Syracuse drops series final to Lehigh Valley, 8-4, on Sunday afternoon

Syracuse, NY – The Syracuse Mets wrapped up a frustrating week with an 8-4 loss to the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs on a sunny and mid-70s Sunday afternoon at NBT Bank Stadium in front of 5,556 fans at the ballpark. The IronPigs won five of the games in the six-game series. Lehigh Valley scored 41 runs in the series while racking up 51 hits.

Once again, Syracuse (15-18) got off to a good start in Sunday afternoon’s ballgame. The Mets plated a two-out run in the first when Lorenzo Cedrola singled, stole second base, and scored on a Tim Locastro single into left field for a 1-0 lead. Syracuse scored first in two out of the final three games in the series.

However, from there, things began to go south. First, Lehigh Valley (17-15) took the lead with two runs in the top of the fourth. Jake Cave walked leading off the frame and promptly scored when the next batter, Weston Wilson, grounded a double down the third-base line and into the left-field corner, tying the game, 1-1. Simon Muzziotti advanced Wilson to third on a groundout, followed by a sacrifice fly from Scott Kingery that plated Wilson and made it a 2-1 game.

In the fifth, the IronPigs blew it open with five fateful runs to make it a 7-1 game. Lehigh Valley sent eight men to the plate in the five-run frame, pounding out five hits in the process. The scoring flurry was highlighted by an RBI double from Cave, a solo homer from Muzziotti, and a three-run home run from Wilson. Weston Wilson turned in an excellent week at the plate against the Mets. He had a hit in five out of the six games in the series, racking up seven total hits. Five of those seven hits were extra-base hits. Wilson added his fifth RBI of the day with a sacrifice fly in the seventh inning of Sunday’s game. For the week, Wilson drove in ten runs.

Syracuse slimmed the deficit via a solo home run from Mark Vientos in the bottom of the sixth inning that sailed past the center-field fence with ease, traveling an estimated 433 feet off of the bat, trimming the deficit to five, 7-2. Vientos finished his Sunday afternoon 2-for-3 at the plate, adding a double in the fourth inning and a walk in the eighth.

After the IronPigs added a run in the seventh to take an 8-2 lead thanks to a Wilson sac fly, the Mets started a slight comeback. Syracuse entered the bottom of the eighth inning down by six, running out of time for a Sunday afternoon comeback. To their credit, the Mets did their best to mount a rally and make things interesting late. After Nick Meyer struck out to start the inning, Lorenzo Cedrola doubled with one out to put a runner on base. The next batter, Tim Locastro, did him one better, launching a two-run homer beyond the left-field fence to make it an 8-4 game. Ronny Mauricio and Vientos then came to the plate and singled and walked respectively, putting two runners back on base with one out. The comeback hopes for the Mets were beginning to flicker, but then the flame was promptly put out. Trey Cobb came out of the bullpen and retired the next two batters in order, stranding Mauricio and Vientos on the basepaths.

In the top of the ninth, Syracuse once again refused to quit. Still down by four, Jaylin Davis walked with one out, moved to second on a groundout, and then advanced to third on an infield single from Cedrola. That brought Locastro back up to the plate, who had already driven in three runs in the game. The Auburn, NY native hit a broken-bat chopper up the middle that looked destined for center field. However, it wasn’t to be. Scott Kingery made a solid play at shortstop for the IronPigs, ranging far to his left, snaring the ball on the run, and throwing accurately to first to nab Locastro and end the game.

Syracuse now hits the road for one of its two different two-week road trips during the 2023 campaign. The 12-game jaunt away from home begins Tuesday in Buffalo against the Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. Game one of the six-game series is set for a 6:05 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday.