Syracuse beats Lehigh Valley, 7-6, on Saturday night

Syracuse, NY – Behind an offensive surge and a stellar start from Joander Suarez, the Syracuse Mets beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 7-6, on a rainy Saturday night at NBT Bank Stadium.

After a one-hour rain delay, Syracuse (20-24) didn’t miss a beat in the bottom of the first inning. The Mets put up six runs on IronPigs starter Nabil Crismatt. The inning began with a single from Gilberto Celestino, and the lineup kept rolling from there. Drew Gilbert singled and Celestino scored on a throwing error from right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. to make it 1-0. Soon after, Young knocked in Gilbert with an RBI single to put the Mets ahead 2-0. Later in the first, Joey Meneses singled and Luis De Los Santos hit an RBI single to score Young and give Syracuse a 3-0 lead. With two men on base, Jakson Reetz smacked a three-run homer to extend the Mets advantage to 6-0.

In the fifth, Syracuse added an insurance run. It started with singles from Young and Meneses and a walk by Donovan Walton to load the bases. De Los Santos grounded out, but Young scored on the play to give the Mets a 7-0 edge.

Syracuse held Lehigh Valley (30-14) scoreless until the sixth, thanks to a tremendous start from Joander Suarez. The right-hander tossed five and two-thirds innings without allowing an earned run.

The IronPigs still fought back though. In the top of the sixth, a single, and error, and a walk loaded the bases with two outs. A bases-loaded walk scored one run, and a single scored two more runs, trimming the Mets lead to four, 7-3.

Then in the seventh, with two outs, Otto Kemp singled, Gabriel Rincones Jr. walked, and Buddy Kennedy followed with a three-run home run, slashing the Syracuse advantage to one, 7-6.

Scoreless outings from Grant Hartwig and Colin Poche in the eighth and ninth secured the Mets’ second straight win.

Syracuse ends its six-game series against Lehigh Valley on Sunday afternoon. Left-hander Brandon Waddell starts for the Mets opposite right-hander Kyle Tyler for the IronPigs. First pitch is scheduled for 1:05 p.m.