The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-15) and the Syracuse Mets (17-13) played game four at NBT Bank Stadium on Friday night. Ryan Cusick was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against A.J. Minter of Syracuse.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners when Bryan De La Cruz grounded out to shortstop. Steward Berroa scored for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Caleb Ricketts to center field ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Syracuse had the bases loaded when Eric Wagaman worked a four-pitch walk, and the game was tied 1-1. With one out, Christian Arroyo grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley starter Ryan Cusick put two runners on base, and his day was done. He pitched 3.1 innings, allowing two hits, three runs, five walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 68 pitches, of which 35 were strikes. John McMillon was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley.
Lehigh Valley was making mistakes on the field, and it cost them. A throwing error by McMillon moved Vidal Brujan to third base. Yonny Hernandez hit an RBI single to center field, when Steward Berroa could not find the ball in the lights. Brujan scored for a 2-1 lead.
Two batters, Nick Morabito hit a two-run RBI double to center field. Hayden Senger and Yonny Hernandez scored for a 4-1 lead. With two outs, Eric Wagaman hit a two-run RBI double to center field. A.J Ewing and Nick Morabito scored for a 6-1 lead. A groundout by Christian Arroyo ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when second baseman Robert Moore hit an RBI single to left field. Carter Kieboom scored, and the IronPigs cut the deficit to 6-2. A balk was called on Syracuse pitcher Bryce Conley, and Liover Peguero scored, and it was now 6-3. Rain began to fall heavily on the field just as Otto Kemp struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Unfortunately, the IronPigs did not get a chance to bat again as the rain ended the game. The IronPigs dropped their fourth straight game by the final score of 6-3. Lehigh Valley finished the night with four hits, committed one error, went 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left three men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Ryan Cusick (0-3), and the win went to Syracuse pitcher Bryce Conley.
The IronPigs and Mets play game five on Saturday at 1:05 pm on the MLB App. Jean Cabrera (1-1, 7.71 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jonah Tong (1-2, 5.68 ERA) of Syracuse.
