The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (5-4) started a six-game road trip on Tuesday afternoon at Durham Bulls Athletic Park against the Durham Bulls (3-6). Coming into this game. Cristopher Sanchez (0-0, 0.00) made a rehab start for the IronPigs against Elvin Rodriguez (1-0, 1.80 ERA) of the Bulls.
The IronPigs struck first at the top of the second inning on a Jordan Qsar sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Scott Kingery for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, IronPigs’ second baseman Esteban Quiroz was up at-bat with runners on first and second base but he grounded out which ended the inning.
IronPigs pitcher Cristopher Sanchez pitched a gem in his rehab start, going four innings, with no hits, one walk, and six strikeouts in 52 pitches, of which 31 were strikes.
At the top of the fifth inning, IronPigs’ right fielder Jordan Qsar started the inning with a double to right field, followed by a John Hicks walk. However, Esteban Quiroz grounded into a double play and Qsar reached third base with Dalton Guthrie next.
Guthrie ripped the ball over the glove of Curtis Mead and into left field for an RBI double, scoring Qsar and it was 2-0 Lehigh Valley. IronPigs’ designated hitter Vimael Machin grounded out to end the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, the IronPigs had runners on first and second base with nobody out for left fielder Simon Muzziotti. He doubled on a sharp line drive to center field, scoring Weston Wilson for a 3-0 lead. Then, Bulls pitcher Trevor Brigden came back to strikeout the side, ending the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning with runners on the corners and one out, IronPigs’ third baseman Weston Wilson singled on a fly ball into the direction of center fielder Kameron Misner but Misner missed the catch, thus scoring Esteban Quiroz for a 4-0 lead. Bulls’ pitcher Trevor Kelley struck out the last two batters that ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning with two outs, Bulls’ first baseman Kyle Manzardo ended the shutout bid with a solo home run to right field. It was now 4-1 IronPigs. The inning ended when IronPigs’ pitcher Noah Skirrow struck out Ruben Cardenas.
At the top of the eighth inning with one out, IronPigs’ right fielder Jordan Qsar hit a solo home run onto the berm at center field, extending Lehigh Valley’s lead to 5-1. Lehigh Valley had two more runners on base but they could not bring them home, ending the inning.
Then, Durham started a mini rally in the bottom of the eighth inning. With a runner on second base and no outs, Bulls’ left fielder Niko Hulsizer singled on a fly ball to center field. However, a throwing error by Dalton Guthrie allowed Hulsizer to second base and Kameron Misner to score. It was now 5-2 Lehigh Valley.
After Noah Skirrow picked up two outs, Jakob Hernandez was the new IronPigs pitcher. On a 1-0 count, Bulls’ second baseman Jonathan Aranda hit a two-run home run on a fly ball to center field. Lehigh Valley’s lead was down to one 5-4. Luckily, Hernandez got the last out to end the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley got one of the runs back on a solo home run by Weston Wilson (2) out to left-center field for a 6-4 lead. Later, Scott Kingery got a hit but the IronPigs could not bring him home.
Jakob Hernandez pitched in the bottom of the ninth inning. He gave up a double to Ruben Cardenas, followed by striking out Kameron Misner for the second out. The IronPigs changed pitchers with Trey Cobb in for Hernandez. Cobb struck out Niko Hulsizer to end the game. The IronPigs defeated the Bulls by the final score of 6-4.
Lehigh Valley was 3-16 with a runner in scoring position and left eleven men on base. The win went to IronPigs pitcher Noah Skirrow. It was his first win of the season. Skirrow pitched 3.2 innings, allowing four hits, three runs, and three strikeouts in 73 pitches, of which 48 were strikes. Finally, Trey Cobb earned his second save of the season.
The IronPigs and Bulls play game two on Wednesday at 6:35 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo, and pickup IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
