The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (23-23) took on the Buffalo Bisons (22-25) in game two of a six-game series on Wednesday from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley came into this game on a two-game winning streak.
Michael Plassmeyer (1-3, 6.08 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Buffalo’s Casey Lawrence (1-3, 5.36 ERA).
Early in the game, the IronPigs got into trouble. It started at the top of the first inning when Michael Plassmeyer walked Rafael Lantigua to start the game. Two batters later with one out, Plassmeyer gave up a two-run home run to Davis Schneider on a fly ball over the wall at center field for a 2-0 Bisons lead. Plassmeyer struck out Spencer Horwitz and Luis De Los Santos which ended the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Lehigh Valley got one of the runs back. First, Buffalo pitcher Casey Lawrence walked Weston Wilson with Jordan Qsar approaching the plate. During Qsar’s at-bat, Wilson stole second base but a throwing error by catcher Tyler Heineman allowed Wilson to steal third base.
Qsar grounded toward second baseman Tanner Morris for the first out but Wilson scored. It was now 2-1 Buffalo. Lehigh Valley was unable to add any more runs in the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the fourth inning, Michael Plassmeyer allowed back-to-back singles to Wynton Bernard and Otto Lopez, moving Bernard to third base with Tyler Heineman stepping up to the plate. Heineman singled on a ground ball to right field, scoring Bernard for a 3-1 lead.
Two batters later with one out, Plassmeyer walked Rafael Lantigua, loading the bases for Tanner Morris. Morris grounded into a forceout toward first baseman Weston Wilson, who threw the ball to second baseman Scott Kingery to get Lantigua out as Lopez scored for a 4-1 lead.
Davis Schneider was next. During his at-bat, Plassmeyer threw a wild pitch and Heineman scored for a 5-1 lead with two outs. Schneider lined out toward center fielder Jake Cave that retired the side. That was it for Plassmeyer. He finished the night pitching four innings, allowing five hits, five runs, four walks, and three strikeouts in 87 pitches, of which 52 were strikes. Hans Crouse pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the fifth inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley started to chip away at Buffalo’s lead. Esteban Quiroz doubled to right field with one out. Two batters later with two outs, Jake Cave crushed a 110 mph off the bat and over the wall at right field for a two-run home run. It was now 5-3 Buffalo. Simon Muzziotti flew out to left fielder Otto Lopez which ended the inning.
Taylor Lehman made his Lehigh Valley debut at the top of the sixth inning. Lehman came from the Reading Fightin’ Phils with a 2-0 record with a 3.06 ERA. However, his debut did not go according to plan. He gave up a single to Otto Lopez, followed by walking Rob Brantley.
Cam Eden was next and he grounded into a double play, while Lopez went to third base. After walking Rafael Lantigua, Tanner Morris singled on a line drive to left fielder Simon Muzziotti, who came close to making a diving catch but fell short, scoring Lopez for a 6-3 lead.
Next, Lehman walked Davis Schneider to load the bases for Spencer Horwitz. During Horwitz’s at-bat, Lantigua caught the IronPigs sleeping and stole home plate and it was now 7-3 Buffalo. Trey Cobb came in for Lehman and picked up the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley third baseman Drew Ellis walked. Then, with two outs, a balk was called on Buffalo pitcher Casey Lawrence, moving Ellis to second base. Wind was a factor at this point and it favored Lehigh Valley. Jhailyn Ortiz hit the ball toward left fielder Otto Lopez. Lopez ran toward the wall but was late adjusting once he saw the ball drop. Lopez missed the catch and Ellis scored. It was now 7-4 Buffalo.
Hayden Juenger replaced Lawrence as the new Buffalo pitcher before getting Scott Kingery to fly out toward right fielder Cam Eden for the third out.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley finally stormed back. Esteban Quiroz started the inning with a walk, followed by a double from catcher Aramis Garcia, moving Quiroz to third base. After Jake Cave struck out, Buffalo changed pitchers. Simon Muzziotti was next as he faced Paul Fry. Muzziotti singled on a ground ball to left field, scoring Quiroz and Buffalo’s lead was down to 7-5.
Lehigh Valley third baseman Drew Ellis was next. He singled to left field, scoring Garcia and the score was now 7-6. Weston Wilson was next and he singled on a sharp line drive to left field, scoring Muzziotti and Ellis as Lehigh Valley took their first lead of the game 8-7. Lehigh Valley could not add any more runs in the inning.
Jesus Cruz was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher to begin the top of the eighth inning. He walked three straight batters before being replaced by Jakob Hernandez. Spencer Horwitz faced Hernandez and he brought in Lantigua which tied the game at eight apiece. Two batters later with one out, Wynton Bernard doubled to left field, scoring Tanner Morris as Buffalo regained the lead 9-8. Hernandez got Otto Lopez to ground out which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley had one more shot in the bottom of the ninth inning. Jake Cave started the inning with a double to right field. It was his 13th double of the season. Two batters later with one out, Drew Ellis tied the game 9-9 with an RBI single to center field.
Weston Wilson was next and he ended the game with a game-winning two-run home run onto the seats at left field as the IronPigs defeated the Bison by the final score of 11-9. It was Wilson’s 13th home run of the season.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 11 hits, 5-13 with runners in scoring position, and left four runners on base. Lehigh Valley extends their winning streak to three games and are now 5-5 in their last ten games. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Andrew Bellatti. It was his first win of the season, and the loss went to Buffalo pitcher Jay Jackson.
The IronPigs and Bisons play game three on Thursday 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.
