The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (58-40, 22-13) and the Rochester Red Wings (52-57, 18-18) played game three of a six-game series on Thursday night from Innovative Field. The series was tied at one apiece.
Drew Hutchison (2-2, 5.06 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his tenth start of the season against Rochester’s Roddery Munoz (0-1, 4.66 ERA).
Lehigh Valley did not waste any time at the top of the first inning. Kody Clemens started the inning hitting Munoz’s sinker on the second pitch of the game for a solo home run over the wall at right-center field. Lehigh Valley led 1-0. The home run went 413 feet and the exit velocity was 105.2 mph. It was Clemens’s eighth home run of the season and 26th RBI of the year.
Next, Matt Kroon put the ball down for a base hit to shortstop Jack Dunn with Darick Hall up to bat. During his at-bat, Kroon stole second base and Hall hit Munoz’s sinker for a two-run home run over the wall at right field for a 3-0 lead. It was Hall’s seventh home run of the season and 27th RBI of the year. The home run went 441 feet and the exit velocity was 111.2 mph.
Then, Roddery Munoz walked Simon Muzziotti with Jordan Qsar next. However, Muzziotti got caught stealing second base and Qsar struck out swinging for the second out for Rafael Marchan. Marchan struck out swinging which ended the inning.
The lead did not last long heading into the bottom of the first inning. Drew Hutchison gave up a single to Darren Baker. Two batters later, Hutchison threw a changeup to Karter Kieboom and he hit a two-run home run over the wall at left-center field making it 3-2 Lehigh Valley.
Next, Hutchison gave up a double to Travis Blankenhorn, followed by hitting Jack Dunn. Jacob Nottingham was next. During his at-bat, Rafael Marchan threw the ball to Darick Hall in an attempt to get Dunn out but Hall missed the catch. Luckily, Dunn did not advance and an error was charged to Marchan.
Then, Hutchison walked Nottingham which loaded the bases for Erick Mejia. Hutchison walked Mejia which forced in a run and the game was tied 3-3 with Paul Witt next. Witt brought Dunn home with a sacrifice fly to right field and Rochester took a 4-3 lead with two outs. Cody Wilson was next and Hutchison struck him out which ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Esteban Quiroz hit Munoz’s fastball for a solo home run off the foul pole patio at right field to tie the game 4-4. It was Quiroz’s sixth home run of the season and 44th RBI of the year. The home run went 387 feet and the exit velocity was 102.6 mph.
Scott Kingery struck out, and Munoz got back-to-back ground outs from Cal Stevenson and Kody Clemens which ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the third inning, Matt Kroon put the ball down for a double to left field. Darick Hall was next and he hit the ball to right field for an RBI single. Kroon scored for a 5-4 Lehigh Valley lead. Next, Simon Muzziotti put the ball down for a base hit to center field with Hall running to second base.
Two batters later with one out, Rafael Marchan walked which loaded the bases for Esteban Quiroz. Quiroz flew out toward center fielder Cody Wilson and Scott Kingery popped out toward catcher Jacob Nottingham which ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Drew Hutchison walked Jack Dunn. During Jacob Nottingham’s at-bat, Dunn tried to steal second base but Rafael Marchan threw a laser at second baseman Kody Clemens to tag Dunn out.
It was Marchan’s 11th runner thrown out this year. Marchan is now 11 of 29 with throwing runners out on base. Rochester did not add any runs in the inning.
Malvin Pena was the new Rochester pitcher at the top of the fourth inning. With one out, Pena threw a hanging breaking ball at Kody Clemens and he got all of it for his second home run of the night over the wall at center field.
Lehigh Valley’s lead was now 6-4. It was Clemens’s ninth home run of the season and 27th RBI of the year. The home run went 413 feet and the exit velocity was 102.2 mph off the bat.
Next, Matt Kroon doubled on a sharp line drive to center field, followed by a Darick Hall walk. Simon Muzziotti was next. During his at-bat, Pena threw a pass ball that got by catcher Jacob Nottingham and both runners moved up a base.
Muzziotti grounded out softly to second baseman Luis Garcia, who threw the ball to first baseman Matt Adams, and Kroon scored for a 7-4 lead. After Jordan Qsar walked, Rafael Marchan put the ball down for a base hit to center field to bring Hall home for an 8-4 lead with two outs. Esteban Quiroz was next but he popped out toward second baseman Luis Garcia which ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Pena walked Scott Kingery. With one out, Kody Clemens was next. He hit Pena’s sinker for a two-run home run over the wall at right field for a 10-4 lead. It was Clemens’s third home run tonight. It is his tenth home run of the year and 29th RBI of the season.
The home run went 399 feet and the exit velocity was 104.1 mph off the bat. Clemens has now hit ten home runs in the last 16 games.
In addition, he is the second player in Lehigh Valley history to hit three home runs since Dylan Cozens did it back on May 2, 2018, against the Syracuse Mets.
Matt Kroon was next. He grounded out toward third baseman Erick Mejia, who threw the ball to first baseman Matt Adams, followed by a Darick Hall pop-out toward third baseman Erick Mejia which ended the inning.
Before the bottom of the fifth inning began, the IronPigs made several changes. First, Kody Clemens went to right field, Jim Haley replaced Clemens at second base, and Cal Stevenson replaced Kroon at center field. Kroon appeared to have suffered an injury on the groundout.
With one out, Hutchison threw a fastball at Travis Blankenhorn for a high fly ball to left fielder Simon Muzziotti. Unfortunately, the ball went off the glove of Muzziotti and over the wall in left field for a solo home run. It was now 10-5 Lehigh Valley. With two outs, Hutchison walked Jacob Nottingham before striking out Erick Mejia which ended the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Daniel Mengden was the new Rochester pitcher. With one out, Mengden walked Jordan Qsar, Rafael Marchan, and Esteban Quiroz, which loaded the bases for Scott Kingery. Kingery brought Qsar home with a sacrifice fly to center field that made it 11-5. A ground out by Cal Stevenson ended the inning.
Brett Schulze was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the sixth inning. Drew Hutchison pitched five innings, allowing four hits, five runs, five walks, and eight strikeouts in 107 pitches, of which 61 were strikes. Schulze threw nine pitches to get three outs.
Joel Peguero was the new Rochester pitcher at the top of the seventh inning. He gave up a double to Kody Clemens to start the inning. Then, Jim Haley moved Clemens to third base with a flyout to right field. Darick Hall was next. During his at-bat, Peguero threw a wild pitch and Clemens scored for a 12-5 lead.
Hall put the ball down for a base hit to center field. Then, Simon Muzziotti hit the ball toward second baseman Luis Garcia for the force out at second base. Jordan Qsar was next. He singled on a sharp line drive to right field moving Muzziotti to third base.
Rafael Marchan was next. He hit the ball and it dribbled down the white line before bouncing off the third base bag for a base hit to bring Muzziotti home for a 13-5 lead. After an Esteban Quiroz walk, Scott Kingery grounded out toward shortstop Jack Dunn, who threw the ball to second baseman Luis Garcia for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, right fielder Paul Witt was pitching for Rochester because they had no more pitchers in the bullpen. After Jim Haley singled with two outs, Darick Hall crushed Witt’s slider for a two-run home run off the foul pole patio at right field for a 15-5 lead. It was Hall’s second home run of the game.
The home run went 407 feet and the exit velocity was 105.5 mph. It was Hall’s eighth home run of the season and 29th RBI of the year. Simon Muzziotti and Jordan Qsar both hit singles before a flyout by Rafael Marchan ended the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jack Dunn hit a single to left field with Jacob Nottingham up to bat. Nottingham put the ball down for a base hit to center field and Dunn scored. It was now 15-6 Lehigh Valley. Brett Schulze struck out Erick Mejia and Paul Witt before getting Cody Wilson to pop out toward first baseman Darick Hall which ended the inning.
Brett Schulze finished the game pitching three innings, allowing two hits, one run, and three strikeouts in 35 pitches, of which 23 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Scott Kingery singled on a line drive to right field, followed by a Cal Stevenson double to left field which moved Kingery to third base. Kody Clemens was next. He brought Kingery home for a 16-6 lead. The run meant that the IronPigs had scored in every inning which is unheard of but this offense is capable of doing this every game.
Jim Haley was next. He put the ball down for a base hit to center field which brought Stevenson home for a 17-5 lead. After a Darick Hall double, Simon Muzziotti flew out toward center fielder Cody Wilson which ended the inning.
Connor Brogdon pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. He threw 11 pitches to get the final three outs of the game and the IronPigs defeated the Red Wings by the final score of 17-5. They have now won two straight games and take a 2-1 series lead.
This without a doubt was one of the best offensive performances by the IronPigs this year. In this series, including the blown game on Tuesday night, the IronPigs have scored 38 runs. Everyone contributed with a base hit that included Kody Clemens going 4 for 6 with three home runs and six RBIs, and Darick Hall went 5 for 6 with two home runs and five RBIs.
Lehigh Valley’s offense finished the night with 23 hits, went 7 of 17 with runners in scoring position, and left 14 men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Drew Hutchison won his third game of the season, and Roddery Munoz lost his second game of the year for Rochester.
The IronPigs and Red Wings play game four on Friday 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.
