The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (20-22) and the Worcester Red Sox (22-21) played game four on Friday night at Polar Park. Coming into this game, Lehigh Valley trailed the series 2-1.
Michael Plassmeyer (1-3, 6.19 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Worcester’s Brandon Walter (0-3, 5.88 ERA).
In the first two innings of the game, there were four home runs hit. At the top of the first inning with one out, Lehigh Valley left fielder Simon Muzziotti singled on a soft ground ball in front of Worcester catcher Caleb Hamilton. Hamilton rushed to retrieve the ball and threw it but Muzziotti beat the throw at first base. Jim Haley was next with Walter walking him.
Lehigh Valley third baseman Drew Ellis made his second start of the season. He put the IronPigs up 3-0 with a three-run home run to center field off Walter’s fastball. Lehigh Valley could not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Niko Goodrum and Bobby Dalbec hit solo home runs that made it 3-2 Lehigh Valley with two outs. Plassmeyer got designated hitter Ronaldo Hernandez to ground out that retired the side.
Then, in the bottom of the second inning, Plassmeyer gave up another home run to Daniel Palka that tied the game 3-3. Plassmeyer gave up a double to Narciso Crook and walked Niko Goodrum with two outs before getting Wilyer Abreu to pop out, ending the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley took the lead. It started when new Worcester pitcher Jake Faria walked Lehigh Valley catcher John Hicks. Then, a passed ball by Worcester catcher Caleb Hamilton moved Hicks to second base, followed by Vimael Machin’s ground out to second base that moved Hicks to third base with one out for designated hitter Vito Friscia. Friscia brought Hicks home with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 4-3 lead. Weston Wilson struck out which ended the inning.
Ben Bowden was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher to start the bottom of the sixth inning. Michael Plassmeyer finished the night pitching five innings, allowing eight hits, three runs, two walks, and four strikeouts in 91 pitches, of which 59 were strikes.
Bowden gave up a single to Daniel Palka to start the inning. Two batters later with one out, he allowed another single to Caleb Hamilton, moving Palka up to second base. After striking out David Hamilton for the second out, Niko Goodrum approached the plate. He tied the game with an RBI single to center field, scoring Palka and it was now 4-4. Bowden struck out Wilyer Abreu to retire the side.
At the top of the seventh inning with one out, Jim Haley singled with Drew Ellis coming to the plate. During his at-bat, Jake Faria threw a wild pitch, moving Haley to second base. Then, Ellis hit his second home run of the night to left-center field, putting the IronPigs back up 6-4. Lehigh Valley could not keep the momentum going but had a two-run lead after seven innings.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley pitcher Luis Ortiz gave up a double to Narciso Crook. Two batters later with one out, David Hamilton brought Crook home with a single to left field. It was now 6-5 Lehigh Valley. Ortiz picked up the last two outs to end the inning.
Oddanier Mosqueda was the new Worcester pitcher to start the top of the ninth inning. Simon Muzziotti was the first to face Mosqueda. He hit the ball toward Worcester shortstop David Hamilton but Hamilton overthrew to the first baseman and Muzziotti reached first base on a fielder’s choice. Jim Haley was next and he moved Muzziotti to second base with a sacrifice bunt. Drew Ellis was next and he grounded to third baseman Ryan Fitzgerald, who overthrew the first baseman and Muzziotti scored but it was ruled a fielder’s choice so no RBI was credited to Ellis. It was now 7-5 Lehigh Valley. Jordan Qsar and Scott Kingery struck out to end the inning.
Jesus Cruz attempted to close out the game for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. Lehigh Valley’s bullpen has not done a good job closing out games. This year, they’ve blown 12 games. Cruz gave up a single to Bobby Dalbec and a double by Ryan Fitzgerald with no outs for Ronaldo Hernandez.
Hernandez tied the game with a two-run double past a diving Weston Wilson. The game was tied 7-7. Lehigh Valley has now blown 13 leads this year. Cruz got the three outs but the game went to extra innings for the second straight night.
Scott Kingery went to second base to start the top of the tenth inning. With one out, Vimael Machin brought Kingery home with an RBI double left field and the Lehigh Valley took an 8-7 lead. They could not bring home Machin afterward and settled with a one-run lead.
McKinley Moore had a chance to close out the game in the bottom of the tenth inning with Caleb Hamilton at second base for Worcester. He gave up a single to David Hamilton before Lehigh Valley elected to walk Niko Goodrum, loading the bases for Wilyer Abreu. This was not a smart decision by Lehigh Valley.
While Abreu grounded into a forceout at home plate, Bobby Dalbec ended the game with a two-run single to left field, and Lehigh Valley lost again to the Red Sox by the final score of 9-8.
Lehigh Valley has now lost two straight games and is now 3-7 in their last ten games. They finished the night with nine hits, went 5-19 with runners in scoring position, and left 13 runners on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher McKinley Moore lost his first game of the season, and the win went to Worcester pitcher Kaleb Ort.
Game five between the IronPigs and Red Sox is on Saturday at 4:05 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
