The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (54-36) and Syracuse Mets (43-49) played game five on Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Nabil Crismatt (4-5, 3.81 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Cameron Foster (1-0, 3.00 ERA) of Syracuse.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley first baseman Keaton Anthony hit an RBI single to right field scoring Weston Wilson for a 1-0 lead. Next, Lehigh Valley shortstop Donovan Walton hit a two-run RBI single to second baseman Yonny Hernandez scoring Garrett Stubbs and Keaton Anthony to extend their lead 3-0.
Then, Lehigh Valley second baseman Rafael Lantigua hit an RBI double to right field scoring Oscar Mercado for a 4-0 lead. It was Lantigua’s tenth double of the year. Lehigh Valley left fielder Cal Stevenson hit a two-run RBI double to center field scoring Walton and Lantigua for a 6-0 lead. It was Stevenson’s eighth double of the year.
In the bottom of the first inning, Syracuse shortstop Pablo Reyes hit an RBI single to left field scoring Jose Azocar. Syracuse trailed Lehigh Valley 6-1.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Syracuse right fielder Drew Gilbert hit Crismatt’s sinker for a two-run home run at 367 feet to right field. Lehigh Valley’s lead was now 6-3. It was Gilbert’s 10th home run of the season.
Lehigh Valley starter Nabil Crismatt pitched five innings, allowing four hits, three runs, two walks, and four strikeouts throwing 76 pitches, of which 49 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley’s offense exploded at the top of the seventh inning. Second baseman Rafael Lantigua hit an RBI single to right field scoring Oscar Mercado for a 7-1 lead. Next, left fielder Cal Stevenson hit a two-run RBI double to left field scoring Donovan Walton and Rafael Lantigua for a 9-3 lead. It was Stevenson’s ninth double of the season.
Then, third baseman Weston Wilson hit an RBI single to right field scoring Cal Stevenson for a 10-3 lead. A wild pitch by Syracuse pitcher Justin Garza scored Justin Crawford for an 11-3 lead.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Syracuse catcher Francisco Alvarez hit a two-run home run to right field, and it was now 11-5. It was Alvarez’s sixth home run of the season.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Syracuse catcher Francisco Alvarez hit a three-run home run to center field. It was now 11-8 with two outs. Next, Drew Gilbert hit an RBI double to right field scoring Pablo Reyes and it was now 11-9. Finally, Noah Hoffman got Joey Meneses to ground out to third baseman Weston Wilson for the final out of the game. The IronPigs defeated the Mets 11-9.
Lehigh Valley’s bullpen allowed nine hits, six runs, two walks, and one strikeout. They finished the night with 13 hits, went 8 for 20 with runners in scoring position, and left 11 men on base.
Lehigh Valley left fielder Cal Stevenson finished the night 2 for 5 with a single, a double, and four RBIs. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Nabil Crismatt. It was his fifth win of the season, and the loss went to Syracuse starter Cameron Foster.
The IronPigs and Mets conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm.
