The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (23-24) took on the Buffalo Bisons (23-25) in game three of a six-game series on Thursday night from Coca-Cola Park. Coming into this game, the IronPigs led the series 2-0 and won three straight games.
Lehigh Valley went with a bullpen game as Jake Jewell (1-1, 7.41 ERA) was on the mound against Buffalo’s Bowden Francis (0-1, 3.86 ERA).
The game looked to be headed in favor of Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the first inning. Lehigh Valley left fielder Jake Cave doubled to right field. It was his 14th double of the season. Two batters later with one out, Francis walked Weston Wilson with Simon Muzziotti coming to bat.
Muzziotti grounded toward first baseman LJ Talley. Then, Talley threw the ball to second baseman Otto Lopez to get Wilson out, but Lopez threw the ball wide to Talley and Muzziotti was safe a first base. Meanwhile, Cave scored and the IronPigs led 1-0. Jhailyn Ortiz was next but he struck out which ended the inning.
The combination of Jake Jewell and Louis Head did not allow a run in the first three innings. Jake Jewell only pitched two innings, with one walk, and two strikeouts in 26 pitches, of which 15 were strikes. However, Louis Head remained in the game at the top of the fourth inning and the game quickly headed south.
Head walked the first three batters of the inning. Two batters later with one out, he hit Otto Lopez, forcing in a run that tied the game 1-1. Buffalo scored three more runs afterward to take a 4-1 lead after four innings.
Moving ahead to the top of the seventh inning, Buffalo added another run. Jesus Cruz was pitching for the IronPigs. He gave up a double to Rafael Lantigua with Tanner Morris up next. Morris singled on a line drive to center field, scoring Lantigua for a 5-1 lead. Lehigh Valley did not give up another run in the inning.
Luis Ortiz replaced Cruz to begin the top of the eighth inning. He walked Wynton Bernard to begin the inning. Two batters later, Otto Lopez doubled, moving Bernard to third base as LJ Talley headed to the plate. He singled on a ground ball to right field, scoring Bernard for a 6-1 lead. Then, a sacrifice fly by Cam Eden made it 7-1 Buffalo with two outs. Ortiz picked up the final out of the inning.
Hans Crouse was next to pitch for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. After striking out Davis Schneider, Crouse hit Spencer Horwitz followed by walking Wynton Bernard and Rob Brantly. Otto Lopez was next. He singled on a line drive to center field, scoring Horwitz for an 8-1 lead. Then, Crouse was called for a balk, scoring Bernard for a 9-1 lead.
After walking LJ Talley and striking out Cam Eden, Crouse was replaced by position player Esteban Quiroz with two outs. Quiroz gave up a single to Rafael Lantigua that made it 10-1, and a two-run double to Tanner Morris for a 12-1 lead. Quiroz got Davis Schneider to fly out toward Simon Muzziotti which ended the inning.
Sean Mellen pitched for Buffalo in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked Jake Cave. Two batters later, Lehigh Valley first baseman Weston Wilson singled, moving Cave to the second base. Then, Simon Muzziotti hit a ground-rule double to left field, scoring Cave and it was now 12-2 Buffalo. That was the final run scored for Lehigh Valley as they lose to Buffalo by the final score of 12-2. The loss snaps the IronPigs’ three-game winning streak.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with four hits, committed one error, went 1-6 with runners in scoring position, and left four runners on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Louis Head lost his first game of the season, and the win went to Buffalo pitcher Yosver Zulueta. It was Zulutea’s first win of the season.
The IronPigs and Bisons play game four on Friday at 7:05 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
