After being rained out on Sunday night. The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (39-40) and the Rochester Red Wings (37-42) played a doubleheader at Coca-Cola Park to conclude the six-game homestand. The IronPigs headed into this game tied 2-2 in the series.
On Sunday, the Philadelphia Phillies recalled first baseman Darick Hall and returned infielder Kody Clemens to Lehigh Valley.
In game one, Noah Skirrow (6-3, 5.80 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his 13th start of the year against Rochester’s Wily Peralta (2-5, 5.64 ERA).
Lehigh Valley took an early lead in the bottom of the first inning. Dustin Peterson walked with two outs for Drew Ellis. Ellis hit a double off the wall at right field which scored Peterson for a 1-0 lead. John Hicks was next.
During Hicks’s at-bat, Drew Ellis took off to steal second base when Rochester catcher Drew Millas threw the ball to second baseman Erick Mejia but it got by him and rolled to center field and Ellis went to third base. Then, center fielder Alex Call threw the ball toward pitcher Wily Peralta and he missed the ball and Ellis scored from third base. It was 2-0 Lehigh Valley.
After all that, Peralta walked Hicks with Esteban Quiroz due up to bat with two outs. During Quiroz’s at-bat, Hicks stole second base before Quiroz hit Peralta’s fastball over the wall at right field for a two-run home run. It was 4-0 Lehigh Valley. For Quiroz, it was his fifth home run of the year and 29th RBI of the season. Scott Kingery struck out which ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Noah Skirrow gave up a double to Travis Blankenhorn. Two batters later with one out, Drew Millas singled to center field which scored Blankenhorn. Lehigh Valley’s lead was now 4-1. Skirrow got Erick Mejia to pop out toward Drew Ellis and Jeter Downs to line out toward center fielder Jake Cave for the final out of the inning.
Lehigh Valley added more runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. It started when Esteban Quiroz hit a single, followed by a double from Scott Kingery which moved Quiroz to third base. Next, Cal Stevenson brought Quiroz home with a sacrifice fly to left field and Kingery ran to third base. It was 5-1 Lehigh Valley.
Jim Haley was next. He grounded toward third baseman Jake Alu. Alu threw the ball to first baseman Matt Adams to get Haley out while Kingery scored for a 6-1 lead with Jake Cave coming to bat. He hit the ball that hit the yellow stripe at center field before returning to the field.
However, the umpire at first base ruled it a home run. It was now 7-1 Lehigh Valley. On the replay, it was clearly not a home run but Lehigh Valley will take it. It was Cave’s 14th home run of the year and the 45th RBI this season.
Weston Wilson was next and singled to left field before Dustin Peterson hit a two-run home run onto the berm at center field for a 9-1 lead. It was Peterson’s 10th home run of the year and 27th RBI of the year.
Rochester changed pitchers after the home run with Joel Peguero in for Wily Peralta with two outs. Peguero walked Drew Ellis before getting John Hicks to line out toward second baseman Erick Mejia for the final out of the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley tacked on more runs. Esteban Quiroz started the inning by working a four-pitch walk, followed by a single from Scott Kingery. Then, Jim Haley singled to center field which loaded the bases for Jake Cave with one out.
Cave grounded toward second baseman Erick Mejia. Mejia threw the ball to first baseman Matt Adams to get Cave out while Quiroz scored. It was now 10-1 Lehigh Valley with two outs. Weston Wilson was next. He cleared the bases with a three-run home run onto the berm at center field for a 13-1 lead. It was Wilson’s league-leading 18th home run of the year and 54th RBI of the season.
Rochester changed pitchers with Tommy Romero in for Joel Peguero with two outs. Romero struck out Dustin Peterson which ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the seventh inning, Noah Skirrow gave up back-to-back singles to Travis Blankenhorn and Matt Adams, followed by a wild pitch that moved both runners up a base. Then, Drew Millas singled to left field that scored Blankenhorn. It was now 13-2.
That was it for Skirrow, who was replaced by Jace Vines. Two batters later, Vines gave up an RBI double to Jeter Downs which scored Adams. It was now 13-3 Lehigh Valley.
Next, Jake Alu grounded toward first baseman Jim Haley for the second out but Millas scored. It was 13-4 Lehigh Valley. Skirrow’s final stats this evening went six innings, allowing eight hits, four runs, two walks, and three strikeouts in 90 pitches, of which 57 were strikes. Finally, Jace Vines got Alex Call to line out toward third baseman Drew Ellis that ended the game.
Lehigh Valley took game one with a 13-4 win. They finished game one with 11 hits, went 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left two men on base. Weston Wilson went 2-4 with three RBIs, and Jake Cave went 1-4 with two RBIs.
Noah Skirrow pitched a good game and earned his seventh win of the season, while Wily Peralta lost his sixth game for Rochester this year.
In game two, Connor Brogdon (1-1, 5.14 ERA) was on the mound making his first start of the season in six games against Rochester’s Paolo Espino (3-2, 4.56 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Rochester took a 1-0 on a solo home run by Blake Rutherford over the wall at right field with two outs. After giving up a single to Matt Adams, Brogdon got Jake Noll to line out toward first baseman Jim Haley that ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley responded in the bottom of the first inning. Dustin Peterson almost had a home run but the ball hit the top of the right-field corner and rolled away from Blake Rutherford which allowed Peterson to reach third base for a triple. Then, Drew Ellis doubled to left field to bring Peterson home.
The game was tied 1-1. It was Ellis’s sixth double of the year. Rafael Marchan grounded out which ended the inning.
Jesus Cruz was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the third inning. Brogdon finished the night pitching two innings, allowing three hits, one run, and one walk in 41 pitches, of which 31 were strikes. Cruz gave up a double to Jake Alu before Alex Call moved him to third base with a sacrifice bunt.
Then, Blake Rutherford brought Alu home with an RBI single to center field. Rochester took a 2-1 lead. Matt Adams was next and Cruz got him to ground into a double play that retired the side.
Lehigh Valley tied the game again in the bottom of the third inning. Jake Cave hit a solo home run onto the berm at center field for his 15th home run of the year. It was now 2-2. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Travis Blankenhorn singled with one out for Rochester. Next, Jacob Nottingham doubled on a fly ball to center field which brought home Blankenhorn. For the third time in the game, Rochester took a 3-2 lead. Lehigh Valley pitcher Jesus Cruz picked up the final two outs to end the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the fifth inning, Francisco Morales was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley. He started the inning by walking Jake Alu and Alex Call. After Morales struck out Blake Rutherford, Matt Adams was next. During his at-bat, Rafael Marchan tried to get Alu out from stealing third base but threw the ball wide to Esteban Quiroz and Alu scored for a 4-2 lead.
Adams struck out and Morales walked Jake Noll before getting taken out of the game. Trey Cobb replaced Morales. He walked Travis Blankenhorn before getting Jacob Nottingham to ground out toward Weston Wilson for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley made it a one-run game. With two outs, Weston Wilson crushed a solo home run onto the Capital Blue Tiki Bar at left field which made it 4-3. It was Wilson’s 19th home run of the year and the home run went 430 feet. Dustin Peterson popped out which ended the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Trey Cobb walked Richie Martin to begin the inning. Jeter Downs was next for Rochester. During his at-bat, Cobb tried to pick off Martin at first base but a throwing error moved Martin to second base.
Then, Cobb struck out Downs and that was it for him. He was replaced by Ben Bowden. Jake Alu was next. He singled on a sharp grounded ball toward Scott Kingery. Kingery made a nice diving catch but his throw drew first baseman Jim Haley away from the first base bag and Alu was safe while Martin scored for a 5-3 lead. After that, Bowden got two straight groundouts from Alex Call and Blake Rutherford to end the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Rafael Marchan tripled on a line drive to right field with one out. Two batters later, new Rochester pitcher Tim Cate walked Esteban Quiroz with Jim Haley next. Haley singled on a ground ball to second baseman Jake Noll to beat the throw at first base while Marchan scored. It was 5-4 Rochester. Cal Stevenson popped out which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance to either tie the game or win in the bottom of the seventh inning. They had to face Gerson Moreno. Moreno had trouble with the pitch clock and it resulted in a Jake Cave walk. Weston Wilson was next. He grounded into a double play, and Dustin Peterson grounded out to third baseman Jeter Downs for the final out of the game.
The IronPigs lose game two to the Red Wings by the final score of 5-4. They split the series 3-3 with Rochester. In addition, the IronPigs are now 4-3 against Rochester this year.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with seven hits, went 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Jesus Cruz lost his third game of the year for Lehigh Valley and Rochester pitcher Paolo Espino won his fourth game of the season.
The IronPigs are back on the road for a six-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday 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.
