14-run seventh inning leads Syracuse to 18-3 thumping of Lehigh Valley on Tuesday
Allentown, PA – The Syracuse Mets had maybe the greatest inning in the more than 100-year history of professional baseball in the Salt City on Tuesday afternoon. Syracuse scored 14 runs in the seventh inning, completely blowing open a game that the Mets eventually won, 18-3. Syracuse has now won
Allentown, PA – The Syracuse Mets had maybe the greatest inning in the more than 100-year history of professional baseball in the Salt City on Tuesday afternoon. Syracuse scored 14 runs in the seventh inning, completely blowing open a game that the Mets eventually won, 18-3. Syracuse has now won four of the first seven games on its two-week road trip.
Early on, the story of the game for Syracuse (18-14) was Tylor Megill’s rehab outing. The big right-hander was brilliant in four innings, not allowing a hit or a run with just one walk on seven strikeouts. In fact, Megill struck out six of the seven batters he faced to initially start the game. It was the third Minor League rehab outing for Megill as he hopes to return to the Major League. He made prior starts with High-A Brooklyn and Double-A Binghamton within the past two weeks.
On the offensive side, the Mets pounced on Lehigh Valley (12-19) with two runs in the fourth and fifth to take a 4-0 lead. After a strikeout to start the fourth, consecutive singles from Ben Gamel and Mark Vientos plus a walk to Rylan Bannon loaded up the bases with one out. Then, a bases-loaded walk to Luke Ritter scored one run, and an RBI fielder’s choice from José Iglesias got the second run home.
In the fifth, a wild pitch with Mike Brosseau on third plus an RBI single from Gamel made it a 4-0 game. Brosseau had singled earlier in the inning, avenging last week’s 1-for-16 performance at Rochester.
In the sixth, the IronPigs got a run back to briefly make it a ballgame again at 4-1. With one out, Cal Stevenson doubled to put a runner in scoring position. Then, Jordan Luplow singled with two outs to plate Stevenson. Both players played against the Mets during the 2023 season. Luplow was a member of the Buffalo Bisons (the Blue Jays’ Triple-A affiliate), while Stevenson returns to the IronPigs after playing for them during the 2023 season.
That set the stage for the top of the seventh, truly one of the greatest innings in the history of Syracuse baseball. The Mets scored 14 runs on eight hits, seven walks, a hit batter, and enough highlights to fill up a season’s worth of reels. Some of the notables included Trayce Thompson driving in six runs in the seventh inning alone, smacking a grand slam and then driving in two more runs via a double. Ben Gamel drove in multiple runs in the inning by way of an RBI double and a bases-loaded walk, and Luke Ritter provided three more runs on a two-run double and another bases-loaded walk.
The good news wasn’t limited to just individual Syracuse players in the mammoth, 14-run seventh inning. The team as a whole shined. Every single Mets player scored at least once in the seventh inning. Five different players scored twice. Seven different batters reached base twice in the frame. And six different players had at least one hit.
From there, the Mets bullpen finished the job as the IronPigs scored just twice in the final three innings to finish off an 18-3 win by the Syracuse Mets that will be remembered for a long time by anyone who came to the Tuesday matinee. The Mets have made a habit of big innings lately. Syracuse scored seven and eight runs in separate innings last week at Rochester. Somehow, the Mets topped that with their 14-run bonanza in Tuesday’s win.
Syracuse is on the road for two long weeks away from NBT Bank Stadium. The two-week journey continues at the Lehigh Valley IronPigs this week. First pitch of the second game of the series is scheduled for 6:45 p.m. on Wednesday from Allentown, PA.