The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (65-55, 24-17) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (59-61, 25-21) played a doubleheader on Wednesday at PNC Field. One of those games was a makeup game from July 9th. The IronPigs trail the series 1-0 after getting clobbered on Tuesday night 14-1.
In game one, Nick Nelson (6-2, 3.82 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Mitch Spence (8-6, 4.63 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Estevan Florial started the inning hitting a double to right field with Austin Wells up to bat. Wells hit a slow ground ball toward shortstop Jim Haley while Florial ran to third base. Andre Chaparro was next. He put the ball down for a base hit to left field, bringing Florial home for a 1-0 RailRiders lead.
Chaparro tried to stretch it to second base but Muzziotti’s throw to second baseman Kody Clemens got him for the first out, while Austin Wells ran to third base with Franchy Cordero up to bat. Cordero singled on a line drive to center field which brought Wells home for a 2-0 lead. A flyout by Carlos Narvaez, followed by a ground out from Jake Lamb ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the fourth inning, Weston Wilson worked a four-pitch walk with one out for Darick Hall. Hall put the ball down for a base hit to right field with Wilson running to third base and Aramis Garcia up to bat.
During his at-bat, Mitch Spence threw a wild pitch and Wilson scored to cut the RailRiders lead to 2-1. Garcia struck out, and Simon Muzziotti grounded out toward first baseman Andres Chaparro for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Dustin Peterson got hit by Spence’s curveball. Two batters later with one out, Jim Haley put the ball down for a base hit to right field as Peterson went to second base. Cal Stevenson was next. Stevenson hit Spence’s curveball for a base hit to center field. Dustin Peterson rounded third base to score which tied the game 2-2.
However, Stevenson got caught in a rundown. Then, Andres Chaparro threw the ball to catcher Carlos Narvaez, and Jim Haley was caught in a rundown. Stevenson saw Haley get caught but ran to third base anyway and both runners were tagged out which ended the inning.
This was bad base running by Stevenson. He should’ve held up at first base and the IronPigs would’ve had a chance to take the lead with Kody Clemens waiting for his turn to bat. Stevenson now has 20 RBIs for the IronPigs this season.
At the top of the seventh inning, Simon Muzziotti singled on a ground ball to center field with one out. Two batters later with two outs, Esteban Quiroz put the ball down for a base hit to right field which moved Muzziotti to third base with Jim Haley up to bat.
On the first pitch, Haley hit Spence’s cutter for a base hit to center field and Muzziotti scored to put Lehigh Valley up 3-2. It was Haley’s 51st RBI of the season. Cal Stevenson had a chance to keep the inning going but he struck out swinging which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley’s lead did not last long in the bottom of the seventh inning. Nick Nelson gave up a single to Jake Lamb, followed by hitting Jamie Westbrook and that was it for Nelson. He was replaced by Tyler McKay. Brandon Lockridge was next. He moved the runners up a base with a sacrifice bunt for the first out. Next, the IronPigs intently walked Jasson Dominguez to load the bases for Estevan Florial. Lehigh Valley was hoping to get another inning-ending double play.
Instead, McKay walked Florial which forced in a run, and the game was tied 3-3. Austin Wells was next. He hit a high fly ball toward center fielder Cal Stevenson, who made a great diving catch before throwing it to shortstop Jim Haley to complete the double play. It was the fifth double play by the IronPigs in this game.
Moving to the top of the eighth inning, Cal Stevenson went to second base. With one out, the RailRiders walked Weston Wilson and he later stole second base. Darick Hall struck out, and a flyout by Aramis Garcia toward right fielder Franchy Cordero ended the inning.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Austin Wells began at second base for the RailRiders with Andres Chaparro up to bat. McKay walked Chaparro, followed by hitting Franchy Cordero which loaded the bases for Carlos Narvaez. Narvaez ended the game with a base hit to center field and the IronPigs lost game one to the RailRiders 4-3.
Lehigh Valley’s offense had six hits, went 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Tyler McKay lost his second game of the season for Lehigh Valley, and Anthony Misiewicz won his second game for the RailRiders.
In game two, Connor Brogdon (1-1, 7.36 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his second start in 18 games played against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Zach McAllister (1-0, 0.00 ERA).
Lehigh Valley struck first at the top of the second inning. Simon Muzziotti began the inning with a single to right field. Muzziotti tried to stretch it to second base but got caught. Rafael Marchan was next. He singled on a fly ball to right field with Jordan Qsar coming to the plate.
On an 0-2 count, Qsar hit McAllister’s sinker for a two-run home run onto the berm at right field that put Lehigh Valley up 2-0. It was Qsar’s 11th home run of the season and 39th RBI of the year. The home run went 383 feet and the exit velocity was 100.7 mph. This was Qsar’s first home since June 11th against Syracuse.
Vito Friscia was next but grounded toward third baseman Jake Lamb, who threw the ball to first baseman Andres Chaparro for the second out. After that, the RailRiders changed pitchers with Matt Bowman replacing Zach McAllister. Scott Kingery was next. He flies out toward center fielder Jasson Dominguez for the final out of the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the third inning, Brett Schultze was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher replacing Connor Brogdon. Brogdon pitched two innings, with no hits, and three strikeouts in 28 pitches, of which 21 were strikes. Schultze gave up a single to Michael Hermosillo, followed by hitting Jesus Bastidas with one out.
Schultze settled down to strike out Estevan Florial and got Jasson Dominguez to ground out toward first baseman Darick Hall, who tossed the ball to Schultze for the final out of the inning. That was it for Schultze, who allowed one hit, and one strikeout in 20 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Braden Zarbnisky was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the fourth inning. He gave up a single to Austin Wells with Andres Chaparro next. Chaparro hit into a 5-4-3 double play with Rodolfo Duran up to bat. Duran grounded toward shortstop Scott Kingery, who threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley threatened to add another run at the top of the fifth inning. Weston Wilson put the ball down for a base hit to center field with Darick Hall up to bat. During Hall’s at-bat, Wilson stole second base before stealing third base on a throwing error by catcher Rodolfo Duran.
Darick Hall struck out swinging. After that, the RailRiders changed pitchers with Matt Krook replacing Ron Marinaccio. Krook walked Drew Ellis before Simon Muzziotti flew out toward center fielder Jasson Dominguez, who made the catch that ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Braden Zarbnisky gave up a single to Michael Hermosillo with two outs for Jesus Bastidas. Zarbnisky got Bastidas to ground out toward shortstop Scott Kingery which ended the inning. That was it for Zarbnisky. He pitched two innings, allowing two hits throwing 25 pitches, of which 16 were strikes.
Moving ahead to the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley added insurance runs. Kody Clemens started the inning working a four-pitch walk. Next, Weston Wilson singled on a ground ball to right field with Darick Hall next up to bat. On a 2-2 count, Hall hit Nick Ramirez’s changeup for a three-run home run into the seats at right field for a 5-0 lead.
It was Hall’s 12th home run of the season and 40th RBI of the year. The home run went 342 feet and the exit velocity was 93.6 mph. Then, Drew Ellis and Simon Muzziotti both hit singles with Rafael Marchan up to bat.
Marchan hit a high fly ball to left field for a double and Ellis scored for a 6-0 lead. It was Marchan’s eighth double of the season and 20th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Luis Ortiz closed out the game for the Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He got Rodolfo Duran to fly out toward right fielder Jordan Qsar for the first out before getting back-to-back groundouts from Jake Lamb and Jamie Westbrook that ended the game.
The IronPigs defeated the RailRiders in game two by the final score of 6-0. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 11 hits, went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Braden Zarbnisky won his second game of the season, Luis Ortiz earned his fourth save of the season, and Zach McAllister lost his first game for the RailRiders.
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game four on Thursday at 6:35 p.m. on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
