The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (56-49, 20-12) and the Buffalo Bisons (53-54, 19-13) concluded the six-game series on Sunday afternoon from Coca-Cola Park. This was also the final home game of the 12-game homestand. The IronPigs led the series 3-2.
Before the game, the Philadelphia Phillies called up infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson after placing outfielder Brandon Marsh on the 10-day IL with a left knee contusion.
Shaun Anderson (0-0, 5.00 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his fourth start of the season against Buffalo’s Hayden Juenger (4-1, 6.71 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Buffalo took a 1-0 lead when Nathan Lukes hit Anderson’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at right field. The home run went 375 feet. Next, Anderson walked Rafael Lantigua but caught a big break when he got Spencer Horwitz to ground into a 3-6-3 double play.
After walking Addison Barger, Anderson got Mason McCoy to ground out toward shortstop Scott Kingery, who threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall which ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley tied the game 1-1 when Dustin Peterson hit Hayden Juenger’s changeup for a solo home run over the wall at left field.
It was Peterson’s 13th home run of the year which is a new career high for him and the 35th RBI of the season. A Simon Muzziotti ground out, followed by back-to-back strikeouts by Jordan Qsar and Scott Kingery ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Yosver Zulueta was the new Buffalo pitcher. With two outs, Zulueta walked Kody Clemens, followed by a single from Aramis Garica which moved Clemens to third base. Darick Hall was next. During his at-bat, Garcia stole second base.
Hall put the ball down for a base hit to right field which brought home Clemens and Garcia to take a 3-1 lead. It was Hall’s 21st RBI of the season. After Dustin Peterson singled, Simon Muzziotti grounded out toward third baseman Luis De Los Santos, who threw the ball to first baseman Spencer Horwitz which ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the fifth inning, Shaun Anderson walked Spencer Horwitz with one out. Next, Addison Barger hit Anderson’s fastball for a double to center field and Horwitz scored to cut Lehigh Valley’s lead 3-2. Anderson struck out Mason McCoy before getting Tanner Morris to fly out toward right fielder Dustin Peterson which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley would get that run back in the bottom of the fifth inning. Hagen Danner was the new Buffalo pitcher. With two outs, Danner threw a slider at Darick Hall and Hall crushed it for a solo home run over the wall at right field for a 4-2 lead.
It was Hall’s fifth home run of the season and 22nd RBI of the year. The home run went 390 feet. Danner struck out Dustin Peterson which ended the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Shaun Anderson walked Luis De Los Santos before being replaced by Braden Zarbnisky. Zarbnisky gave up a single to Nathan Lukes with two outs before Rafael Lantigua flies out toward right fielder Dustin Peterson, who made the catch that ended the inning. Shaun Anderson finished the afternoon pitching five innings, allowing six hits, two runs, five walks, and one strikeout in 87 pitches, of which 45 were strikes. Zarbnisky threw nine pitches to get three outs.
Lehigh Valley added more runs in the bottom of the sixth inning. First, Simon Muzziotti reached first base on a fielding error by third baseman Luis De Los Santos.
Two batters later with one out, Scott Kingery hit Danner’s fastball for an opposite-field two-run home run over the wall at right field. It was now 6-2 Lehigh Valley. For Kingery, it was his 13th home run of the year and 40th RBI of the season.
Two batters later with one out, Cal Stevenson put the ball down for a base hit to right field. The inning would come to an end when Kody Clemens was called out on strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Braden Zarbnisky struggled. He gave up a single to Spencer Horwitz to start the inning. Two batters later, he gave up another single to Mason McCoy. Two batters later with two outs, he walked Luis De Los Santos. Then, Zarbnisky walked Jamie Richie to force in a run. It was now 6-3 Lehigh Valley.
Cam Eden was next. However, Zarbnisky hit him which forced in another run. Lehigh Valley’s lead was down to 6-4. That was it for Zarbnisky, who was replaced by Ben Bowden. Bowden struck out Nathan Lukes which ended the inning.
Zarbnisky finished the afternoon pitching 1.2 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, two walks, and three strikeouts in 45 pitches, of which 24 were strikes. Zarbnisky should be sent back to Reading. He is not ready for the Triple-A level and is missing the strikeout zone way too much. In addition, he has problems controlling his pitches. Ben Bowden threw six pitches to get the final out.
Andrew Bellatti was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the eighth inning. Bellatti gave up a single to Spencer Horwitz with one out. Then, he struck out Addison Barger before getting Mason McCoy to pop out toward second baseman Kody Clemens for the final out of the inning. Bellatti threw 15 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Luis Ortiz closed out the game for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He gave up a single to Tanner Morris before Luis De Los Santos grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. Next, Ortiz gave up a single to Phil Clarke with two outs before striking out Orelvis Martinez to end the game.
The IronPigs defeated the Bison by the final score of 6-4. Lehigh Valley wins the series 4-2 and leads the overall series 8-4. They finish the homestand with a 7-5 record.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with eight hits, went 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. Shaun Anderson earned his first win for Lehigh Valley, and Yosver Zulueta lost his fourth game of the year for Buffalo.
Lehigh Valley hits the road on Tuesday against the Rochester Red Wings 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.
