The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (40-40) visited PNC Field for the first time this year on Tuesday night to start a six-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (38-42).
The IronPigs came into this game 5-5 in their last ten games. This is the third meeting between these teams with the season series tied at six apiece.
Nick Nelson (0-1, 4.50 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his sixth start of the year against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Jhony Brito (1-1, 7.08 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Nick Nelson walked Estevan Florial and Oswald Peraza with Everson Pereira up to bat in his Triple-A debut. Pereira hit Nelson’s fastball 111 mph off the bat for a three-run home run out to the Chevrolet Homer Zone at right-center field. The RailRiders led 3-0 and the home run went 430 feet.
Next, Nelson gave up a single to Ben Rortvedt, followed by walking Andres Chaparro. Then, Nelson struck out Carlos Narvaez. That was it for Nelson. He was replaced by Jeremy Walker.
Walker got Franchy Cordero to ground toward him. The ball hit off his shoe and he picked it up before throwing to third baseman Drew Ellis for a forceout. The ball went 105 mph off the bat. Lehigh Valley did check out Walker and he continued the game. With two outs, Walker got Jamie Westbrook to pop out toward first baseman Kody Clemens that retired the side.
Nick Nelson’s final stats were 0.1 innings, allowing two hits, three runs, three walks, and one strikeout in 43 pitches, of which 25 were strikes. Nelson threw a lot of pitches on the dirt and Rafael Marchan did a good job to get them or else there would’ve been several wild pitches.
Moving to the bottom of the third inning, Walker got back-to-back groundouts from Ben Rortvedt and Andres Chaparro before being replaced by Taylor Lehman. Lehman got a ground out from Carlos Narvaez that retired the side. Jeremy Walker pitched 2.1 innings, allowing two hits, and two strikeouts in 40 pitches, of which 24 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley’s offense managed to get two hits in the first four innings. At the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley got back into the game. The inning started when Brito walked Cal Stevenson, followed by a single from Jake Cave which moved Stevenson to third base.
Weston Wilson was next. He grounded on a slow roller with second baseman Jesus Bastidas getting the ball before throwing it to first baseman Andres Chaparro for the first out. Cal Stevenson scored and it was now 3-1 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Then, Kody Clemens followed with a single on a line drive to right field which scored Cave. Lehigh Valley cut the deficit to one. It was 3-2 RailRiders. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley almost gave up another run. Taylor Lehman walked Oswald Peraza with one out. Next, Everson Pereira hit into a forceout at second base, followed by Lehman walking Ben Rortvedt and Andrew Chaparro which loaded the bases for Carlos Narvaez. Lehman was taken out and replaced by Jacob Barnes.
Barnes threw a wild pitch and Rafael Marchan quickly got the ball as Pereira tried to steal home plate. Marchan threw the ball to Barnes and he tagged him out before Pereira could touch the plate for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley tied the game. Michael Gomez was pitching for the RailRiders. Gomez walked Cal Stevenson to begin the inning with Jake Cave due up to bat. During Cave’s at-bat, Stevenson stole second base and Cave moved him to third base with a ground out to second baseman Jesus Bastidas.
Weston Wilson was next. Wilson grounded toward first baseman Andres Chaparro with Stevenson scoring that tied the game 3-3. Then, Kody Clemens flies out toward left fielder Franchy Cordero which ended the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley third baseman Drew Ellis hit a single to begin the inning. Next, Michael Gomez walked Simon Muzziotti before being replaced with Greg Weissert. Two batters later with one out, Rafael Marchan singled to left field. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre left fielder Franchy Cordero scooped up the ball and threw it to home plate but Ellis beat the throw that put The IronPigs up 4-3.
Simon Muzziotti went to third base and Marchan ran to second base with one out for Scott Kingery. Kingery brought Muzziotti home with a sacrifice fly at center field for a 5-3 lead. Cal Stevenson had a chance to keep the inning going but struck out swinging.
Luis Ortiz was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning. Ortiz began the inning by hitting Ben Rortvedt before giving up a single to Andres Chaparro which moved Rortvedt to third base. Carlos Narvaez was up next.
Narvaez hit the ball toward third baseman Drew Ellis, who made a great grab of the ball before throwing it to Scott Kingery, and then Kody Clemens to complete the double play. They did give up a run with Rortvedt scoring from third base and it was now 5-4 Lehigh Valley. Franchy Cordero grounded out to first baseman Kody Clemens for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley was looking for insurance runs. Greg Weissert walked Weston Wilson with one out. Weissert was replaced by D.J. Snelten. Kody Clemens was next. During his at-bat, Wilson stole second base. It was his 19th stolen base this year.
However. Clemens struck out swinging. Then, Snelten walked Drew Ellis and Simon Muzziotti which loaded the bases for Dustin Peterson with two outs. Unfortunately, Peterson popped out to first baseman Andres Chaparro for the final out of the inning.
Andrew Bellatti was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bellatti gave up back-to-back singles to Jamie Westbrook and Jesus Bastidas. Then, he walked Estevan Florial. The bases were loaded for Oswald Peraza with nobody out.
Peraza grounded toward third baseman Drew Ellis, who threw the ball to catcher Rafael Marchan, and then Marchan threw it to first baseman Kody Clemens for a double play. They were not out of the woods just yet.
Everson Pereira was up to bat with runners on second and third with two outs. He hit the ball toward Weston Wilson, who made the throw to Kody Clemens for the final out of the game. The IronPigs held on to beat the RailRiders by the final score of 5-4.
Lehigh Valley’s defense did a nice job in this game. On offense, despite not recording a hit, Weston Wilson drove in a couple of runs. He now has 57 RBIs this season. Lehigh Valley finished the night with six hits, 2 for 16 with runners in scoring position, and left ten men on base.
Jacob Barnes won his first game as an IronPig, while Michael Gomez lost his fourth game of the season for the RailRiders, and Andrew Bellatti earned his third save of the season. Lehigh Valley’s bullpen allowed six hits and one run.
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game two on Wednesday at 6:35 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
