On Saturday afternoon at Truist Field, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs put on a solid performance against the Charlotte Knights to take command of the series. Before the game started, the Phillies announced that pitcher Mark Appel and outfielder Mickey Moniak are headed back to Lehigh Valley, while Ranger Suarez and Johan Camargo return to the Phillies.
Ricardo Sanchez (3-3, 5.24 ERA) was on the mound for the IronPigs, while the Knights started Mike Wright Jr. (2-3, 4.47 ERA).
IronPigs pitcher Ricardo Sanchez pitched three scoreless innings. Steven Moyers was the new Knight pitcher moving ahead to the top of the fourth inning. He got Will Toffey to fly out with designated hitter Donny Sands up to bat. On a 1-2 count, Sands hit a solo home run into the seats at center field for a 1-0 lead.
Dustin Peterson was up next to bat. He grounded out towards third baseman Zach Remillard, who made the throw over to first base for the second out. IronPigs’ first baseman Josh Ockimey was up next. He doubled on a sharp fly ball to right field with IronPigs’ left fielder Chris Sharpe up to bat. Sharpe doubled to center field, scoring Ockimey for a 2-0 lead. The inning would end when Moyers got IronPigs’ catcher Rafael Marchan to fly out to right field.
IronPigs’ shortstop Scott Kingery started the top of the fifth inning with a single, followed by a fly-out from Dalton Guthrie. IronPigs’ second baseman Nick Maton was up next, but he struck out swinging for the second out. IronPigs’ third baseman Will Toffey took to the plate next. During his at-bat, Scott Kingery stole second base. Then, Toffey hit a two-run home run into the seats at center field for a 4-0 lead.
The Knights made a pitching change shortly after with J.B. Olen in for Steven Moyers. Olsen gave up a single to Donny Sands before getting Dustin Peterson to fly out that retired the side.
After the inning ended, the feed on MiLB TV went off, and fans could not watch the rest of the game. IronPigs’ first baseman Josh Ockimey started the top of the sixth inning with a solo home run to right field, making it 5-0.
Then, Knights pitcher J.B. Olsen walked Chris Sharpe before getting Rafael Marchan to pop out, and a Scott Kingery grounded into a force out towards second baseman Laz Rivera, who stepped on the bag to get Sharpe out. After Dalton Guthrie singled, the inning would end on a Nick Maton popped out to Knights’ shortstop Yolbert Sanchez.
IronPigs’ third baseman Will Toffey started the top of the seventh inning with a single. Up next to bat was Donny Sands. During his plate appearance, new Knights pitcher Parker Markel threw a wild pitch, moving Toffey to second base, but Sands popped out. Dustin Peterson got another crack to bring Toffey home and struck out swinging for the second out. Josh Ockimey was up next and singled on a line drive to right field, scoring Toffey for a 6-0 lead. Josh Ockimey then stole second base, but Chris Sharpe popped out to end the inning.
Meanwhile, IronPigs pitcher Ricardo Sanchez had a tremendous game. In the bottom of the seventh inning, he gave up a single to Carlos Perez. Then, Yolbert Sanchez made it to first base on a fielding error by Will Toffy, while Perez went to second base. Next, Sanchez got Blake Rutherford to ground into a double play before striking out Micker Adolfo.
That was the final inning pitched for Ricardo Sanchez, who went seven innings, allowing five hits, no runs, no walks, and six strikeouts on 84 pitches. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Zach Warren was supposed to pitch for the IronPigs, but storms rolled in that delayed the game for an hour and four minutes.
Warren never got to pitch. Instead, Michael Kelly pitched the last two innings. Kelly threw 27 pitches as the IronPigs shut out the Knights 6-0 for their third straight win. The IronPigs are now 48-41, while the Knights are 33-56.
The win went to IronPigs starter Ricardo Sanchez. It’s Sanchez’s fourth win of the year. The loss went to Knights pitcher Steven Moyers (1.2 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 0 BB, 1 SO).
The IronPigs are now in first place in the East Division and will look to win the series against the Knights tomorrow at 5:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
