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Thunderous Syracuse Swings Power Mets to 10-3, Rain-Shortened Win at Lehigh Valley on Tuesday

July 25, 2023 - International League (IL)
Syracuse Mets News Release


Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets
Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets
(Syracuse Mets, Credit: Rick Nelson)

Allentown, PA - Tuesday's game may have started and ended early, but the Syracuse Mets were wide awake as soon as they walked into Coca-Cola Park. The Mets scored ten runs on nine hits on their way to a wire-to-wire, 10-3 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on a warm morning-turned-afternoon. The game started just past 11 in the morning and ended in the bottom of the sixth when torrential rain rolled through the area around one in the afternoon, soaking the field and making it unplayable.

Syracuse (40-55, 7-14) got the party started right away on Tuesday as it took exactly three batters to give the Mets a firm advantage. Rafael Ortega walked leading off the inning, followed by a sharp Ronny Mauricio single and a booming, three-run home run from Luke Voit that sailed well beyond the left-field fence for a 3-0 Syracuse lead. Voit now has ten homers in 31 games since joining Syracuse last month.

The fun wouldn't stop there. The Mets hit a homer each in the second and third innings to put the game away before it felt like it even truly began. In the second, José Peraza started off the frame with a single followed by a Tomas Nido two-run dinger that made it a 5-0 game in a flash. Nido also homered in Syracuse's last game on Sunday.

In the third, it took a two-out rally for the Mets to get back on the scoreboard. Luke Ritter sliced a single into right-center field to keep the inning alive. Then, Carlos Cortes laced a shot over the tall wall in right-center field to power Syracuse to a 7-0 advantage. Cortes has warmed up with the weather over the past few days. The former South Carolina Gamecock has gone 7-for-14 in his past four games with four walks, a double, a home run, four runs scored, and five runs driven in.

In the fifth, the first five batters reached. Voit walked, Abraham Almonte singled, Jonathan Araúz walked, Ritter singled, and Cortes walked to push the pair of runs across home plate and make it a 9-0 game.

Lehigh Valley (49-45, 13-8) did get on the board in the bottom of the fifth. Back-to-back home runs from Kody Clemens and Dustin Peterson trimmed Syracuse's lead to seven, 9-2.

The Mets bounced right back in the top of the sixth. Syracuse drew four walks to score their tenth tally of the ballgame. Ritter drew the last walk, a bases-loaded free pass that proved to be his second RBI of the game as the Mets took a 10-2 advantage. Ritter finished the game 3-for-3 with two singles, a double, a walk, a run scored and two runs driven in.

The IronPigs added a run in the bottom of the sixth when Weston Wilson led off the frame with a home run to make it a 10-3 ballgame.

Those three home runs were the only runs allowed by Syracuse starting pitcher Denyi Reyes. The right-hander turned in a solid start on the mound, working five and one-third innings in his outing, allowing three runs on four hits with two walks and five strikeouts. Reyes allowed just one baserunner in four scoreless innings to start the game.

With one out in the bottom of the sixth, with rain starting to come down heavier, the tarp was put on the field. After a 32-minute rain delay, the game was ruled official and completed early with the field too wet to continue playing on and with Syracuse winning, 10-3.

Syracuse continues its six-game road trip against Lehigh Valley with the second game of the series on Wednesday night. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Right-hander José Butto is slated to start for the Mets, opposed by right-hander Drew Hutchison for the IronPigs.

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Images from this story

Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets
Luke Ritter of the Syracuse Mets
(Rick Nelson)		   



International League Stories from July 25, 2023


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