Syracuse Mets Recap: Six Pitchers Combine to Shutout IronPigs in Series Finale Win over Lehigh Valley

Box Score

Syracuse, NY – Behind dominant pitching and timely hitting, the Syracuse Mets shut out the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 5-0, on Sunday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium.

Syracuse (18-14) struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Christian Arroyo worked a walk and Cristian Pache reached on a fielder’s choice before swiping second base. With two outs, Yonny Hernández lined an RBI single to center field, bringing home Pache and giving the Mets a 1-0 lead.

After a scoreless stretch, the Mets added on in the sixth. Nick Morabito walked and Ryan Clifford singled to put runners at the corners. Jihwan Bae grounded into a double play, but Morabito scored on the play to extend the lead to 2-0. Two batters later, Pache crushed a two-run home run to right-center field, stretching the Syracuse advantage to 4-0.

Syracuse tacked on one more run in the eighth. Morabito singled, stole second, and came around to score on an RBI single by Arroyo, pushing the lead to 5-0.

On the mound, the Syracuse pitching staff was outstanding, combining for a shutout. Daniel Duarte started and tossed two scoreless innings with two strikeouts. A.J. Minter faced four batters and recorded one strikeout in the third. Carlos Guzman followed with two scoreless frames, and Jonathan Pintaro struck out four over two dominant innings. Dylan Ross pitched a scoreless eighth, and Alex Carrillo worked around two baserunners in the ninth to finish off the shutout.

Morabito reached base three times, scored twice, and stole two bases, while Hernández collected a pair of hits and drove in a run. A.J. Ewing added another hit and finished his first Triple-A series 11-for-22 (.500/.560/.636) with 1 2B, 1 3B, 2 RBI, 3 BB, 4 SB and a 1.196 OPS.

Syracuse opens a six-game series against the Rochester Red Wings on Tuesday. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.