The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (35-41, 0-1) continued its homestand on Tuesday night to start the second half of the season from Coca-Cola Park against the Syracuse Mets (39-37, 1-0). Tucker Davidson was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jack Wenninger of Syracuse.
The game was scoreless through the first three innings. At the top of the fourth inning, Syracuse had runners on first and second base when Ryan Clifford hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Tyrone Taylor for a 1-0 lead.
With runners on the corners, Ji Hwan Bae hit a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Ronny Mauricio for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Davidson struck out Hayden Senger to end the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning with one out, Keaton Anthony hit a single, Bryan De La Cruz worked a four-pitch walk, and Christian Cairo got a base hit that loaded the bases for Dylan Moore. Moore hit Wenninger’s slider for a grand slam at 335 feet to right field to give the IronPigs a 4-2 lead. It was his second home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 91.9 mph. With two outs, Felix Reyes struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the fifth inning, Syracuse had runners on the corners when Ronny Mauricio hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Vidal Brujan, and it was now 4-3. With two outs, a flyout by Ryan Clifford ended the inning. Tucker Davidson pitched five innings, allowing five hits, three runs, three walks, and nine strikeouts, throwing 97 pitches, of which 64 were strikes.
Ryan Cusick pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. Syracuse had runners on second and third base when Hayden Senger grounded out to first base, scoring Nick Morabito, and the game was tied 4-4. With two outs, a groundout by Vidal Brujan ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Christian Cairo hit a double to shortstop. The Syracuse players could not locate the ball. With two outs, catcher Rene Pinto hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Cairo for a 5-4 lead. A flyout by Steward Berroa ended the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Syracuse had a runner on first base when Tyrone Taylor hit Cusick’s four-seam fastball for a two-run home run at 376 feet to left field to put the Mets up 6-5. It was his first home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 98.5 mph. With the bases loaded and one out, Nolan Hoffman replaced Ryan Cusick. Kevin Parada grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
Ryan Cusick went 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, three runs, and four walks, throwing 45 pitches, of which 18 were strikes. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Felix Reyes hit a single with one out, while Keaton Anthony and Bry De La Cruz worked four-pitch walks.
The bases were loaded for Christian Cairo. Cairo struck out, followed by a balk being called on Jefry Yan. Felix Reyes scored, tying the game 6-6. With two outs, Dylan Moore struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the eighth inning, Syracuse had runners on second and third base when Ronny Mauricio hit a two-run RBI single to left field. Francisco Lindor and Tyrone Taylor scored to put the Mets up 8-6. With two outs, Hoffman struck out Ryan Clifford to end the inning. Hoffman went 1.2 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, and one strikeout, throwing 25 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
Kirby Snead pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Syracuse had a runner on second base when Hayden Senger reached first base on a throwing error by Carter Kieboom. Nick Morabito scored for a 9-6 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Vidal Brujan ended the inning. Snead allowed a hit, a run, and struck out two, throwing 15 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
The IronPigs would go on to lose their second straight game by the final score of 9-6. They finished the night with ten hits, committed four errors, went 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Dylan Moore went 1 for 4 with a home run and four RBIs. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Nolan Hoffman (1-3), while the win went to Syracuse Jefry Yan (1-0), and Dylan Ross earned his second save of the season.
The IronPigs and Mets play game two on Wednesday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App. Brian Keller (0-1, 3.63 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while Syracuse has yet to name a starter.
