After being rained out last night, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (9-11) and the Worcester Red Sox (8-12) played a doubleheader on Sunday at Coca-Cola Park to wrap up the six-game homestand.
Coming into these games, the series was tied at two apiece. In game one, T.J. Zeuch (1-1, 4.80 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Worcester’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 4.40 ERA).
Zeuch got into trouble at the top of the first inning. Worcester shortstop David Hamilton was up first for the Red Sox. He hit a solo home run on a fly ball out to the right field for a 1-0 lead. Then, Zeuch loaded the bases when he gave up back-to-back singles and walked Enmanuel Valdez for Niko Goodrum. Goodrum singled on a ground ball to right field, scoring Bobby Dalbec for a 2-0 lead with no outs.
Lehigh Valley got a huge two outs but did give up another run when Daniel Palka grounded toward shortstop Weston Wilson for a double play as Wilyer Abreu scored for a 3-0 lead. Then, Greg Allen brought home Valdez with an RBI single to left field for a 4-0 lead. T.J. Zeuch escaped the inning when Caleb Hamilton grounded out to end the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the second inning, the IronPigs began to chip away at Worcester’s lead. With runners on the corners and one out, left fielder Simon Muzziotti grounded toward second baseman Enmanuel Valdez for a forceout at second base as Vimael Machin scored. It was 4-1 Worcester.
Lehigh Valley first baseman Jim Haley was next but he got hit by Brandon Walter. Up next was designated hitter Jordan Qsar. He doubled on a fly ball to left field, scoring Muzziotti and Haley and it was now 4-3 Worcester. Scott Kingery was next but he struck out swinging that ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher T.J. Zeuch pitched four innings, allowing five hits, four runs, three walks, and two strikeouts in 76 pitches, of which 40 were strikes. His ERA was raised to 5.68. Zeuch was replaced by Hans Crouse to begin the top of the fifth inning. Crouse walked Wilyer Abreu with two outs before getting Enmanuel Valdez to ground out which ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the sixth inning, the IronPigs completed the comeback. Second baseman Esteban Quiroz started the inning with a double to left field. Then, Quiroz moved to third base on a wild pitch during Jim Hicks’s at-bat. Hicks hit a sharp line drive double to center field, scoring Quiroz, and the game was tied 4-4.
After the Red Sox made a pitching change. Oddanier Mosqueda got right fielder Jhailyn Ortiz to fly out for the first out with Simon Muzziotti stepping to the plate. Mosqueda threw a low curveball and Muzziotti got a piece of it that went to center field, scoring Hicks to take a 5-4 lead. Lehigh Valley was unable to add any more runs in the inning.
Francisco Morales was the new IronPigs pitcher at the top of the seventh inning. Morales worked to get back-to-back groundouts from Ryan Fitzgerald and David Hamilton for two outs. Then, a scary scene happened when Morales’s throw hit Bobby Dalbec on the helmet. Dalbec was ok but a timeout was called to settle Morales down. Two batters later, Morales got Enmanuel Valdez to fly out toward Jhailyn Ortiz for the final out of the game.
Lehigh Valley defeated Worcester in game one by the final score of 5-4. It was the biggest deficit the IronPigs faced this year in their comeback win.
The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Hans Crouse, who pitched two innings with two walks and three strikeouts in 43 pitches, of which 21 were strikes. Worcester pitcher Brandon Walter suffered the loss. It was his second loss of the season. Lehigh Valley was 4-12 with runners in scoring position and left four men on base.
In game two, James McArthur (0-2, 9.31 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Worcester’s Bryan Mata (0-1, 5.25 ERA).
Lehigh Valley started the bottom of the first inning when Worcester pitcher Bryan Mata walked third baseman, Esteban Quiroz. Two batters later, designated hitter Vimael Machin singled to left field, scoring Quiroz for a 1-0 lead. Lehigh Valley could not bring Machin home and the inning ended.
At the top of the second inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Dalton Guthrie showed off his cannon of an arm when he gunned down Jorge Alfaro trying to reach second base as Scott Kingery tagged him out. Worcester did not score in the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Dalton Guthrie started the inning with a single. Then, left fielder Jordan Qsar crushed a fastball with a two-run home over the guitar at right field for a 3-0 lead. The exit velocity was 110 mph and the home run went over 400 feet. It was Qsar’s fourth home run of the season.
Two batters later, IronPigs’ catcher Vito Friscia walked and Esteban Quiroz moved Friscia to third base with the single. During Scott Kingery’s at-bat, Quiroz stole second base but Kingery struck out. Lehigh Valley was unable to add any more runs with Vimael Machin flying out to left field for the third out.
In the bottom of the third inning with runners on first and second base, Dalton Guthrie moved both runners up a base with a ground out. Then, Jordan Qsar grounded toward second baseman Daniel Palka for the second out as Weston Wilson scored. It was now 4-0 with two outs. Jim Haley grounded out to end the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, the Red Sox stormed back. With the bases loaded and one out, Daniel Palka flies out to center fielder Simon Muzziotti then he threw to third base for an out. There was some confusion on Worcester’s part and instead of an RBI double, it was changed to a forceout. The score was now 4-1 Lehigh Valley.
After hitting Greg Allen, Lehigh Valley pitcher James McArthur was taken out of the game for McKinley Moore. Ronaldo Hernandez was next to bat. He singled in a ground ball to center field, scoring two runs and it was now 4-3 Lehigh Valley. The runs were charged to McArthur.
McArthur finished the afternoon pitching 3.2 innings, allowing four hits, three runs, two walks, and one strikeout in 64 pitches, of which 43 were strikes. Moore struck out Ryan Fitzgerald to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Worcester pitcher Norwith Gudino walked Esteban Quiroz and Scott Kingery with one out. He was replaced by Joe Jacques. Vimael Machin was next to bat and he singled on a line drive to left field, scoring Quiroz for a 5-3 lead. The IronPigs could not bring Guthrie home and the inning ended.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the sixth inning, the IronPigs busted this game wide open. Weston Wilson and Simon Muzziotti both singled with two outs. Then, Dalton Guthrie tripled on a fly ball to center field, scoring Wilson and Muzziotti for a 7-3 lead. It was Guthrie’s second double of the year.
Then, Jordan Qsar singled on a line drive to right field, scoring Guthrie for an 8-3 lead. For Qsar, it was his fourth RBI of the day. Two batters later, Vito Friscia singled on a fly ball to right field, scoring Qsar for a 9-3 lead. Lehigh Valley could not add any more runs in the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Jesus Cruz closed out the game for the IronPigs. After giving up a double to Ryan Fitzgerald, he got the last three outs to end the game. Lehigh Valley completed the doubleheader sweep with a commanding 9-3 win. The IronPigs win the season series 4-2.
Lehigh Valley pitcher McKinley Moore won his second game of the season. He pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, two walks, and three strikeouts in 27 pitches, of which 16 were strikes. The loss went to Worcester pitcher Bryan Mata. It was his second loss of the season. Lehigh Valley was 5-16 with runners in scoring position and left nine men on base.
Lehigh Valley will have a travel day on Monday. They start a 12-game road trip beginning on Tuesday against the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp at 11:05 am on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
