The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (76-63, 40-26) returned to Innovative Field on Thursday night for game three of a six-game series against the Rochester Red Wings (63-73, 29-35). The series was tied 1-1 heading into this game.
Michael Plassmeyer (2-4, 5.62 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his 14th start in 15 games against Rochester’s Tommy Romero (5-5, 5.20 ERA).
Lehigh Valley first baseman Kody Clemens started the top of the first inning by working a four-pitch walk. Two batters later with one out, Darick Hall draws a walk moving Clemens to second base for Simon Muzziotti. Muzziotti flies out toward left field Cody Wilson for the second out.
Rafael Marchan was next. He hit Romero’s fastball for a triple on a line drive to center field scoring Clemens and Hall that put the IronPigs up 2-0. It was Marchan’s second triple of the season and his 34th RBI of the year. Esteban Quiroz was next but he struck out swinging which ended the inning.
Rochester would get one of the runs back in the bottom of the first inning. Michael Plassmeyer struck out Derek Hill, followed by a flyout from Jack Dunn toward center fielder Cal Stevenson with Blake Rutherford up to bat. Rutherford hit Plassmeyer’s hanging slider for a solo home run over the wall at right field. Lehigh Valley’s lead was down to 2-1.
It was Rutherford’s fifth home run of the season. The home run went 419 feet with an exit velocity of 103.2 mph. Next, Jake Noll grounded toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who made the throw the first baseman Kody Clemens to end the inning.
Rochester threatened to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning. Michael Plassmeyer walked Erick Mejia, followed by a single from Onix Vega with nobody out. Next, Plassmeyer struck out Richie Martin with Cody Wilson up to bat. During his at-bat, Mejia stole third base. However, Wilson hit the ball toward third baseman Esteban Quiroz for an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
Lehigh Valley would get a run back at the top of the third inning. Weston Wilson hit a soft ground ball toward shortstop Richie Martin but Martin had no play. Then, Darick Hall moved Wilson to second base with a groundout toward second baseman Jordy Barley.
Two batters later with two outs, Rafael Marchan hit Romero’s fastball for his second triple of the game on a line drive to left field. Weston Wilson scored which made it 3-1 Lehigh Valley. Marchan now has 35 RBIs for the season. Esteban Quiroz was called out on strikes which ended the inning.
Rochester would again threaten to tie the game in the bottom of the fourth inning. Michael Plassmeyer gave up a single to Blake Rutherford, followed by a Jake Noll double. Next, he got Erick Mejia to pop out toward first baseman Kody Clemens in foul territory for the first out.
Then, he struck out Onix Vega with Richie Martin up to bat. On a 1-2 count, Martin was called out for a pitch clock violation for an automatic strikeout that ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley extended their lead. Simon Muzziotti hit the ball toward pitcher Anthony Banda. However, Banda overthrew first baseman Jake Noll and Muzziotti ran to second base.
Two batters later with one out, Esteban Quiroz hit Banda’s slider for his 18th double of the season on a line drive to left field. Simon Muzziotti scored which made it 4-1. It was Quiroz’s 57th RBI of the season.
Next, Brewer Hicklen worked a four-pitch walk. Two batters later with two outs, Scott Kingery put the ball down for a base hit to left field scoring Quiroz and Hicklen for a 6-1 lead. It was Kingery’s 45th RBI of the season. Kody Clemens struck out swinging which ended the inning.
Tyler McKay was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the sixth inning. Michael Plassmeyer pitched five innings, allowing five hits, one run, two walks, and five strikeouts in 84 pitches, of which 57 were strikes.
McKay gave up a double to Blake Rutherford, followed by back-to-back walks to Jake Noll and Erick Mejia. Two batters later with one out, McKay hit Richie Martin which brought Rutherford home. Lehigh Valley’s lead was now 6-2.
Then, McKay struck out Cody Wilson, followed by a Jordy Barley groundout toward third baseman Esteban Quiroz, who made the throw to first baseman Kody Clemens for the final out of the inning.
Moving ahead to the top of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley added insurance runs. Hobie Harris was the new Rochester pitcher. Rafael Marchan put the ball down for a base hit toward second baseman Jordy Barley. Next, Esteban Quiroz hit his 19th double of the season moving Marchan to third base.
Brewer Hicklen was next. He chased Harris’s cutter outside the strike zone for the strikeout on a wild pitch with Marchan scoring. It was now 7-2 Lehigh Valley. Then, Cal Stevenson worked a four-pitch walk with Scott Kingery up to bat.
Kingery brought Quiroz home with a sacrifice fly to center field for an 8-2 lead. It was Kingery’s 46th RBI of the year. Kody Clemens was next. On a first-pitch fastball, Clemens crushed it for a two-run home run over the wall at right field for a 10-2 lead. It was Clemens’s 15th home run of the season with 43 RBIs. The home run went 406 feet with an exit velocity of 102.6 mph.
Weston Wilson put the ball down for a base hit to center field but Darick Hall grounded out toward first baseman Jake Noll for the final out of the inning.
Connor Brogdon was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the eighth inning. He walked Jake Noll to begin the inning but came back to get the next three outs. Brogdon struck out two throwing 15 pitches, of which eight were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Esteban Quiroz, Brewer Hicklen, and Cal Stevenson hit singles which loaded the bases for Scott Kingery. Kingery grounded toward second baseman Jordy Barley, who made the throw to first baseman Jake Noll and the inning was over.
Andrew Bellatti pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. He gave up two straight singles to Cody Wilson and Jordy Barley with one out. Next, he hit Jack Dunn which loaded the bases for Blake Rutherford. Rutherford grounded toward Bellatti, who threw the ball to catcher Rafael Marchan for a game-ending 1-2-3 double play.
The IronPigs defeated the Red Wings by the final score of 10-2. The IronPigs take a 2-1 series lead. Esteban Quiroz, Rafael Marchan, Scott Kingery, and Kody Clemens combined with eight hits with nine RBIs.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 13 hits, committed one error, went 5 of 15 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Michael Plassmeyer won his third game of the season, while Tommy Romero lost his sixth game of the year for Rochester.
The IronPigs and Red Wings play game four on Friday at 6:05 pm. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
