The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (67-81, 32-41) took on the Syracuse Mets (81-67, 43-30) in game five on Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium. Casey Lawrence was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Dan Hammer of Syracuse.
In the bottom of the second inning, Syracuse had the bases loaded with one out when Zack Short cleared them with a three-run RBI double to right field to give the Mets a 3-0 lead. With two outs, Lawrence struck out Jefferson Rojas to end the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley left fielder Wuilfredo Antunez hit Ofreidy Gómez’s four-seam fastball for his first Triple-A home run at 365 feet to right field, cutting Syracuse’s lead to 3-1. The exit velocity off the bat was 104.9 mph. With two outs, a groundout by Keaton Anthony ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Luis Caicuto, Wuilfredo Antunez, and Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit back-to-back-to-back singles for Lehigh Valley with nobody out. Otto Kemp struck out, followed by Keaton Anthony working a four-pitch walk, scoring Caicuto. It was now 3-2. Designated hitter Carter Kieboom tied the game 3-3 with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Antunez. A groundout by Raider Tello ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Casey Lawrence went four innings, allowing five hits, three runs, one walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 79 pitches, of which 51 were strikes. Nestor Cortes pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning. Cortes went three innings, allowing two hits and three strikeouts, throwing 38 pitches, of which 26 were strikes.
Kyle Backhus pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Backus struck out two, throwing 17 pitches, of which 10 were strikes, to get three outs. At the top of the ninth inning, Wuilfredo Antunez hit a single, and Otto Kemp hit a single, moving Antunez to third base. Keaton Anthony put the IronPigs up 4-3 with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Antunez. A groundout by Raider Tello ended the inning.
Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out and a runner on first base, Syracuse center fielder D’Andre Smith hit a game-winning two-run home run to left field. The Mets beat the IronPigs 5-4. Holman threw 12 pitches, of which six were strikes. The IronPigs have lost five straight, and six in a row.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 10 hits, committed two errors, went one for six with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Grant Holman (3-1), and the win went to Syracuse pitcher Chayce McDermott (3-1).
The IronPigs conclude the 2026 season against the Mets on Sunday at 1:15 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Both teams will name their starters tomorrow.
