Syracuse Mets Recap: Taylor, Mauricio, and Lindor Lead Syracuse to Win in Second-Half Opener over Lehigh Valley

Box Score

Allentown, PA – Behind clutch hits from major league rehabbers Tyrone Taylor and Ronny Mauricio, and clutch at-bats from Francisco Lindor, the Syracuse Mets rallied from a two-run deficit to beat the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 9-6, on Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Park.

Syracuse (1-0, 39-37) struck first in the top of the fourth inning. Taylor singled and Mauricio followed with a base hit before Ryan Clifford lined an RBI single to right field, scoring Taylor and giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Later in the frame, Jihwan Bae lifted a sacrifice fly to left field, bringing home Mauricio and extending the advantage to 2-0.

Lehigh Valley (0-1, 35-41) answered in the bottom half of the inning. After loading the bases with a pair of walks and a single, Dylan Moore crushed a grand slam to right field, putting the IronPigs in front, 4-2.

The Mets chipped away in the fifth. Vidal Bruján walked and moved to third on a single by Lindor. Two batters later, Mauricio lifted a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Bruján and trimming the deficit to 4-3.

Syracuse pulled even in the sixth inning. Nick Morabito walked, stole second, and advanced to third on a groundout. Hayden Senger then brought him home with an RBI groundout, tying the game at 4-4.

Lehigh Valley regained the lead in the bottom of the sixth when René Pinto doubled home Christian Cairo, giving the IronPigs a 5-4 advantage.

The Mets responded immediately in the seventh. Lindor reached on an error to begin the inning and Taylor followed by launching a two-run homer to left-center field, his first home run with Syracuse, putting the Mets back on top, 6-5.

The IronPigs tied the game in the bottom of the seventh when Felix Reyes scored on a balk, evening the score at 6-6.

Syracuse delivered the decisive blow in the eighth. Lindor singled and Taylor doubled to put two runners in scoring position before Mauricio lined a two-run single to left field, scoring both runners and giving the Mets an 8-6 lead. Mauricio later stole second base, his seventh steal of the season.

The Mets added an insurance run in the ninth. Morabito singled, stole second, and scored when Hayden Senger reached on a throwing error by third baseman Carter Kieboom, extending the lead to 9-6.

On the mound, Jack Wenninger started for Syracuse and allowed four runs over three and two-thirds innings. Guillo Zuñiga pitched an inning and a third of scoreless ball. Joey Gerber and Dan Hammer combined to cover the sixth and seventh innings. Jefry Yan earned the win, striking out all five batters he faced. Dylan Ross closed out the victory with a scoreless ninth inning, his first scoreless outing since June 7 vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.

Mauricio went 2-for-4, finished with three RBIs, including the go-ahead two-run single in the eighth. Taylor went 3-for-5 with a home run and three runs scored, while Lindor went 2-for-5, reached base three times and scored all three times he reached safely.

In two rehab games with Syracuse, Lindor is 2-for-9 with three runs, one walk, and one stolen base. In three total rehab games (one with Binghamton, two with Syracuse), Taylor is 6-for-11 with two home runs and five runs batted in. Mauricio is 5-for-14 with three runs batted in across three rehab games in Syracuse and one with St. Lucie.

Syracuse continues its six-game series against Lehigh Valley on Wednesday. First pitch at Coca-Cola Park is scheduled for 6:45 p.m.