The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (62-68, 27-28) concluded the six-game homestand against the Syracuse Mets (68-63, 30-26) on Sunday at Coca-Cola Park. Chuck King was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Xzavion Curry of Syracuse.
At the top of the first inning, Syracuse first baseman Mark Vientos put the Mets up 2-0 by hitting King’s four-seam fastball for a two-run home run to right field. It was his third home run of the season, and third in this series. King would get the next three outs to end the inning.
Moving to the top of the third inning, Syracuse had runners on first and second base when Ronny Mauricio hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Nick Morabito for a 3-0 lead. Syracuse would get the bases loaded, but a flyout from Jose Ramos ended the inning. Chuck King pitched five innings, allowing five hits, three runs, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 92 pitches, of which 56 were strikes.
Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. He allowed one hit, throwing 14 pitches, of which eight were strikes. Kirby Snead pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. He walked Nick Morabito with one out before Mark Vientos hit his slider for another two-run home run at 426 feet to left field for a 5-0 lead. It was his fourth home run of the season.
Snead gave up a single to Ronny Mauricio before M.J. Melendez hit his slider for a two-run home run at 406 feet to right field for a 7-0 lead. It was his 17th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 107.7 mph. Snead gave up another single to Eric Wagaman and walked Billy Amick. Snead was replaced by Grant Holman. With one out, Holman got Jose Ramos to hit into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play. Kirby Snead allowed four hits, four runs, two walks, and one strikeout, throwing 23 pitches, of which 12 were strikes. Holman went 1.2 innings, with one strikeout, throwing 15 pitches, of which eight were strikes.
Kyle Backhus pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Syracuse first baseman Mark Vientos hit his sinker for a solo home run at 367 feet to right-center field for an 8-0 lead. It was his third home run of the day, fifth of the series, and fifth home run of the season. The exit velocity off the bat was 101.9 mph. With one out, Backhus gave up a double to M.J. Melendez before getting the next two outs to end the inning. Backhus allowed two hits, one run, and two strikeouts, throwing 23 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
The Mets would use six pitchers to get a combined no-hitter, shutting out the IronPigs 8-0. Lehigh Valley finished the game with one error. It is the second time in franchise history that Lehigh Valley went hitless. The last time the IronPigs had no hits was July 6, 2011. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King (9-7), and the win went to Syracuse pitcher Tobias Myers (3-1).
The IronPigs will turn the page when they head to PNC Park to begin a seven-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in Tuesday’s doubleheader beginning at 4:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live.
