Syracuse bats struggle as Mets drop both halves of Saturday doubleheader to IronPigs

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets were doomed by a stagnant offense on Saturday afternoon, scoring just one total run as they dropped both halves of a doubleheader to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Triple-A Philadelphia Phillies) on a sunny and pleasant weekend afternoon. The Mets have now lost four out of the first five games in the series.

Game one of the doubleheader got off to an excellent start for Syracuse (15-17) as the Mets raced to an early lead in the top of the second inning. Leading off the inning, DJ Stewart pounded a pitch over the right-field fence to push Syracuse out to an early 1-0 lead. Stewart has had a remarkable start to the series, hitting four home runs in a three-game stretch.

Denyi Reyes started the first game of the doubleheader brilliantly for Syracuse, retiring the first 11 batters he faced in order. However, with two outs in the fourth, Lehigh Valley managed to scratch a run off of Reyes and sully his line. Three straight singles from Jake Cave, Weston Wilson, and Simon Muzziotti produced the run and tied the game, 1-1.

It remained a 1-1 game into the sixth inning, when the IronPigs blew the game open with four runs to take a 5-1 lead for good. Lehigh Valley sent eight men to the plate in the fateful inning, highlighted by a two-run triple from Jordan Qsar that capped off the four-run frame. Dustin Peterson chipped in an RBI via a sacrifice fly previously in the inning, which followed an RBI single from Muzziotti. All told in the inning, four runners scored on three hits, a hit batter, a walk, and a sacrifice fly.

From there, one man did the rest for Lehigh Valley. T.J. Zeuch completed his superb start in style, pitching a scoreless sixth and seventh inning to wrap up his complete game outing. Zeuch pitched all seven innings in the first half of the doubleheader, allowing just one run on four hits with three walks. The former Pitt Panther pitched to soft contact all afternoon long, striking out just one batter but inducing 11 groundouts on his way to the victory.

In game two of the doubleheader, Lehigh Valley (16-15) got all the runs they would need in the top of the first inning. The IronPigs needed just one hit to score twice in the first with three walks plus a hit batter, a sacrifice fly, and two stolen bases brought the pair of runs home. First, with runners on first and third with one out, Lehigh Valley pulled off a double steal of second and home to take a 1-0 lead. Later in the inning, Jhailyn Ortiz lofted a fly ball deep enough for a sac fly to score another run and make it a 2-0 game.

Lehigh Valley would add to their lead with another pair of runs in the sixth inning. After David Griffin, Syracuse’s starter, exited the game with a runner on base and two outs, Eric Orze came out of the bullpen hoping to keep it a 2-0 game as he faced Scott Kingery. However, Kingery had other ideas. On the first pitch Kingery saw, he lined a two-run home run over the right-field fence to make it a 4-0 game and complete the scoring on the afternoon,

It was a frustrating afternoon all around for the Syracuse offense, specifically in game two of the doubleheader. The Mets mustered just one hit as they were shut out, facing excellent pitching from a bevy of IronPigs hurlers. Lehigh Valley pitchers Jake Jewell, Ben Bowden, McKinley Moore, Jakob Hernandez, and Yunior Marte held Syracuse in check all afternoon long. The quintet of pitchers racked up eight strikeouts in game two of the doubleheader while allowing just three total baserunners.

Syracuse wraps up its six-game series against the Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is set for 1:05 p.m. Right-hander Humberto Mejia is slated to start for the Mets, opposed by left-hander Ranger Suárez for the IronPigs.