The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (64-52, 28-14) and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (56-62, 24-20) played game five of a six-game series on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs lead the series 3-1.
Before the game, the Philadelphia Phillies announced on Saturday they have recalled RHP Andrew Bellatti from Lehigh Valley and placed LHP Ranger Suarez on the 15-day injured list with a right hamstring strain.
Tyler Phillips (0-1, 4.20 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his fourth start of the season against Jacksonville’s Enmanuel De Jesus (4-3, 5.31 ERA).
Lehigh Valley struck first in the bottom of the second inning. Dustin Peterson started the inning hitting a double on a sharp ground ball to left field. It was his eleventh double of the season.
Next, Kody Clemens moved Peterson to third base with a ground out toward De Jesus, who threw the ball to first baseman Troy Johnston. Then, Jim Haley put the ball down for a base hit to right field which brought Peterson home for a 1-0 lead. It was Haley’s 50th RBI of the season.
Simon Muzziotti was next. He lined out toward right fielder Dane Myers for the second out. Myers threw a dart to first baseman Troy Johnston, who almost got Haley out for a double play. However, during Rafael Marchan’s at-bat, De Jesus threw the ball to first baseman Troy Johnston and picked off Haley at first base to end the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the third inning, Jerar Encarnacion grounded toward third baseman Esteban Quiroz, who threw the ball to first baseman Drew Ellis for the first out. Then, Phillips walked Jordan Groshans and Xavier Edwards with Jacob Amaya up to bat. Phillips threw a sinker to Amaya and grounded toward shortstop Jim Haley for a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley threatened to extend their lead. With two outs, Rafael Marchan hit his sixth double of the season on a line drive to left field. Drew Ellis was next up to bat. He put the ball down for a base hit toward shortstop Jacob Amaya. Amaya had trouble scooping up the ball and everyone was safe including Marchan running to third base.
Esteban Quiroz was next with two outs. On a 1-2 count, De Jesus got Quiroz to chase his sinker outside the zone to strike him out which ended the inning.
Jacksonville threatened to tie the game at the top of the fifth inning. Dane Myers started the inning with a double to right field. With one out, Jerar Encarnacion moved Myers to third base with a ground out toward shortstop Jim Haley, who threw the ball to first baseman Drew Ellis for the second out with Jordan Groshans up to bat. Groshans grounded toward third baseman Esteban Quiroz, who threw the ball to first baseman Drew Ellis for the final out of the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the seventh inning, Jacksonville tied the game. Tyler Phillips gave up back-to-back singles to Dane Myers and Peyton Burdick with one out and Myers ran to third base. Jerar Encarnacion was next. Encarnacion brought Myers home with a sacrifice fly to right fielder Dustin Peterson and the game was tied 1-1.
Jordan Groshans was next up to bat. He grounded toward shortstop Jim Haley, who tossed the ball to Kody Clemens for the forceout at second base which ended the inning. That was it for Phillips, who pitched seven innings, allowing three hits, one run, three walks, and four strikeouts in 89 pitches, of which 57 were strikes.
Tyler McKay was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. He got Xavier Edwards to fly out toward left fielder Simon Muzziotti for the first out, followed by back-to-back groundouts from Jacob Amaya and Troy Johnston which ended the inning. McKay threw eight pitches, of which five were strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Jim Haley put the ball down for a base hit to third baseman Jordan Groshans with one out. Simon Muzziotti was next. Muzziotti grounded toward second baseman Xavier Edwards, who threw the ball to first baseman Troy Johnston for the second out and Haley ran to third base.
Drew Ellis was next. On the first pitch, Jacksonville pitcher Austin Roberts threw a sinker to Ellis and he crushed it for a three-run home run over the wall at left field to put Lehigh Valley back up 4-1. It was Ellis’s eleventh home run of the season and 48th RBI of the year. The home run went 403 feet and the exit velocity was 101.8 mph.
After Esteban Quiroz put the ball down for a base hit to center field, Scott Kingery struck out on a foul tip which ended the inning.
Yunior Marte was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the ninth inning. Marte got three straight ground outs from Jorge Alfaro, Austin Allen, and Dane Myers for the final outs of the game. Marte threw nine pitches, of which six were strikes.
The IronPigs defeat the Jumbo Shrimp by the final score of 4-1. They win the series with one game left to play and have won four straight games.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with eight hits, went 3 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Tyler McKay won his second game of the season for Lehigh Valley, Yunior Marte earned his first save of the season, and Jacksonville pitcher Austin Roberts lost his first game of the year.
The IronPigs and Jumbo Shrimp conclude the series on Sunday at 1:35 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
