Gabriel Rincones had three hits, including his second home run of the season, and Oscar Mercado had a three-run double to lead the Lehigh Valley IronPigs to their eighth consecutive victory, 5-1 Thursday night over the Syracuse Mets in front of another bone-numbing crowd at Coca-Cola Park.
The eight-game winning streak is the second-longest behind a 12-game stretch in 2017.
The IronPigs’ 10-2 start equals that of the 2012.
Seth Johnson allowed one run on two hits, three walks, a hit batter and a wild pitch in five innings to get the win in a game played with off-and-on showers and an air temperature in the low 30s.
Roster moves
RHP John McMillon was reinstated from the Development List. He previously had a 13.50 ERA in two appearances this season before throwing a scoreless seventh inning in Thursday’s game with three strikeouts.
INF Christian Arroyo was placed on the 7-day injured list with a hamstring strain. He had back-to-back three-hit, three-RBI games last weekend before leaving Sunday’s game.
How they scored
Bottom 3: Otto Kemp and Gabriel Rincones singled with one out. Cal Stevenson’s two-out single scored Kemp. Josh Breaux’s grounder to third was booted, loading the bases. Oscar Mercado’s double cleared the bases. IronPigs 4-0.
Top 4: Donovan Walton walked to lead off, took second on a wild pitch and scored on Gilberto Celestino’s single. IronPigs 4-1.
Bottom 7: Rincones hit his second home run of the season to lead off. IronPigs 5-1.
Up next
RHP Mick Abel (1-1, 3.27 ERA) vs. Syracuse RHP Brandon Sproat (0-1, 7.50) in a 7:05 p.m. start. Abel had perhaps his best start in an IronPigs uniform in his last start. He allowed four hits in six shutout innings of a win at Rochester. He struck out seven, walked none and threw 60 of 89 pitches for strikes. His only other scoreless Triple-A outing was Aug. 9, 2024, vs. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, when he allowed three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts in six innings.
Looking ahead
Lehigh Valley makes its second road trip of 2025 to Gwinnett for six games starting at 11:05 a.m. Tuesday and wrapping up at 1:05 p.m. Easter Sunday.
Morning Call senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
Source: Berkshire mont