The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (19-19) concluded a six-game homestand on Sunday afternoon at Coca-Cola Park against the Memphis Redbirds (24-15).
Coming into this game, the IronPigs had already lost the series but were looking to give the home crowd something to cheer for in the finale.
Michael Plassmeyer (1-3, 6.11 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Memphis’s Michael McGreevy (2-0, 2.41 ERA).
In the bottom of the second inning, Dustin Peterson doubled and Esteban Quiroz singled that put the runners on the corners for Scott Kingery. Kingery singled off McGreevy’s fastball, scoring Peterson for a 1-0 lead. Lehigh Valley was unable to score any more runs in the inning.
For the rest of the game, the IronPigs played catchup. After going down 3-1 heading into the bottom of the fourth inning, Dustin Peterson doubled to start the inning. Then Scott Kingery got on base and moved Peterson to third base.
Vimael Machin was up next with two outs. Machin singled to right field, scoring Peterson. However, Machin tried to reach second base but was tagged out. It was 3-2 Redbirds.
Lehigh Valley catcher Aramis Garcia was next and drove Kingery home with a single to right field, tying the game 3-3. Jake Cave grounded out which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Michael Plassmeyer pitched four innings, allowing three hits, three runs, four walks, and four strikeouts in 76 pitches, of which 44 were strikes. Jakob Hernandez pitched at the top of the fifth inning and kept the game tied pitching two innings allowing three runs.
Trey Cobb was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher to start the top of the seventh inning. Cobb gave up four runs and the IronPigs trailed 7-3.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the eighth inning with one out, Scott Kingery doubled. Vimael Machin was next but Guillermo Zuniga walked him. Two batters later with two outs, Jake Cave doubled to center field, scoring Kingery and Machin that made it 7-5. Simon Muzziotti grounded out for the third out.
Lehigh Valley had one more shot to tie or win the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. They had to face JoJo Romero. Romero walked Jhailyn Ortiz with two outs and Weston Wilson approached the plate. He tied the game 7-7 with a two-run home run over the wall at left field. Kingery lined out and the game went to extra innings.
Just as the IronPigs seemed to have momentum on their side, Memphis took it back. Jordan Walker started the top of the tenth inning at second base with Juniel Querecuto batting. He hit a two-run home run near the foul pole at right field and it was 9-7 Memphis. Kramer Robertson doubled before stealing third base and home plate that made it 10-7. It was 10-7 going into the bottom of the tenth inning.
Scott Kingery started the inning at second base. Two batters later, Aramis Garcia brought Kingery home with a double to left field and it was a two-run game, 10-8 with two outs. Jake Cave followed up with an RBI single to right field that made it 10-9. Three batters later, the IronPigs had runners on the corners for Jordan Qsar. He doubled on a line drive to right field, scoring Cave, and the game was tied again 10-10. Jhailyn Ortiz struck out to end the inning.
Jeremy Walker pitched for the IronPigs at the top of the eleventh inning, and Taylor Motter started at second base for Memphis. With one out and runners on the corner, Jordan Walker bought Motter home with an RBI single to left field as Memphis went back up 11-10. Luckily, Walker escaped not allowing any more runs.
In the bottom of the eleventh inning, Jhailyn Ortiz started at second base. With two outs, Vimael Machin brought Ortiz home with a single to right field, tying the game 11-11. Aramis Garcia was next. He ended the game with an RBI single to left field, scoring Machin and the IronPigs completed the comeback after several tries for a 12-11 win. Both teams combined with 23 runs.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with 18 hits, three of them by Kingery, Garcia, and Machin. Jake Cave led the team with three RBIs. The IronPigs went 11-24 with runners in scoring position and left 12 men on base.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Jeremy Walker won his third game of the season pitching 1.2 innings, allowing two hits, one run, one walk, and one strikeout in 26 pitches, of which 18 were strikes. The loss went to Memphis pitcher Andrew Suárez. It was his first loss of the season.
The IronPigs visit Polar Park on Tuesday to start a six-game series with the Worcester Red Sox on Tuesday at 6:45 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
