On Tuesday night at Coca-Cola Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (37-30) took on the Norfolk Tides (32-34) in game one of the series.
Ricardo Sanchez (1-3, 4.47 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while the Tides started D.L. Hall (1-2, 3.82 ERA).
Sanchez gave up one hit and hit a batter in the first three innings. Then, he ran into trouble at the top of the fourth inning as the Tides took the lead. Tides’ third baseman Jonathan Arauz was up at-bat with runners on first and second base with two outs. He doubled on a line drive to left field, scoring both runners, and Norfolk led 2-0. Arauz tried to reach third base but got caught for the third out.
The Tides gave Sanchez more problems at the top of the fifth inning. Sanchez walked DJ Stewart, followed by hitting Robert Neustrom. Then, he gave up a hit to Cadyn Grenier, loading the bases for Terrin Vavra. Vavra doubled to an open area of right field, adding two runs, and Norfolk’s lead grew 4-0. Jordan Westburg was up at-bat with the Tides, and he cleared the bases with a three-run home run into the Tides’ bullpen at left field for a 7-0 lead with no outs.
Sanchez would get back-to-back groundouts from Gunner Henderson and Shed Long Jr. for two outs. After giving up another hit to Jacob Nottingham, Sanchez was taken out and replaced by Jonathan Hennigan. Sanchez went 4.2 innings. Allowing eight hits, seven runs, one walk, and five strikeouts. Hennigan gave up a hit to Jonathan Arauz and walked DJ Stewart before finally getting the third out on a flyout from Robert Neustrom.
Just when it looked like the IronPigs were out of this game, they started chipping away at Norfolk’s lead in the bottom of the fifth inning. IronPigs’ second baseman Scott Kingery got things started with an opposite field home run at the Cedar Crest College sign at right field, cutting Norfolk’s lead 7-1. Three batters later, IronPigs’ shortstop Drew Maggi was up at-bat with Dalton Guthrie on second base and one out. Maggi reached first base on a fielding error after Tides’ third baseman Jonathan Arauz threw the ball that bounced over the glove of first baseman Cadyn Grenier, scoring Guthrie, and it was now 7-2 Tides.
Next, IronPigs’ first baseman Darick Hall singled on a soft fly ball to center field, scoring Maggi, and it was now a four-run game, 7-3. Three batters later, with the bases loaded, IronPigs’ third baseman Will Toffey hit a sacrifice fly to right field, adding another run, 7-4 for the second out. Then, IronPigs’ designated hitter Dustin Peterson singled on a soft fly ball to left field, and another run scored, 7-5. However, the IronPigs were unable to keep it going when Scott Kingery flied out for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, the IronPigs picked up where they left off. After a single by Dalton Guthrie, a flyout by Mickey Moniak for the first out, and a Drew Maggi walk, Darick Hall came to the plate. He crushed a three-run home run hitting the GR Electric sign at right field, giving the IronPigs an 8-7 lead. It was his 18th home run of the season that now leads the International League. IronPigs’ catcher Rafael Marchan struck out for the second out, and Jorge Bonifacio popped out for the third out.
In the bottoms of the seventh and eighth innings, the IronPigs added two more runs on home runs by Dustin Peterson (5) and Mickey Moniak (2) to give them a 10-7 lead heading into the top of the ninth inning.
Nick Duron came in at the top of the ninth inning and struck out the side as the IronPigs won 10-7. It was nice to see this team battle back and put themselves in a position to win this game, and they did it. They are 11-7 in the month of June.
Credit also goes out to the IronPigs’ bullpen. They allowed three hits in the final five innings. Jonathan Hennigan (1.1 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 3 BB, 5 SO) picked up his third win of the season, and Nick Duron (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 3 SO) picked up his third save of the season. The loss went to Tides’ relief pitcher Kevin Smith (3.0 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 2 SO).
The series continues with game two tonight at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased thanks to our friends at StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise at Fanatics.com.
