On Tuesday night at Truist Field in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on former IronPigs Adam Haseley and the Charlotte Knights.
Jonathan Hennigan (3-1, 4.08 ERA) was on the mound for the IronPigs, while the Knights started Kyle Kubat (4-3, 5.86 ERA).
Before the game, the Phillies called up third baseman Will Toffey, catcher Rafael Marchan, and pitcher Nick Duron. Meanwhile, the IronPigs welcomed back Nick Maton, who started at shortstop.
In the bottom of the first inning, IronPigs pitcher Jonathan Hennigan gave up a double to Mark Payton, followed by walking Yasmani Grandal, with former IronPigs player Adam Haseley coming to the plate. He hit a three-run home run to right field, putting Charlotte up 3-0. Hennigan got back-to-back strikeouts with Carlos Perez and Lenyn Sosa. Then, he walked Yolbert Sanchez before striking out Tyler Neslony to retire the side.
IronPigs’ first baseman Josh Ockimey started the top of the second inning with a strikeout, bringing up Jorge Bonifacio. Bonifacio lined out to Knights’ third baseman Zach Remillard for the second out. IronPigs’ second baseman Scott Kingery was up to bat. He singled on a ground ball to left field.
Then, IronPigs’ third baseman Ali Castillo doubled on a ground ball that hit the third base and rolled to left field, scoring Kingery to cut Charlotte’s lead 3-1. The inning would end when IronPigs’ designated hitter Chris Sharpe grounded out to third baseman Zach Remillard, who threw the ball over to first baseman Ryder Jones for the third out.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the third inning, Jeff Singer was the new IronPigs pitcher. Jonathan Hennigan went two innings, allowing two hits, three runs, two walks, and three strikeouts on 36 pitches.
Jeff Singer started the inning by giving up three straight singles to Yasmani Grandal, Adam Haseley, and Carlos Perez. Lenyn Sosa grounded into a double play to Scott Kingery, who threw to Nick Maton, followed by Josh Ockimey for a 4-1 lead. Then, Jeff Singer got Yolbert Sanchez to fly out to right field that retired the side.
IronPigs’ left fielder Jorge Bonifacio struck out to start the top of the fourth inning, followed by a Scott Kingery walk. However, during Ali Castillo’s plate appearance, Scott Kingery tried to steal second base but got caught for the second out.
Castillo walked shortly after, then IronPigs’ designated hitter Chris Sharpe was up to bat. He doubled on a sharp line drive to left field, scoring Castillo that pulled Lehigh Valley within two runs, 4-2. Unfortunately, Dalton Guthrie popped out, ending the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the sixth inning, Ofreidy Gomez was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley. Jeff Singer went 2.2 innings, allowing four hits, one run, one walk, and two strikeouts on 34 pitches. Gomez gave up back-to-back singles to Lenyn Sosa and Yolbert Sanchez, with Sosa moving to third base.
After walking Tyler Neslony, Gomez got Ryder Jones to ground into a double play for two outs while another run scored, 5-2. The IronPigs took out Gomez after walking Zach Remillard, and in went Zach Warren. Gomez went one inning, allowing two hits, one run, two walks, and no strikeouts in 26 pitches. Warren got Mark Payton to ground out to end the inning.
Zach Warren pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout on 17 pitches, and JoJo Romero pitched the bottom of the eighth inning with no hits, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout.
Since scoring their last run back in the fourth inning, the IronPigs batters were quiet with one walk and one hit. At the top of the ninth inning, Yacksel Rios closed out the game for the Knights. First, Scott Kingery struck out, then Ali Castillo grounded out. Next, Rios walked Chris Sharpe, and Dalton Guthrie singled for Nick Maton. Unfortunately, Maton struck out swinging, which ended the game. The IronPigs lost 5-2 and now have lost two straight games.
The win went to Knights pitcher Lincoln Henzman (2.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 5 SO), while the loss went to Johnathan Hennigan, his second of the season.
The series continues tonight at 7:04 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
