On Sunday afternoon at Coca-Cola Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs had their final home game of the season against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The IronPigs were looking to close out the series finale with another win.
Several transactions took place before the game. First, the Philadelphia Phillies designated infielder Johan Camargo for assignment. Next, the Phillies called up pitcher Chris Devenski from Lehigh Valley after placing pitcher Brad Hand on the 15-day injured list with left elbow tendinitis, and the IronPigs activated pitcher Jace Fry from the 7-day injured list.
The IronPigs went with a bullpen game as Jonathan Hennigan (5-3, 3.51 ERA) was on the mound, while the RailRiders started Zach Green (9-0, 3.24 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, RailRiders pitcher Zach Green walked Scott Kingery with Darick Hall coming to the plate. During Hall’s at-bat, Kingery stole second base. Then, Hall flew out towards right fielder Michael Beltre, moving Kingery to third base. IronPigs’ center fielder Dustin Peterson was next.
On a 3-2 count, Green threw a wild pitch to walk Peterson, and Kingery scored to take a 1-0 lead. Josh Ockimey was next but flew out towards center fielder Estevan Florial, and Jorge Bonifacio struck out swinging, ending the inning.
At the top of the second inning, IronPigs pitcher Jonathan Hennigan walked Tyler Wade with one out. The rain started to get heavier during the inning. Two batters later, Hennigan walked Michael Beltre with two outs before the umpire pulled everyone, and the game was in a rain delay. The delay lasted over an hour before play resumed, with Erik Miller as the new IronPigs pitcher.
Miller gave up an RBI single to Estevan Florial that went to right field, and Tyler Wade scored, tying the game 1-1. The run was charged to Hennigan. Hennigan’s final stats were 1.2 innings, no runs, one run, three walks, and four strikeouts in 48 pitches, of which 24 were strikes.
After walking Chris Owings that loaded the bases with two outs, Miller got Ben Rortvedt to lineout towards center fielder Dustin Peterson, ending the inning.
IronPigs’ left fielder Will Toffey started the bottom of the second inning with a single. Two batters later, IronPigs’ catcher Vito Friscia singled to center field, moving Toffey to second base. After second baseman Ali Castillo popped out, Scott Kingery walked with two outs, loading the bases for Darick Hall. Unfortunately, Hall struck out swinging, ending the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Erik Miller gave up a double to Ryan LaMarre. Two batters later, he walked Tyler Wade before striking out Rob Brantly, ending the inning. That was it for Miller, who went 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, no runs, two walks, and one strikeout in 33 pitches, of which 16 were strikes.
James Marvel was the new IronPigs pitcher to start the top of the fourth inning. He gave up a single to Michael Beltre. Two batters later, he walked Ben Rortvedt with two outs before striking out Ryan LaMarre, ending the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Marvel gave up a single to Armando Alverez with Tyler Wade up to bat. Marvel made an error when he threw the ball wide right of first baseman Josh Ockimey, and Alverez hustled to third base. Then, Tyler Wade singled that went off the glove of Kingery, and Alverez scored to take a 2-1 lead. An error was charged to Kingery.
After giving up a double to Rob Brantly, Marvel struck out Michael Beltre and got Estevan Florial to ground out towards Scott Kingery, ending the inning. That was it for Marvel. He pitched two innings, allowing three hits, one run, one walk, and two strikeouts in 41 pitches, of which 23 were strikes.
Braeden Ogle was the new IronPigs pitcher at the top of the sixth inning. First, he walked Chris Owings, followed by a single from Ben Rortvedt. Then, Ogle got Ryan LaMarre to ground into a double play before getting Ronald Guzman to ground out towards first baseman Josh Ockimey, ending the inning.
Ofreidy Gomez pitched at the top of the seventh inning (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO, ten pitches, six strikes), and Taylor Scott (1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, 13 pitches, six strikes) pitched at the top of the eighth inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, IronPigs’ right fielder Jorge Bonifacio singled to left field with two outs. It was Lehigh Valley’s fifth hit of the game. Unfortunately, Will Toffey struck out swinging, ending the inning.
Michael Kelly was the new IronPigs pitcher at the top of the ninth inning. He gave up a double to Ryan LaMarre, followed by a ground-rule double from Ronald Guzman, giving the RailRiders an insurance run, 3-1.
Two batters later, Kelly walked Tyler Wade. After striking out Rob Brantly, Kelly walked Michael Beltre with two outs, with Estevan Florial coming to the plate. Kelly struck out Floral, ending the inning.
The IronPigs had one more chance to get back into the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. IronPigs’ third baseman Daniel Robertson single. Two batters later, Ali Castillo singled, moving Robertson to third base for Scott Kingery. Unfortunately, Scott Kingery and Darick Hall struck out, ending the game, and the IronPigs ended the home finale with a 3-1 loss. The IronPigs had seven hits and dropped to 75-71. However, Lehigh Valley won the overall season series 13-8.
The win went to RailRiders pitcher Matt Krook. It was his tenth win of the season, while IronPigs pitcher James Marvel lost his seventh game of the year.
The IronPigs hit the road for the final time of the 2022 season, starting tomorrow night against the Syracuse Mets at 6:35 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
