Syracuse falls to Lehigh Valley, 5-1, on Friday night
Allentown, PA - One night after scoring 13 runs and collecting 12 hits, the Syracuse Mets managed just one run and three hits in a 5-1 loss to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Friday night at Coca-Cola Park. Despite the loss, Syracuse has still won four of its last seven
Allentown, PA - One night after scoring 13 runs and collecting 12 hits, the Syracuse Mets managed just one run and three hits in a 5-1 loss to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on Friday night at Coca-Cola Park. Despite the loss, Syracuse has still won four of its last seven games.
Lehigh Valley (61-65, 27-26) scored first in the bottom of the first inning with one powerful swing of the bat. With one out, Kody Clemens hit a solo home run over the right-field wall for a 1-0 lead.
The IronPigs added to their total in the fourth. Clemens led off the inning with another home run, this time down the right-field line, to make it a 2-0 game. Clemens now has three home runs in his last two games. David Dahl followed with a single and scored when Cody Roberts singled later in the inning and Syracuse made a throwing error on the play for a 3-0 Lehigh Valley edge. Roberts then scored from third base on a wild pitch for a 4-0 advantage.
Those four runs were all allowed by Syracuse starting pitcher Joander Suarez, making his Triple-A debut. Overall, three of the four runs were earned runs while Suarez struck out four batters and allowed seven hits in four innings pitched.
From there, Justin Jarvis came out of the Syracuse bullpen to calm the tide. Jarvis pitched three scoreless and hitless innings, walking just one batter while striking out five.
Syracuse (70-58) did get on the board in the top of the eighth. With one out, Yolmer Sanchez walked, and JT Schwartz singled, placing runners and first and third base. A wild pitch allowed Sanchez to score from third to trim the deficit to four, 4-1, but the Mets did not score again.
Lehigh Valley responded in the bottom of the eighth with another run off of Syracuse reliever Grant Hartwig. Clemens and Dahl both singled to put runners at first and third, and Clemens scored when Jim Haley grounded into a fielder's choice as the IronPigs took a 5-1 lead.
Syracuse and Lehigh Valley continue their six-game series with the fifth game on Saturday night. Right-hander Dom Hamel is slated to start for the Mets against IronPigs left-hander Kolby Allard. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.