On Thursday afternoon at Sahlen’s Field, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on the Buffalo Bisons in game three of the series. The IronPigs came into this in second place and two games behind the Durham Bulls for first place.
Before the game started, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs activated left fielder Jorge Bonifacio and catcher Rafael Marchan from the 7-day injured list. Cristopher Sanchez (2-2, 3.61 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while the Bisons started Nick Allgeyer (5-4, 4.65 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, IronPigs starter Cristopher Sanchez gave up back-to-back singles to Otto Lopez and Spencer Horwitz with no outs. Two batters later, Bisons’ right fielder Cullen Large singled to right field, scoring Lopez for a 1-0 lead with one out for Rafael Lantigua.
Lantigua popped out, and Horwitz got caught stealing home after a pickoff attempt on Cullen Large when Sanchez threw the ball to first baseman Johan Camargo, who then threw to catcher Karl Ellison to tag Horwitz out, ending the inning.
IronPigs’ left fielder Chris Sharpe started the top of the second inning with a walk. Two batters later, with one out, IronPigs’ third base Will Toffey hit an RBI triple on a line drive to right field, scoring Sharpe that tied the game 1-1. It was Toffey’s fourth triple of the year and first since May 10th.
Then, IronPigs’ shortstop Daniel Robertson brought Toffey home with an RBI groundout to Bisons’ shortstop Vinny Capra, who scooped up the ball and threw it over to first base for the out. Finally, IronPigs’ second baseman Ali Castillo popped out, ending the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the third inning, Bisons’ left fielder Otto Lopez singled to center field with one out for Spencer Horwitz. Then, IronPigs starter Cristopher Sanchez tried to pick off Lopez but threw the ball wide to Johan Camargo, and Lopez made it to third base. Horwitz grounded out towards second baseman Ali Castillo. Lopez was able to score, which tied the game, 2-2. After walking Vinny Capra, Sanchez struck out Cullen Large, which retired the side.
IronPigs starter Christopher Sanchez went one more inning before his day was done. He went four innings, allowing four hits, two runs, one walk, and four strikeouts in 72 pitches. Michael Kelly took over for Sanchez in the bottom of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, IronPigs pitcher Michael Kelly gave up a single to Vinny Capra with one out, and the IronPigs made another pitching change. Jakob Hernandez was the new IronPigs pitcher. Kelly was responsible for the runner at second base.
Then, Hernandez gave up an RBI single to Rafael Lantigua into left field, scoring Capra to take a 3-2 lead. Michael Kelly’s final numbers were 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, one run, no walks, and one strikeout in 19 pitches.
Finally, Hernandez struck out LJ Talley, and IronPigs’ catcher Karl Ellison saw Rafael Lantigua trying to steal second base and threw the ball to shortstop Daniel Robertson to get Lantigua out, ending the inning.
Matt Peacock was the new pitcher for Buffalo to start the top of the seventh inning. He gave up a single to Chris Sharpe. Two batters later, IronPigs’ third baseman Will Toffey hit a two-run home run into the Bully Hill Vineyards Party Deck at right field for a 4-3 lead. It was Toffey’s seventh home run of the season. Daniel Robertson was up next and singled before Ali Castillo lined out to Bisons’ second baseman LJ Talley to get the double play that ended the inning.
IronPigs’ pitcher Jakob Hernandez struck out the first two batters before center fielder Chavez Young hit a solo home run over the wall at left field, tying the game 4-4. Then, after giving up a single to Otto Lopez, Hernandez got Spencer Horwitz to pop out that ended the inning.
That was the last inning pitched by Hernandez, who went 1.2 innings, allowing three hits, one run, one walk, and three strikeouts in 27 pitches. Nick Duron took over in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Nick Duron started the bottom of the eighth inning by giving up back-to-back singles to Vinny Capra and Cullen Large. After getting Rafael Lantigua to ground out, the IronPigs elected to walk LJ Talley, that loaded the bases for Stevie Berman. Berman hit a sacrifice fly into the warning track at center field as Dalton Guthrie made the catch, but Buffalo scored a run to take a 5-4 lead. Finally, Duron got Logan Warmoth to fly out that ended the inning.
Matt Gage closed out the game for Buffalo at the top of the ninth inning. After walking Johan Camargo, Gage got Chris Sharpe to ground into a double play for two outs. Finally, IronPigs’ designated hitter Rafael Marchan lined out that was caught by Bisons’ second baseman LJ Talley, ending the game, and the IronPigs lost to Buffalo 5-4.
The IronPigs had five hits and are now 62-52 for the season. Earlier today, Durham beat Norfolk 10-4 and are now up by three games over Lehigh Valley for first place.
The win went to Buffalo pitcher Kyle Johnston. It was his third win of the season, while the loss went to IronPigs pitcher Nick Duron. It was Duron’s sixth loss of the season.
The IronPigs will look to even the series tomorrow at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
