The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (62-67, 27-27) and the Syracuse Mets (67-63, 29-26) played a doubleheader on Saturday at Coca-Cola Park. In game one, Alan Rangel was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jonah Tong of Syracuse.
The game was scoreless in the first two innings. At the top of the third inning with one out, Syracuse shortstop Zack Short hit Rangel’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 358 feet to left field to give the Mets a 1-0 lead. It was his fourth homer of the year, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.5 mph. D’Andre Smith followed up by hitting Rangel’s changeup for a solo home run at 365 feet to left field for a 2-0 lead. It was his third home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 99.2 mph.
After giving up a single to Mark Vientos, M.J. Melendez hit Rangel’s changeup for a two-run home run at 379 feet to left-center field for a 4-0 lead. It was his 16th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 100.9 mph. With two outs, a groundout by Billy Amick ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Syracuse had the bases loaded with one out when D’Andre Smith grounded into a forceout at second base, scoring Nick Lorusso for a 5-0 lead. A groundout by Mark Vientos ended the inning. Alan Rangel went four innings, allowing seven hits, five runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 75 pitches, of which 49 were strikes.
Tanner Banks pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the fifth inning. He went. 1.2 innings, with three strikeouts, throwing 19 pitches, of which 14 were strikes. Mitch Neunborn pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. At the top of the seventh inning with two outs, Mark Vientos hit his four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 428 feet to center field for a 6-0 lead. It was his second home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 106.8 mph. Neunborn went 1.1 innings, allowing a hit, a run, and two strikeouts, throwing 27 pitches, of which 17 were strikes.
Syracuse starter Jonah Tong had a no-hitter going into the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs until Kameron Misner ended it with a double to right field. Carter Kieboom struck out swinging, and the game was over. The IronPigs were shut out by the Mets 6-0.
Lehigh Valley finished game one with one hit, went 0 for 1 with runners in scoring position, and left three men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Alan Rangel (3-7), and the win went to Syracuse starter Jonah Tong (5-6).
In game two, Brian Keller was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jack Weisenburger of Syracuse. In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out when a passed ball by catcher Shawn Ross scored Otto Kemp to put the IronPigs up 1-0.
Colby Thomas followed up by hitting a two-run RBI double to center field, scoring Kameron Misner and Keaton Anthony for a 3-0 lead. It would lead Syracuse to make a pitching change. With two outs, Payton Henry hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Colby Thomas for a 4-0 lead. A groundout by Christian Cairo ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Syracuse had runners on the corners with two outs when D’Andre Smith hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Nick Lorusso. It was now 4-1. Zack Short followed up by hitting a two-run RBI double to left-center field, scoring Shawn Ross and D’Andre Smith. It was now 4-3. Nick Morabito followed up by hitting Keller’s sweeper for a two-run home run at 372 feet to left field, giving the Mets a 5-4 lead. It was his 13th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 94 mph.
After giving up a single to Jose Ramos, Brian Keller was replaced by Tucker Davidson. A groundout by Ronny Mauricio ended the inning. Brian Keller went 1.2 innings, allowing four hits, five runs, two walks, and one strikeout, throwing 54 pitches, of which 33 were strikes.
At the top of the third inning, Syracuse had runners on the corners with two outs when D’Andre Smith hit an RBI single to third base, scoring M.J. Melendez for a 6-4 lead. A flyout by Nick Morabito ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out when Kameron Misner tied the game 6-6 with a two-run RBI single to left field, scoring Robert Moore and Carter Kieboom. Later, Jack Weisenburger threw a wild pitch, scoring Otto Kemp to give the IronPigs a 7-6 lead. With two outs, Steward Berroa struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Tucker Davidson went 2.1 innings, allowing three hits, one run, and one walk, throwing 36 pitches, of which 24 were strikes. Max Lazar pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the fifth inning. Moving to the top of the sixth inning, he put runners on the corners with one out before he was replaced by Lou Trivino III. Ronny Mauricio grounded out to third baseman Carter Kieboom, scoring Zack Short, and the game was tied 7-7. A groundout by M.J. Melendez ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Carter Kieboom walked, and Otto Kemp hit a single with one out before Syracuse made a pitching change. Lehigh Valley would get the bases loaded, but were unable to take the lead. At the top of the seventh inning, Syracuse first baseman Billy Amick hit Trivino’s changeup for a solo home run at 406 feet to right field to give the Mets an 8-7 lead. It was his fourth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 108.4 mph. Trivino came back to get the last three outs. He went 1.2 innings, allowing a hit, a run, and one walk, throwing 33 pitches, of which 18 were strikes.
The IronPigs would lose game two 8-7. Lehigh Valley finished the game with five hits, committed one error, went 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley Lou Trivino III (3-1), and the win went to Syracuse pitcher Brian Metoyer (3-1).
The IronPigs conclude the six-game homestand on Sunday at 1:15 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Chuck King (9-7, 4.23 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Xzavion Curry (3-0, 3.84 ERA) of Syracuse.
