Brandon Sproat shines, Drew Gilbert homers as Syracuse beats Lehigh Valley, 1-0, on Sunday night

Allentown, PA - Syracuse Mets starting pitcher Brandon Sproat turned in his best Triple-A start to lead Syracuse to a 1-0 win over the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Sunday night at Coca-Cola Park. With the win, the Mets split the six-game series against the IronPigs.

That run was the only run Syracuse's pitching staff needed. Sproat was sterling against Lehigh Valley (62-66, 28-27). The 23-year-old allowed just two hits and two walks in five and one-third scoreless innings pitched while striking out six batters. This is the longest Triple-A start for Sproat and the most strikeouts the right-handed pitcher has had since being promoted to Triple-A.

From there the Syracuse bullpen was near-perfect. Max Kranick induced an inning-ending double play in the sixth inning and struck out all three batters he faced in the seventh. Eric Orze followed with three strikeouts as part of 1-2-3 eight inning. Then, Matt Gage allowed a one-out walk in the ninth but got a game-ending double play to secure his sixth save of the season.

The Syracuse Mets have an off day Monday before beginning a six-game series at home at NBT Bank Stadium against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (Triple-A New York Yankees) on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.