On Sunday afternoon at Frontier Field, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on the Rochester Red Wings for the final time this season. Lehigh Valley went into this game, trailing the Durham Bulls by 4.5 games out of first place in the International League East Division.
Jack Perkins (0-1, 11.12 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while Rochester started Patrick Murphy (2-3, 5.33 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, IronPigs pitcher Jack Perkins gave up a triple to Andrew Stevenson that went over center fielder Madison Strokes’ head. Then, Lucius Fox hit an RBI double over Madison Strokes’ head, scoring Stevenson for a 1-0 lead. The wind was blowing hard and carried the ball further into the outfield.
After walking John Nogowski, Perkins gave up a three-run home run to Jake Alu that went over the wall at right field for a 4-0 lead with no outs. Perkins got Nick Banks to fly out to Jorge Bonifacio, and back-to-back strikeouts from Jack Dunn, and Daniel Johnson, ending the inning. That was it for Perkins, who went an inning, allowing three hits, four runs, one walk, and two strikeouts in 32 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
Bubby Rossman was the new IronPigs pitcher in the bottom of the second inning. He gave up a double to Onix Vega. Two batters later, he gave up a single to Andrew Stevenson with one out. Rossman struck out Lucius Fox and got John Nogowski to fly out towards Madison Strokes, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, IronPigs pitcher Bubby Rossman gave up a single to Jack Dunn with two outs, followed by another single from Daniel Johnson, moving Dunn to second base. Then, Onix Vega singled to right field, scoring Dunn for a 5-0 lead with Wilmer Perez next. Perez singled in front of Jorge Bonifacio at right field, scoring Johnson for a 6-0 lead with two outs. That was it for Rossman, who was replaced by Brian Marconi. Rossman went 1.2 innings, allowing six hits, two runs, and two strikeouts in 38 pitches, of which 25 were strikes. Marconi struck out Andrew Stevenson, ending the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, IronPigs’ left fielder Dustin Peterson singled, followed by another single from Rafael Marchan, moving Peterson to second base. Two batters later, Johan Camargo grounded to second baseman Jake Alu, who made the throw over to first base as Peterson scored, cutting Rochester’s lead 6-1. Jorge Bonifacio struck out, ending the inning.
Ofreidy Gomez was the new IronPigs pitcher in the bottom of the fifth inning. He gave up a single to Onix Vega with one out. Two batters later, Rochester center fielder Andrew Stevenson singled, moving Vega to second base. Gomez struck out Lucius Fox, ending the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Dustin Peterson and Rafael Marchan walked with no outs. Daniel Robertson was next and grounded into a double play. Then, Johan Camargo walked before Matt Brill struck out Jorge Bonifacio, ending the inning.
Vinny Nittoli was the new IronPigs pitcher in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nottoli gave up a triple to Jake Alu with one out. Two batters later, Jack Dunn drove Alu home with an RBI single to center field for a 7-1 lead. Next, Daniel Johnson singled, followed by another single from Onix Vega, scoring Dunn for an 8-1 lead.
Wilmer Perez was next. He singled on a ground ball to Scott Kingery, who fumbled it, allowing everyone to be safe, and it was 9-1 with two outs. That was it for Nittoli, who was replaced by Francisco Morales. Morales got Andrew Stevenson to fly out towards Jorge Bonifacio, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Morales gave up back-to-back singles to Lucius Fox and John Nogowski before being replaced by Braeden Ogle. Ogle got Jake Alu to ground out to Scott Kingery, and another run scored, 10-1 with one out. Nick Banks was next and singled on a line drive to left field, scoring Nogowski for an 11-1 lead. After Ogle walked Jack Dunn, he got Daniel Johnson to line out and Onix Vega to fly out towards Madison Strokes, ending the inning.
Griff McGarry was the new IronPigs pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning. He gave up a solo home run to Wilmer Perez that cleared the scoreboard at left field for a 12-1 lead. Three batters later, McGarry walked John Nogowski with two outs before Jake Alu singled, but he tried to reach second base and got caught for the final out, ending the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, IronPigs’ right fielder Jorge Bonifacio hit a solo home run over the wall at center field, making it 12-2 Rochester. Unfortunately, Ali Castillo grounded out, Madison Strokes, and Scott Kingery struck out, ending the game.
The IronPigs were blown out 12-2 and dropped to 73-67. They split the season series 12-12. Lehigh Valley had seven hits, while Rochester set a new season record with 22 hits.
The win went to Rochester starter Patrick Murphy. It was his first win of the season, while Lehigh Valley pitcher Jack Perkins suffered his second loss of the season.
Lehigh Valley had problems in every category. First, the pitching was not good. Then again, when you don’t have any starters because the Phillies have taken them all makes it difficult to go to a bullpen game.
Second, the batters were not connecting with the ball and putting it in play. Yes, they did score two runs, but if they were hitting like Saturday night, they could’ve scored more than two runs. Finally, the outfielders were having a hard time dealing with the wind. They need to listen to Christopher Cross’s “Ride like the wind.” If they ride like the wind, they will make the plays and not give up runs.
In other scores, the Durham Bulls beat Gwinnett 4-2, Buffalo lost to Syracuse 9-8, and Jacksonville lost 8-5 to Nashville. The IronPigs are now 5.5 games out of first place with nine games left in the season.
The IronPigs return to Coca-Cola Park for the final homestand of the season against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday at 7:05 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
