The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (36-42, 1-2) played game three against the Syracuse Mets (40-38, 2-1) Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park. Chuck King was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Adbert Alzolay of Syracuse.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley designated hitter Dylan Moore hit a single to left field and later stole second base. With one out, Felix Reyes hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Moore for a 1-0 lead. Reyes stole second base, and Carter Kieboom brought him home with an RBI single to left field for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Steward Berroa ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Syracuse had runners on second and third base with nobody out when Grae Kessinger grounded out to first baseman Felix Reyes, scoring Ryan Clifford to cut Lehigh Valley’s lead to 2-1. Ben Rortvedt followed up by hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring Yonny Hernandez, tying the game 2-2. Cristian Pache grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
In the bottom of the second inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Dylan Moore hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Dylan Carlson for a 3-2 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Felix Reyes ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Steward Berroa grounded out to second base, scoring Carter Kieboom for a 4-2 lead. With two outs, Dylan Carlson was called out on strikes, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Dylan Moore hit a single, while Felix Reyes and Carter Kieboom worked four-pitch walks with two outs. A wild pitch by Syracuse pitcher Tanner Witt scored Moore for a 5-2 lead. A flyout by Steward Berroa ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King went six innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, and struck out five, throwing 87 pitches, of which 56 were strikes. Mitch Neunborn pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning.
Syracuse had a runner on third base with two outs when Cristian Pache hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Grae Kessinger, cutting the deficit to 5-3. With two outs, Ji Hwan Bae lined out to left fielder Christian Cairo for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Neunborn gave up a double before he was replaced by Lou Trivino. With two outs, a lineout by Yonny Hernandez to right fielder Steward Berroa ended the inning. Neunborn went 1.1 innings, allowing three hits, one run, and one walk, throwing 27 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when Felix Reyes hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Robert Moore for a 6-3 lead. Carter Kieboom followed up by grounding into a forceout at third base, scoring Dylan Moore for a 7-3 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Christian Cario ended the inning.
Lou Trivino pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He went 1.2 innings, allowing a hit, and struck out three, throwing 17 pitches, of which 15 were strikes, to get the final four outs of the game. The IronPigs ended a three-game losing streak with a 7-3 win over the Mets.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 11 hits, committed two errors, went 4 for 13 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. Robert Moore went 3 for 4 with a double and a stolen base, while Dylan Moore went 3 for 4 with a walk and an RBI.
The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King (5-3), while Lou Trivino earned his third save of the season, and the loss went to Syracuse pitcher Ryan Lambert (2-1).
The IronPigs and Mets play game four on Friday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App. Drake Fellows (0-1, 5.73 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jonah Tong (1-5, 6.30 ERA).
