The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (65-58, 29-21) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (62-61, 28-21) played their second doubleheader this week on Saturday afternoon from PNC Field.
The IronPigs trailed the series 3-1. Before the game started, the Philadelphia Phillies signed RHP Hector Perez and assigned him to Lehigh Valley.
In game one, Shaun Anderson (2-1, 4.32 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Will Warren (5-4, 4.85 ERA).
At the top of the first inning with two outs, Darick Hall hit Warren’s slider for a solo home run into the seats at right field to put Lehigh Valley up 1-0. It was Hall’s 14th home run of the season and 42nd RBI of the year.
The home run went 356 feet with an exit velocity of 96.1 mph. Dustin Peterson grounded toward shortstop Wilmer Difo, who threw the ball to first baseman Jake Lamb which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley’s lead did not last long in the bottom of the first inning. Shaun Anderson gave up a single to Estevan Florial to begin the inning. Two batters later, Austin Wells put the ball down for a base hit to center field with Andres Chaparro up to bat.
During his at-bat, Anderson tried to pick off Wells but threw the ball past Hall and both runners moved up a base. Anderson was charged with an error. Chaparro popped out toward second baseman Kody Clemens for the second out.
Next, Anderson walked Franchy Cordero which loaded the bases for Jamie Westbrook. With the count 3-2, Westbrook crushed Anderson’s slider for a grand slam over the wall at left field. It was now 4-1 RailRiders and Westbrook’s 19th home run of the year. The home run went 399 feet.
Jake Lamb was next for the RailRiders. On the third pitch, Lamb hit Anderson’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at left field for a 5-1 lead with Michael Hermosillo up to bat. It was Lamb’s fourth home run of the season. Hermosillo hit Anderson’s slider for a solo home run over the wall at right field for a 6-1 lead. It was Hermosillo’s 12th home run of the season.
Next, Anderson gave up back-to-back singles to Wilmer Difo and Estevan Florial with Jasson Dominguez up to bat. Dominguez put the ball down for a base hit to right field with Difo rounding third base to score and it was now 7-1 RailRiders.
That was it for Anderson, Braden Zarbnisky replaced him. Zarbnisky got Austin Wells to fly out toward left fielder Simon Muzziotti for the final out of the inning.
Anderson finished the afternoon pitching 0.2 innings, allowing eight hits, seven runs, and one walk in 39 pitches, of which 22 were strikes. Braden Zarbnisky pitched 2.1 innings, did not allow a hit, and struck out two in 29 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
Moving ahead to the top of the fourth inning with one out, Darick Hall hit Warren’s changeup for a solo home run over the wall at right field. It was now 7-2 RailRiders and Hall’s second home run of the day for his 15th of the year with 43 RBIs.
The home run went 411 feet with an exit velocity of 107.1 mph. Dustin Peterson struck out and Simon Muzziotti grounded out which ended the inning.
Connor Brogdon pitched the bottom of the fourth inning, and part of the fifth inning. He pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one hit, three walks, and one strikeout in 36 pitches, of which 19 were strikes. Taylor Lehman replaced Brogdon in the bottom of the fifth inning. He pitched 0.2 innings, with one walk in 12 pitches, of which five were strikes.
Moving ahead to the top of the sixth inning, Kody Clemens started the inning hitting Warren’s changeup for a solo home run onto the berm at right-center field. The RailRiders led 7-3. It was Clemens’s 11th home run of the season and 31st RBI of the season. The home run went 426 feet with an exit velocity of 104.1 mph.
Next, Will Warren walked Weston Wilson before Darick Hall singled on a sharp ground ball to right field which moved Wilson to third base. However, Dustin Peterson and Simon Muzziotti struck out, and Aramis Garcia popped out toward first baseman Jake Lamb, who made the catch that ended the inning.
Position player Amaris Garcia pitched the bottom of the sixth inning. He gave up one hit and one strikeout in 13 pitches, of which seven were strikes.
Lehigh Valley had one more shot at the top of the seventh inning. Zac Houston was the new pitcher for the RailRiders. Esteban Quiroz worked a four-pitch walk. Two batters later with two outs, Kody Clemens was the last hope for Lehigh Valley. During his at-bat, Quiroz advanced to second base on a defensive interference call on the RailRiders.
Then, Clemens put the ball down for a base hit to center field with Quiroz rounding third base to score and it was now 7-4 RailRiders. Weston Wilson was next but he was called out on strikes and the game was over. The IronPigs lose to the RailRiders 7-4 and the IronRail returns to the RailRiders as they will win the overall series.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with six hits, went 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. Shaun Anderson lost his second game of the year for the IronPigs, while Will Warren won his sixth game of the season for the RailRiders.
In game two, Griff McGarry (0-1, 50.63 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his third start against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Randy Vasquez (3-8, 4.76 ERA).
Griff McGarry retired five batters after walking Estevan Florial to begin the game. However, he ran into trouble in the bottom of the second inning. He walked Jake Lamb, Brandon Lockridge, and Jesus Bastidas which loaded the bases for Estevan Florial.
McGarry walked Florial, which forced in a run for a 1-0 RailRiders lead. Jasson Dominguez was next to bat. He hit McGarry’s fastball for a base hit to the corner of right field for a double. He cleared the bases which made it 4-0 RailRiders.
After that, there was a mound visit. Lehigh Valley wanted to leave McGarry in but because it was the second visit in the inning, McGarry had to leave and Noah Skirrow replaced him.
Andres Chaparro was next. He hit Skirrow’s fastball for a high fly ball toward Dustin Peterson. Peterson attempted to make a diving catch but missed it and Dominguez scored for a 5-0 lead.
Franchy Cordero was next. He put the ball down for a base hit to left field before Skirrow got Carlos Narvaez to ground out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who made the throw to first baseman Kody Clemens that ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning with one out, Drew Ellis put the ball down for a base hit to center field. It was the IronPigs first hit of the game. Esteban Quiroz struck out and Kody Clemens popped out toward shortstop Jesus Bastidas, who made the catch to end the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the fourth inning with two outs, Dustin Peterson hit Vasquez’s sinker for a solo home run hitting the ads at left field. The RailRiders lead was now down to 5-1. It was Peterson’s 18th home run of the year and 44th RBI of the season.
He now has hit three home runs this week against the RailRiders. The home run went 390 feet with an exit velocity of 105.4 mph. Simon Muzziotti lined out toward second baseman Jamie Westbrook which ended the inning.
Noah Skirrow gave up a single to Jasson Dominguez to start the bottom of the fourth inning. Two batters later with one out, Franchy Cordero put the ball down for a base hit to right field which moved Dominguez to third base with Carlos Narvaez up to bat.
Narvaez brought Dominguez home with a sacrifice fly to center fielder Simon Muzziotti which made it 6-1 RailRiders. Jake Lamb flew out toward left fielder Brewer Hicklen for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning with two outs, Drew Ellis hit Anthony Misiewicz’s curveball for a solo home run near the foul pole at left field. It was now 6-2 RailRiders. This was Ellis’s 12th home run of the season and 41st RBI of the year.
The home run went 377 feet with an exit velocity of 101.2 mph. Esteban Quiroz was next but he flew out toward center fielder Jasson Dominguez which ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Noah Skirrow walked Jamie Westbrook and gave up a single to Jake Lamb with two outs. He got Brandon Lockridge to ground out toward Esteban Quiroz, who threw the ball to first baseman Kody Clemens which ended the inning.
Noah Skirrow finished the game pitching 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits, one run, four walks, and two strikeouts in 87 pitches, of which 47 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley had one more shot at the top of the seventh inning. Zach McAllister was pitching for the RailRiders. Cal Stevenson was substituted for Dustin Peterson. He hit McAllister’s cutter for a solo home run over the wall at right field. It was now 6-3 RailRiders.
This was Stevenson’s sixth home run of the season and 21st RBI of the year. The home run went 343 feet with an exit velocity of 102.6 mph. Simon Muzziotti flew out toward right fielder Franchy Cordero for the first out. Brewer Hicklen and Rafael Marchan both grounded out which ended the game. The IronPigs lost game two to the RailRiders by the final score of 6-3.
This was the first time this season that Lehigh Valley was swept in a doubleheader. Lehigh Valley has now lost three straight games. They finished the night with five hits and left one man on base. Griff McGarry lost his second game of the season for Lehigh Valley, and Anthony Misiewicz won his third game for the RailRiders.
The IronPigs and RailRiders meet for the final time of the season on Sunday at 1:05 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
