The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (75-63, 39-26) and the Rochester Red Wings (63-72, 29-34) played game two of a six-game series on Wednesday night from Innovative Field. The IronPigs trail in the series 1-0.
Shaun Anderson (4-2, 4.65 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his tenth start of the season against Rochester’s Mitchell Parker (0-0, 0.00 ERA). Parker was making his Triple-A debut from the Harrisburg Senators.
Through three innings, Lehigh Valley only had one hit by Weston Wilson and two walks. However, Lehigh Valley’s offense got going at the top of the fourth inning.
Matt Kroon started the inning by hitting Parker’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at center field for a 1-0 Lehigh Valley lead. It was his second home run of the season with six RBIs. The home run went 417 feet with an exit velocity of 111.7 mph.
Next, Mitchell Parker walked Aramis Garcia and Jim Haley with Drew Ellis up to bat. Ellis put the ball down for a base hit to right field scoring Garcia that made it 2-0. It was Ellis’s 44th RBI of the year. Brewer Hicklen was next.
Hicklen hit Mitchell’s fastball for a high fly ball off the wall at center field for a two-run double scoring Haley and Ellis. Lehigh Valley’s lead was now at 4-0. It was Hicklen’s 16th double of the year, second RBI for Lehigh Valley, and 31 RBIs this year including his stint with Omaha.
Rochester changed pitchers with Daniel Mengden replacing Mitchell Parker. Scott Kingery was up to bat. He singled on a soft bunt with catcher Brady Lindsly retrieving the ball but made a throwing error toward first baseman Frankie Tostado and everyone was safe. Brewer Hicklen scored for a 5-0 lead. Three batters later with two outs, Darick Hall drew a four-pitch walk with Matt Kroon up to bat. However, Scott Kingery got caught trying to steal home plate and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the fourth inning with one out, Jake Noll hit Anderson’s slider for a solo home run over the wall at center field, making it 5-1 Lehigh Valley. It was Noll’s sixth home run of the season. The home run went 421 feet with an exit velocity of 102.4 mph.
Then, Anderson gave up a single to Frankie Tostado before Jack Dunn grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
Rochester got closer to Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning. Jeter Downs started the inning with a base hit to left field. Two batters later, Anderson gave up another single to Richie Martin. Next, Darren Baker reached first base on a fielder’s choice but the IronPigs got Jeter Downs out at home plate with Derek Hill up to bat.
Hill put the ball down for a base hit to left field scoring Richie Martin which made it 5-2 Lehigh Valley. Blake Rutherford was next. He hit his ninth double of the season on a line drive to left field scoring two more runs. Lehigh Valley’s lead was down to 5-4. Then, Anderson got Jake Noll to fly out toward left fielder Weston Wilson, who made the catch to end the inning.
Lehigh Valley could not hold onto the lead in the bottom of the sixth inning. Lehigh Valley pitcher Shaun Anderson gave up back-to-back singles to Frankie Tostado and Jack Dunn. Next, Anderson got Jeter Downs to pop out toward second baseman Jim Haley.
After that, Lehigh Valley replaced Anderson with Taylor Lehman. Brady Lindsly was up to bat. During his at-bat, Lehman threw a wild pitch moving both runners up a base. Then, Lindsly brought Tostado home with a sacrifice fly to center fielder Matt Kroon. However, Jack Dunn got a little bit greedy trying to run to third base but got caught in a rundown for an inning-ending double play. The game was tied 5-5. Shaun Anderson finished the night pitching 5.1 innings, allowing nine hits, five runs, and one strikeout in 89 pitches, of which 62 were strikes.
The game did not remain tied for long at the top of the seventh inning. Dustin Peterson started the inning by working a four-pitch walk. Next, Darick Hall put the ball down for a base hit to right field moving Peterson to third base. Matt Kroon was next.
Kroon popped up toward second baseman Darren Baker. The ball went out to right field before dropping in front of him and Peterson scored which put the IronPigs back up 6-5. It was Kroon’s seventh RBI of the season.
Before Aramis Garcia could bat, Rochester replaced Lucas Knowles with Jose Mujica. On a 1-2 count, Garcia hit Mujica’s fastball for a three-run home run over the wall at center field, making it 9-5 Lehigh Valley. It was Garcia’s 13th home run of the season. He now has 41 RBIs for the year. The home run went 443 feet with an exit velocity of 107.7 mph.
Three batters later with two outs, Brewer Hicklen hit Mujica’s curveball for a solo home run over the wall at left field, making it 10-5 Lehigh Valley. It was the third home run of the night for the IronPigs. For Hicklen, it was his first home run as an IronPig. He now has ten home runs this year including Omaha with 32 RBIs. The home run went 387 feet with an exit velocity of 105.2 mph.
Next, Scott Kingery put the ball down for a base hit to left field with Weston Wilson up to bat. During Wilson’s at-bat, Kingery stole second base but Wilson flew out toward left fielder Jack Dunn, who made the catch which ended the inning.
Luis Ortiz was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Taylor Lehman pitched 1.2 innings with one walk in 18 pitches, of which eight were strikes. Ortiz gave up a single to Blake Rutherford to start the inning.
Two batters later with one out, Ortiz walked Frankie Tostado. Next, he got Jack Dunn to ground into a forceout at second base with Rutherford running to third base. Then, with two outs, Ortiz got Downs with a sweeper pitch for the final out of the inning.
Otiz came back out to pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning. He was able to get back-to-back groundouts from Brady Lindsly and Richie Martin. Then, he struck out Darren Baker with a slider that ended the game. The IronPigs defeated the Red Wings by the final score of 10-5.
Aramis Garcia, Matt Kroon, and Brewer Hicklen all had a good game. They combined seven hits with eight RBIs and two home runs. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 13 hits, went 5 for 11 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Taylor Lehman won his third game of the season, while Lucas Knowles lost his first of the year for Rochester. The IronPigs remain three games behind Durham for first place in the second-half standings.
The IronPigs and Red Wings play game three on Thursday night 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.
