On Monday night at Coca-Cola Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs celebrated the fourth of July against the Rochester Red Wings.
It was also the final game of IronPigs’ pitcher Aaron Barrett’s career after announcing his retirement on Saturday. Barrett will transition to the IronPigs bullpen coach.
Aaron Barrett (1-1, 3.86 ERA) started his final game, while the Red Wings went with Carson Teel (2-1, 5.28 ERA).
Aaron Barrett threw a scoreless top of the first inning with one strikeout as teammates congratulated him on his career. Barrett tipped his cap towards the Red Wings’ dugout, and everyone gave him a standing ovation. Jake Newberry replaced him at the top of the second inning.
Newberry gave up a single to Josh Palacios, who advanced to second base on a throwing error by Jorge Bonifacio. During Red Wings’ designated hitter Riley Adams’s plate appearance, Newberry’s ball hit the tip of Donny Sands’s glove, and Palacios went to third base. Adams grounded out to IronPigs’ third baseman Will Toffey for the first out.
Then, the Red Wings took a 1-0 lead on an RBI single by Jake Noll to center field. Lehigh Valley got out of the second inning when Donovan Casey grounded into a double play that retired the side.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the third inning, IronPigs’ shortstop Daniel Robertson started with a double, followed by an Ali Castillo ground out, moving Robertson to third base. Then, IronPigs’ center fielder Dalton Guthrie singled on a sharp ground ball that deflected off the glove of Ildemaro Vargas, scoring Robertson and the IronPigs tied the game 1-1. During IronPigs’ third baseman Will Toffey’s plate appearance, Guthrie was picked off trying to steal second base. Will Toffey popped out for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Braeden Ogle replaced Jake Newberry. Newberry went two innings, allowing two hits, one run, no walks, and one strikeout on 30 pitches. Ogle gave up a single to Joey Meneses but got two ground outs and struck out Riley Adams swinging to retire the side.
At the top of the fifth inning, James Marvel was the new IronPigs pitcher. Braeden Ogle went one inning, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout. Marvel struck out Jake Noll, got Donovan Casey to line out, and Taylor Gushue grounded out for the third out.
IronPigs’ right fielder Dustin Peterson started the bottom of the sixth inning with a single, followed by a pop-out by Donny Sands. Red Wings pitcher Jefry Rodriguez walked Jorge Bonifacio before getting Josh Ockimey to ground into a force out with Bonifacio out at second base. Then, Rodriguez walked Scott Kingery, loading the bases.
IronPigs’ shortstop Daniel Robertson was up next. He hit a three-run double to right field, clearing the bases, and the IronPigs took a 4-1 lead. Up next was IronPigs’ designated hitter Ali Castillo. He drove Robertson home with a single to center field, extending their lead 5-1. After Dalton Guthrie walked, Will Toffey struck out swinging for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, James Marvel got Josh Palacios to ground out for the first out. Marvel was taken out of the game for JoJo Romero, who was making a rehab start. Marvel went 2.1 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks, and two strikeouts on 35 pitches. Romero got the last two outs that ended the inning.
Nick Duron replaced JoJo Romero at the top of the eighth inning. Romero went 0.2 innings, with no hits, no runs, no walks, and no strikeouts on eight pitches. Duron struck out Donovan Casey before giving up two straight singles to Taylor Gushue and Adrian Sanchez. After a mound visit, Duron got Cole Freeman to ground into a double play for the final out of the inning.
Tyler Cyr closed out the game for the IronPigs at the top of the ninth inning. Duron went one inning, allowing two hits, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout on 11 pitches. Cyr walked Ildemaro Vargas before getting Joey Meneses to ground into a double play for two outs. Finally, Cyr struck out Josh Palacios, which sealed an IronPigs 5-1 win.
The win improves the IronPigs record to 43-36, while the Red Wings drop to 41-38. The IronPigs are in a three-way tie for first place with Worcester and Jacksonville.
The win went to IronPigs pitcher James Marvel, his third of the season, and the loss went to Red Wings pitcher Jefry Rodriguez (3.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 3 BB, 2 SO).
The IronPigs are off on Tuesday before resuming the series with the Red Wings on Wednesday at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be bought at StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
