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| Daniel Palka hit a two-run home run for Syracuse on Wednesday (Rick Nelson). |
Box Score
Allentown, PA – The Syracuse Mets fell short for the second straight night at Coca-Cola Park, dropping a 5-3 decision to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs on a comfortable Wednesday evening for baseball. The Mets have now lost two straight games to start this week’s series and 13 out of the 19 games the Mets have played against the IronPigs this season.
Each team traded a pair of runs via the long ball in the early goings. In the bottom of the first, Weston Wilson smashed a solo home run over the left-field fence to give Lehigh Valley (67-59, 31-22) an early 1-0 lead. It was Wilson’s 26th homer of the season.
In the top of the second, Syracuse (52-73, 19-32) bounced right back and knotted the game up at one when Brandon McIlwain went deep over the right-field fence, knotting the game, 1-1. McIlwain is in the midst of the best stretch of his young Triple-A career. The outfielder now has seven extra-base hits, including three home runs, in his last five games. McIlwain was called up to Syracuse from Double-A Binghamton earlier in August.
The game would continue to go back and forth early on as the IronPigs plated two runs in the bottom of the second to make it a 3-1 fame. After loading up the bases with nobody out, Simon Muzziotti plated one run on a fielder’s choice groundout, and Scott Kingery plated another run on a sacrifice fly.
That IronPigs lead didn’t last long with the Mets tying the game right back up in the top of the third in emphatic fashion. With Brett Baty on first base and one out, Daniel Palka smashed a booming two-run homer way beyond the right-field fence to tie the game up, 3-3, in flash. Palka’s mammoth blast traveled an estimated 458 feet off the bat. Palka returned to the Syracuse Mets on Tuesday, smacking two doubles in his return last night. The slugger led Syracuse with 26 home runs last season.
Lehigh Valley scored yet again in the bottom of the third to make it a 4-3 game and grab the lead once more. After Wilson singled to start the inning, he stole his way to second and then took third on a wild pitch. That was followed by a sacrifice fly from Aramis Garcia that scored Wilson and handed the IronPigs a 4-3 lead. Wilson has reached base seven times in nine plate appearances so far in this week’s series.
From then on, the pitching staffs ruled the rest of the evening. Just one more run was scored in the ballgame, when Kody Clemens hit a solo home run in the bottom of the eighth to make it a 5-3 game and cap off the evening’s scoring. Each bullpen handled business down the stretch. Four pitchers for the IronPigs (Connor Brogdon, Ben Bowden, Tyler McKay, and Luis F. Ortiz) tossed a combined four innings to end the game with six strikeouts, two walks, and two hits allowed. The Mets bullpen was solid as well. Nolan Clenney and Reed Garrett combined to allowed just one run on one hit (the Clemens homer) in three innings with four strikeouts and three walks.
After all the early offense, the starting pitchers ended up with final lines that weren’t the end of the world. Joey Lucchesi allowed four runs (all earned) on five hits in five innings with three walks and five strikeouts. On the other side, Drew Hutchison allowed three earned runs on six hits in five innings with two walks and three strikeouts.
Syracuse continues its six-game series this week against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. The third game of the series is slated for a 6:45 p.m. start on Wednesday evening. Right-hander José Chacin is scheduled to start on the mound for the Mets against right-hander Tyler Phillips for the IronPigs.
Brandon McIlwain. Again.
— Syracuse Mets (@SyracuseMets) August 30, 2023
His third homer and SEVENTH extra-base hit in the last five games! pic.twitter.com/9yNTX8gc6H
Daniel Palka hits one TO THE MOON for Triple-A Syracuse 🚀 pic.twitter.com/wZA4W27Ug7
— SNY Mets (@SNY_Mets) August 30, 2023
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