On Saturday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on the Durham Bulls in game five of the series. The IronPigs had lost three straight games to the Bulls, dropping them to third place.
Kent Emanuel (1-1, 3.05 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while the Bulls started Taj Bradley (1-0, 0.00 ERA).
IronPigs’ center fielder Mickey Moniak started the top of the first inning with a fly out to left field, followed by a Jean Segura walk. IronPigs’ shortstop Nick Maton was up to bat, but he flied out to right field, bringing up catcher Donny Sands. Sands singled to right field, moving Segura to third base with right fielder Justin Williams coming to the plate.
Williams singled to center field, scoring Segura for a 1-0 lead with Jorge Bonifacio coming to bat. Bonifacio flied out that ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, IronPigs’ left fielder Chris Sharpe singled to right field with one out, and Drew Maggi was the next batter. Maggi struck out on called strikes, and Mickey Moniak was up next. Moniak singled to left field, moving Sharpe to third base with Jean Segura coming to the plate. During Segura’s plate appearance, Moniak stole second base. Then, Segura singled to right field, scoring Sharpe and Moniak for a 3-0 lead.
IronPigs’ shortstop Nick Maton was next. He singled on a ground ball to pitcher Taj Bradley and beat the throw to reach first base with catcher Donny Sands coming to the plate. Sands walked, and right fielder Justin Williams struck out swinging, ending the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Joe Wieland was the new Bulls pitcher. He struck out Jorge Bonifacio before giving up a single to IronPigs’ first baseman Josh Ockimey. IronPigs’ left fielder Chris Sharpe was up next. He doubled to left field, moving Ockimey to third base with Drew Maggi coming to the plate.
Maggi singled on a line drive to left field, scoring Ockimey. Chris Sharpe tried to score from second base but was tagged out. The IronPigs lead was 4-0, with Mickey Moniak batting next. Moniak flied out to center field that ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the sixth inning, Sam Coonrod was the new IronPigs pitcher. IronPigs starter Kent Emanuel went five innings, allowing two hits, no runs, no walks, and five strikeouts in 70 pitches.
First, Coonrod walked Grant Witherspoon with Vidal Brujan coming to the plate. Brujan singled on a soft ground ball to Coonrod, who picked it up and threw it to first baseman Josh Ockimey, who missed the catch, and Miles Mastrobuoni was up next.
During Mastrobuoni’s plate appearance, Coonrod threw a wild pitch, moving the runners up. Then, Mastrobuoni grounded out towards first baseman Josh Ockimey for the first out, but a run scored, cutting the IronPigs lead 4-1.
Bulls’ designated hitter Jonathan Aranda was up next, but Coonrod hit him, and Tristian Gray was coming to the plate. Coonrod struck out Gray, and Xavier Edwards was next. Edwards singled that went off the glove of Jean Segura and another run scored, 4-2, with catcher Ford Proctor up to bat. Coonrod got Proctor to ground out that retired the side.
Tyler Cyr was the new IronPigs pitcher to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Sam Coonrod went one inning, allowing two hits, two runs, one walk, and one strikeout in 20 pitches. Cyr started the inning by walking Jim Haley. Two batters later, he hit Vidal Brujan with two outs. Finally, Cyr struck out Miles Mastrobuoni to end the inning. Cyr pitched one inning, allowing no hits, no runs, one walk, and one strikeout in 21 pitches.
Joel Peguero was the new Bulls pitcher to start the top of the eighth inning. Peguero gave up back-to-back singles to Justin Williams and Jorge Bonifacio, with Jock Ockimey coming to the plate. Ockimey hit a three-run home run out the Carolina Hurricanes Patio in right field for a 7-2 lead. It was Ockimey’s third home run of the season. Peguero walked two IronPigs batters but got the three outs to end the inning.
Jace Fry was the new IronPigs pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning. Fry gave up a single to Jonathan Aranda, followed by a two-run home run from Tristian Gray out to center field, making it 7-4 IronPigs. After giving up a single to Xavier Edwards, Fry allowed one walk but got the three outs to end the inning.
Jakob Hernandez closed out the game for the IronPigs in the bottom of the ninth inning. First, he hit Vidal Brujan, followed by back-to-back strikeouts with Tristian Gray coming to the plate. Then Gray hit another two-run home run to center field, making it a one-run game, 7-6. Xavier Edwards was the Bull’s last hope to keep the game alive, and Hernandez got him to fly out that ended the game. The IronPigs defeated the Bulls 7-6, snapping a three-game losing streak.
The win went to IronPigs starter Kent Emanuel, his second of the year, and Jakob Hernandez picked up his third save of the season. The loss went to Bulls starter Taj Bradley, his first loss of the season.
After the game, the Phillies recalled pitcher Mark Appel and optioned infielder Jorge Camargo to the Lehigh Valley. The IronPigs are now 53-45, and the Bulls drop to 54-44.
The IronPigs will look to tie the series tonight at 5:35 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
