The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (67-78, 32-38) took on the Syracuse Mets (78-67, 40-30) in game two on Wednesday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Alan Rangel was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jonathan Santucci for Syracuse.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. reached first base on a throwing error by pitcher Jonathan Santucci. With one out, Kameron Misner worked a four-pitch walk, followed by Keaton Anthony hitting an RBI single to right field, scoring Rincones Jr. to give the IronPigs a 1-0 lead. Carter Kieboom grounded into a 5-4-3 inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the first inning, Syracuse had a runner on first base with one out when Ronny Mauricio tied the game 1-1 with an RBI double to center field, scoring Jefferson Rojas. Two batters later, Eric Wagaman put the Mets up 2-1 with an RBI single to left field, scoring Mauricio and moving Vidal Brujan to third base. With two outs, Rangel struck out Ryan Clifford to end the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Syracuse had a runner on second base with two outs when Jefferson Rojas hit Rangel’s slider for a two-run home run at 398 feet to left-center field for a 4-1 lead. It was his second home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.3 mph. Rangel struck out Ronny Mauricio to end the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Colby Thomas worked a four-pitch walk. Three batters later, Lehigh Valley shortstop Robert Moore hit Santucci’s four-seam fastball for a two-run home run at 370 feet to right-center field. It was now 4-3. For Moore, it was his 15th home run of the season, and exit velocity off the bat was 99.7 mph. With two outs, Gabriel Rincones Jr. struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the sixth inning, Kameron Misner walked with one out. Lehigh Valley first baseman Keaton Anthony tied the game 4-4 with an RBI single to left field, scoring Misner. With two outs, Colby Thomas was called out on strikes.
Lehigh Valley starter Alan Rangel went five innings, allowing six hits, four runs, two walks, and ten strikeouts, throwing 91 pitches, of which 57 were strikes. Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. With one out, Syracuse left fielder Ryan Clifford put the Mets back up 5-4 by hitting Mercado’s splitter for a solo home run at 393 feet to right-center field. It was his 18th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 106.9 mph. With two outs, Mercado struck out D’Andre Smith to end the inning.
Mercado allowed two hits, one run, and two strikeouts, throwing 23 pitches, of which 17 were strikes. Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He walked one and struck out one, throwing 19 pitches, of which 13 were strikes, to get three outs. Max Lazar pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Lazar struck out one, throwing 17 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get three outs.
The IronPigs lost to the Mets 5-4 for their third straight loss. Lehigh Valley finished the night with five hits, went 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left two men on base. Robert Moore went 1 for 3 with a home run and two RBIs, while Keaton Anthony went 2 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Michael Mercado (4-5), while the win went to Syracuse pitcher Kevin Herget (1-0), and Chayce McDermott earned his first save of the season.
The IronPigs and Mets play game three on Thursday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Chuck King (10-8, 4.12 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jack Wenninger (5-8, 4.21 ERA) for Syracuse.
