The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (37-43, 2-3) took on the Syracuse Mets (41-39, 3-2) in game five on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park. Kolby Allard was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Xzavion Curry of Syracuse.
The game was scoreless in the first three innings. At the top of the fourth inning, Syracuse had a runner on second base when Yonny Hernandez hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Cristian Pache to give the Mets a 1-0 lead with two outs. A flyout by Vidal Brujan ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley first baseman Keaton Anthony worked a four-pitch walk. Center fielder Dylan Carlson hit a single to right field, moving Keaton Anthony to second base. Robert Moore followed up by hitting an RBI single to right field, scoring Anthony, and the game was tied 1-1. With two outs, a groundout by Rene Pinto ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Dylan Moore hit Curry’s splitter for a solo home run at 372 feet to left field, giving the IronPigs a 2-1 lead. It was his third home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.3 mph.
Lehigh Valley designated hitter Felix Reyes hit a single to left field, followed by Otto Kemp getting hit by a pitch. With one out, Bryan De La Cruz hit a single to right field, and the bases were loaded. Christian Cairo grounded into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play.
At the top of the sixth inning, Syracuse had a runner on third base when Yonny Hernandez hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Ji Hwan Bae, and the game was tied 2-2. Kolby Allard was replaced by Tanner Banks.
A throwing error by Banks allowed Hernandez to move to third base. With two outs, Vidal Brujan hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Hernandez to put the Mets up 3-2. A groundout by Grae Kessinger ended the inning. Kolby Allard went 5.1 innings, allowing six hits, three runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 91 pitches, of which 60 were strikes. Tanner Banks allowed a hit and struck out one, throwing 11 pitches, of which nine were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Syracuse had runners on first and second base when Cristian Pache hit an RBI single to second base. The ball was deflected by Bryan De La Cruz, and Ji Hwan Bae scored for a 5-2 lead. Tanner Banks was replaced by Max Lazar.
Yonny Hernandez hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Cristian Pache for a 6-2 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Jared Oliva ended the inning. Banks went 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, three runs, two walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 41 pitches, of which 24 were strikes. Lazar went 1.1 innings, allowing a hit, and struck out one, throwing 19 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Moving to the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Bryan De La Cruz hit Matt Turner’s sinker for a solo home run at 390 feet to right field, cutting the deficit to 6-3. It was his 12th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 103 mph. With one out, center fielder Dylan Carlson hit Turner’s slider for a solo home run at 368 feet to left field.
It was now 6-4. The home run was Carlson’s fifth of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.9 mph. After Robert Moore worked a four-pitch walk, Rene Pinto hit Turner’s sinker for a two-run home run at 344 feet to right field, tying the game 6-6. It was his first home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 96.9 mph. Otto Kemp had struck out, but a wild pitch Guillo Zuñiga allowed him to go to first, and Reyes scored to give the IronPigs a 7-6 lead.
After Kemp stole second base, Keaton Anthony hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Kemp for an 8-6 lead. Bryan De La Cruz struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Mercado allowed a hit, throwing 15 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The IronPigs scored six unanswered runs to beat the Mets 8-6.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 12 hits, committed one error, went 3 for 14 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Bryan De La Cruz went 3 for 5 with a home run, double, and an RBI, while Dylan Carlson went 2 for 3 with a home run, a walk, and an RBI. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Max Lazar (3-1), while Mercado earned his second save of the season, and the loss went to Syracuse pitcher Guillo Zuñiga.
The IronPigs will look to split the series against the Mets on Sunday at 1:15 pm on the MLB App. Andrew Painter (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will make his first start of the season for Lehigh Valley against Jack Wenninger (3-5, 3.71 ERA) of Syracuse.
