The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (61-64, 26-24) returned to Coca-Cola Park on Tuesday night to begin a six-game homestand against the Syracuse Mets (64-62, 26-25). Chuck King was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jonathan Santucci of Syracuse.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base with two outs when first baseman Keaton Anthony hit Santucci’s four-seam fastball for a two-run home run at 369 feet to left field to give the IronPigs a 2-1 lead. It was his eighth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 99.5 mph. Colby Thomas struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning, Syracuse third baseman Ronny Mauricio hit King’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 408 feet to center field, cutting Lehigh Valley’s lead to 2-1. With two outs, King struck out Nick Lorusso to end the inning. Chuck King went six innings, allowing four hits, one run, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 84 pitches, of which 46 were strikes.
Max Lazar pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. He went 1.2 innings, allowing a hit, a walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 31 pitches, of which 19 were strikes. Lou Trivino III came in for Lazar at the top of the eighth inning. He hit Émilien Pitre to load the bases before striking out Billy Amick to end the inning. Trivino III pitched 1.1 innings, with two strikeouts, throwing 20 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
The IronPigs held on to beat the Mets 2-1. Lehigh Valley finished the night with six hits, went 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Keaton Anthony went 1 for 3 with a walk, a home run, and two RBIs. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King (9-6), while Lou Trivino earned his seventh save of the season, and the loss went to Syracuse starter Jonathan Santucci (0-3).
The IronPigs and Mets play game two on Wednesday at 7:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Drake Fellows (5-2, 4.98 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while Syracuse will name a starter later.
