The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (53-47, 17-10) continued their 12-game homestand on Tuesday against the Buffalo Bisons (51-51, 17-10) for the second time this season. These two teams first met in May at Coca-Cola Park with the IronPigs taking four of six games from Buffalo.
The IronPigs were renamed the Corgis in tribute to man’s best friend. This was the fourth straight season that Lehigh Valley honored man’s best friend. The other names they paid tribute to in the past were the IronPugs, IronWeiners, and IronMutts. After the game, the team will auction off the jerseys with proceeds going to the Animal Food Bank of the Lehigh Valley.
Before the game started, today was the Major League Baseball trade deadline. The Phillies traded LHP Bailey Falter to the Pittsburgh Pirates for INF Rodolfo Castro.
Shaun Anderson (0-0, 5.40 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his third start of the season against Buffalo’s Hayden Juenger (4-1, 7.13 ERA).
After two scoreless innings, Buffalo struck first at the top of the third inning. With one out, Shaun Anderson gave up three straight singles to Nathan Lukes, Davis Schneider, and Spencer Horwitz which loaded the bases for Orelvis Martinez. However, Anderson struck out Martinez for the second out, and Addison Barger was up to bat.
Barger hit Anderson’s slider for a two-run double near the foul line at left field. Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider scored for a 2-0 Buffalo lead. Mason McCoy was next. Anderson got McCoy ground out towards him and Anderson threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall which ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Anderson got a flyout from Tanner Morris followed by back-to-back ground outs by Tyler Heineman and Cam Eden that retired the side. That was it for Anderson, who pitched four innings, allowing four hits, two runs, two walks, and three strikeouts in 74 pitches, of which 47 were strikes.
Brett Schulze was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the fifth inning. Schulze struck out Nathan Lukes and Davis Schneider before getting a ground out from Spencer Horwitz which ended the inning. Schulze threw 15 pitches, of which nine were strikes.
At the top of the sixth inning, Schulze walked Addison Barger before giving up a single to Mason McCoy and walked Tanner Morris that loaded the bases for Tyler Heineman. However, Schulze threw the ball which got by Garcia, and Barger attempted to score. Garcia flipped the ball at Schulze before tagging Barger out at home plate for the second out.
Then, Schulze reloaded the bases again when he walked Heineman and that was it for him. Braden Zarbnisky replaced Schulze. Cam Eden was next. He hit a high fly ball toward center fielder Simon Muzziotti. Muzziotti dropped the ball and two runs scored. It was now 4-0 Buffalo.
Next, Nathan Lukes hit Zarbnisky’s curveball for a two-run single to center field which scored two more runs for a 6-0 lead. Zarbnisky struck out Davis Schneider to retire the side.
Brett Schultz finished the night pitching 1.2 innings, allowing one hit, three runs, three walks, and three strikeouts in 38 pitches, of which 18 were strikes. Braden Zarbnisky pitched to three batters, allowing one hit, one run, and one strikeout in 14 pitches, of which nine were strikes.
Lehigh Valley’s offense did not register a hit through five innings. That changed in a big way in the bottom of the sixth inning. Paul Fry was the new Buffalo pitcher. Kody Clemens started the inning with a single that gave Lehigh Valley its first hit of the night.
Two batters later with one out, Darick Hall put the ball down for a base hit to center field. Aramis Garcia was next. He hit Fry’s fastball for a three-run home run over the wall at right field which cut Buffalo’s lead in half 6-3. It was Garcia’s sixth home run of the season and 23rd RBI of the year.
Next, Simon Muzziotti and Drew Ellis both hit singles, followed by Fry hitting Jordan Qsar which loaded the bases for Scott Kingery. Kingery hit Fry’s fastball for a grand slam home run over the wall at left field which put Lehigh Valley up 7-6. It was Kingery’s 12th home run of the season and 38th RBI of the year.
The Bisons changed pitchers after the grand slam with Gabe Klobosits in for Paul Fry. Esteban Quiroz was next to bat. He hit a sharp fly ball to right field for a double.
Kody Clemens was next. Clemens hit Klobosits’s fastball for a two-run home run off a sign at right field for a 9-6 lead. It was Clemens’s fourth home of the year and 15th RBI for the season. Weston Wilson and Darick Hall both grounded out for the final two outs of the inning.
Noah Skirrow was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the seventh inning. He got Spencer Horwitz to ground out toward second baseman Esteban Quiroz, who threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall for the first out. Next, Skirrow struck out Orelvis Martinez and Addison Barger which ended the inning. Skirrow threw 16 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Aramis Garcia was hit by a pitch to start the inning. Next, Simon Muzziotti hit a line drive to center field for a double. Drew Ellis was next. During Ellis’s at-bat, Gabe Klobosits threw a wild pitch and Garcia tried to score from third base but was tagged out at home plate and Muzziotti ran to third base.
Ellis brought Muzziotti home with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 10-6 lead. Jordan Qsar flies out toward center fielder Cam Eden which ended the inning.
Taylor Lehman was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the eighth inning. He struck out Nathan Lukes before getting Cam Eden to pop out toward second baseman Esteban Quiroz, and a Tyler Heineman fly out toward right fielder Jordan Qsar which ended the inning. Lehman threw 26 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Tyler McKay closed out the game for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Davis Schneider reached first base on a throwing error by Drew Ellis. Next, McKay walked Spencer Horwitz, followed by a pop-out by Orelvis Martinez.
Then, McKay walked Addison Barger and the bases were loaded for Mason McCoy. McCoy singled on a sharp line drive off Drew Ellis’s glove and Davis Schneider scored. It was now 10-7 Lehigh Valley. Finally, Tanner Morris hit the ball toward Scott Kingery, who stepped on the second base bag before throwing it to first baseman Darick Hall for a game-ending double play.
The IronPigs defeated the Bisons by the final score of 10-7. Lehigh Valley extends its winning streak to three games. They finished the night with nine hits, committed two errors, went 3 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left three men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Braden Zarbnisky earned his first win of the year for Lehigh Valley, and Paul Fry lost his first game of the season for Buffalo.
The IronPigs and Bisons play game two on Wednesday 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.
