started and allowed just the three-run homer. Tidwell struck out five batters in four innings. Then, the Mets' bullpen didn't allow a run over the final five innings of the game. Relivers Cole Sulser, Josh Walker, Yacksel Ríos, and Danny Young allowed only one hit and three walks in five innings pitched while striking out five batters.

Syracuse has an off day on Monday, but the Mets are still home this next week with six games against the Rochester Red Wings at NBT Bank Stadium. The first game of the series is on Tuesday with first pitch scheduled for 6:35 p.m.

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Images from this story

Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets watches one of his home runs
Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets watches one of his home runs
(Kylie Richelle)		   

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