The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (75-59, 37-33) took on the Buffalo Bisons (68-66, 34-35) on Friday night in game three of a six-game series at Sahlen Field. The IronPigs led the series 2-1 after beating the Bisons 10-2 on Thursday night.
Before the game started, the Philadelphia Phillies reinstated shortstop Trea Turner from the paternity list and sent infielder/outfielder Weston Wilson back to Lehigh Valley. Wilson was in the lineup playing shortstop and he had a big night.
Michael Plassmeyer (74-59, 36-33) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his 12th start of the season in 13 games against Buffalo’s Wes Parsons (8-2, 3.80 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Kody Clemens started the inning hitting his ninth double of the season on a sharp line drive to right field. Weston Wilson was next.
During his at-bat, Clemens stole third base before Wilson grounded toward third baseman Luis De Los Santos. Santos made the throw over to first baseman Damiano Palmegiani for the first out, while Kody Clemens scored for a 1-0 Lehigh Vally lead. It was Wilson’s 78th RBI of the season.
Darick Hall was next. He put the ball down for a base hit to second baseman Tanner Morris, who had trouble with the ball which allowed Hall to reach first base. Two batters later with two outs, Simon Muzziotti worked a four-pitch walk before Aramis Garcia struck out on a foul tip that ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley added to its lead. Kody Clemens started the inning hitting a sharp fly ball off the fence at right-center field for his third triple of the season. Weston Wilson was up to bat. With the count 1-2, Wilson hit Parsons’s changeup for a two-run home run over the wall at left-center field that made it 3-0 Lehigh Valley. The home run went 387 feet with an exit velocity of 98 mph.
With that home run, Weston Wilson broke Rhys Hoskins’s single-season home run record and became the first IronPigs player in franchise history to hit 30 home runs in a season. He now had 80 RBIs for the season.
Two batters later with one out, Dustin Peterson hit his 14th double of the year on a sharp fly ball to left field. Next, Simon Muzziotti moved Peterson to third base with a groundout toward shortstop Leo Jimenez for the second out with Aramis Garcia up to bat.
Garcia hit Parsons’s slider on a sharp fly ball to center field for his 11th double of the season. Dustin Peterson scored from third base for a 4-0 Lehigh Valley lead with Cal Stevenson up to bat. Stevenson worked a four-pitch walk. Jim Haley was next.
Haley put the ball down for a two-run double to center field which brought home Garcia and Stevenson for a 6-0 lead. It was Haley’s 17th double of the year. He now has 56 RBIs this season. Scott Kingery struck out swinging which ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley pitcher Michael Plassmeyer gave up a single to Cam Eden. Next, Plassmeyer walked Steward Berroa with nobody out. Then, Rafael Lantigua moved Eden to third base with a flyout toward left fielder Simon Muzziotti.
Two batters later with two outs, Damiano Palmegiani was up to bat. During his at-bat, Plassmeyer threw a wild pitch which scored Eden. The score was now 6-1 Lehigh Valley. After walking Palmegiani, Lehigh Valley replaced Plassmeyer with Jeremy Walker. Walker got Orelvis Martinez to ground out toward first baseman Darick Hall who stepped on the first base bag that ended the inning.
Plassmeyer finished the night pitching 4.2 innings, allowing three hits, one run, three walks, and five strikeouts in 80 pitches, of which 50 were strikes.
At the top of the sixth inning, Hayden Juenger was the new pitcher for Buffalo. Scott Kingery started the inning hitting a double to center field. It was his 17th double of the season. Two batters later, Weston Wilson put the ball down for a base hit to center field scoring Kingery that made it 7-1. It was his 81st RBI of the season.
Darick Hall was next. He popped out in foul territory which was caught by Luis De Los Santos before throwing the ball to first baseman Damiano Palmegiani for an inning-ending 5-3 double play.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Jeremy Walker got into trouble in the bottom of the sixth inning. Walker gave up a single to Luis De Los Santos to start the inning. Two batters later, Walker gave up another single to Jamie Ritchie moving Santos to second base.
Then, Cam Eden loaded the bases with a single to left field. Walker kept his composure. He got Steward Berroa to fly out toward left fielder Simon Muzziotti and struck out Rafael Lantigua to end the inning. That was it for Walker, who pitched 1.1 innings, allowing three hits, and two strikeouts in 27 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
Tyler McKay was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning. He walked Tanner Morris, followed by hitting Damiano Palmegiani with nobody out. Two batters later with one out, McKay gave up a single to Luis De Los Santos which brought Morris home and the IronPigs lead was down to 7-2.
After hitting Leo Jimenez, Lehigh Valley replaced McKay with Taylor Lehman. Lehman got out of the inning when he struck out Jamie Richie and a flyout by Cam Eden.
Moving ahead to the top of the ninth inning, Buffalo pitcher Paul Fry walked Kody Clemens. Next, Weston Wilson hit Fry’s fastball on the first pitch for a two-run home run over the wall at right-center field. It was now 9-2 Lehigh Valley. Wilson now has 31 home runs and 82 RBIs for the season.
The home run went 370 feet with an exit velocity of 99.5 mph. Darick Hall was next up to bat. He put the ball down for a base hit to left field. Two batters later with one out, Simon Muzziotti reached first base on a fielding error by Leo Jimenez.
Then, Aramis Garcia loaded the bases with a pop-up single to first base with Cal Stevenson next. Stevenson put the ball down for a base hit to right field, scoring Hall for a 10-2 lead. After that, Buffalo replaced Fry with Stevie Berman. He got Jim Haley to ground into a forceout at second base before Scott Kingery flew out toward center fielder Steward Berroa, which ended the inning.
Hector Perez was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the ninth inning. He got Orelvis Martinez to pop out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who made the catch for the first out. Next, Perez struck out Luis De Los Santos before getting Leo Jimenez to ground out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who made the throw to first baseman Darick Hall for the final out of the game.
The IronPigs defeated the Bisons by the final score of 10-2 to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. First off, congratulations to Weston Wilson for the new record. He finished the night 3-5 with two home runs and six RBIs.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 14 hits, committed one error, went 6 for 14 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Lehigh Valley pitcher Taylor Lehman earned his second win of the season, while Wes Parsons lost his third game of the season for Buffalo.
The IronPigs and Bisons play game five on Saturday at 6:05 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
