The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (77-63, 41-26) and the Rochester Red Wings (63-74, 29-36) played game four of a six-game series on Friday night from Innovative Field. The IronPigs led the series 2-1 with a chance to take a commanding lead.
Before the game, the IronPigs got some much-needed news as RHP Eric Uelmen and RHP Hans Crouse were assigned to Lehigh Valley from the Reading Fightin’ Phils on Friday.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Nick Nelson (7-2, 4.16 ERA) was on the mound making his 19th start of the season against Rochester’s Roddery Munoz (0-3, 7.94 ERA).
Lehigh Valley struck first at the top of the third inning. Drew Ellis started the inning by working a four-pitch walk. Next, Cal Stevenson put the ball down for a base hit to right field moving Ellis to third base with Kody Clemens up to bat.
During Clemens’s at-bat, Stevenson stole second base. With the count 2-2, Clemens hit Munoz’s hanging slider for a three-run home run over the wall at right field. Lehigh Valley led 3-0. It was Clemens’s 16th home run of the season with 46 RBIs. In addition, it was Clemens’s sixth home run against Rochester this year. The home run went 411 feet with an exit velocity of 104.5 mph.
A ground out from Weston Wilson, followed by back-to-back strikeouts from Darick Hall and Dustin Peterson ended the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley was unable to hold onto the lead. With one out, Nick Nelson walked Erick Mejia with Matt Adams up to bat. During his at-bat, Mejia stole second base. Next, Adams put the ball down for a base hit to right field scoring Mejia which made it 3-1 Lehigh Valley.
Then, Jack Dunn put the ball down for a base hit to right field, followed by a Brady Lindsly walk which loaded the bases for Jeter Downs. Downs hit a soft ground ball toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who had no play. Everyone was safe with Adams scoring which cut Lehigh Valley’s lead down to 3-2 with Darren Baker up to bat.
Baker put the ball down for a base hit to right field scoring Jack Dunn that tied the game 3-3. After that, Lehigh Valley replaced Nick Nelson with Brett Schultze. Schultze walked Derek Hill which forced in a run and Rochester took a 4-3 lead. Then, Schultze struck out Blake Rutherford, followed by a Frankie Tostado ground out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who stepped on the second base bag for the force out that ended the inning.
Nick Nelson finished the night pitching 3.1 innings, allowing seven hits four runs, three walks, and two strikeouts throwing 94 pitches, of which 56 were strikes. Brett Schulze threw 0.2 innings, with one walk, and one strikeout in 18 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley tied the game at the top of the fifth inning. With two outs, Kody Clemens was up to bat. With the count 2-2, Clemens hit Munoz’s changeup for a solo home run over the wall at right field which made it 4-4.
It was Clemens’s 17th home run of the season and 47th RBI of the year. He now has seven home runs against Rochester this year. The home run went 358 feet with an exit velocity of 105.6 mph. A flyout by Weston Wilson toward left fielder Jack Dunn, who made the catch that ended the inning.
Hector Perez was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the fifth inning. He walked Erick Mejia to begin the inning. Two batters later with one out, Jack Dunn put the ball down for a base hit to center field moving Mejia up to second base.
Next, Brady Lindsly moved both runners up a base with a groundout toward first baseman Darick Hall for the second out. Then, Perez loaded the bases by walking Jeter Downs with Darren Baker up to bat. Baker grounded out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, who made the throw to first baseman Darick Hall for the final out of the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the sixth inning with two outs, Perez walked Frankie Tostado which led to a pitching change. Taylor Lehman replaced Perez.
Then, Lehman got Erick Mejia to fly out toward center fielder Cal Stevenson, who made the catch that ended the inning. Perez finished the night going 1.2 innings, allowing one hit, three walks, and one strikeout in 40 pitches, of which 22 were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning with one out, Drew Ellis hit a high fly ball to right field for a single. Next, Cal Stevenson worked a four-pitch walk moving Ellis to second base with Kody Clemens up to bat. However, Clemens struck out swinging and the Red Wings replaced Tim Cate with Luis Reyes.
Weston Wilson was next. He worked a four-pitch walk which loaded the bases for Darick Hall. Hall put the ball down for a base hit past a diving second baseman Darren Barker and into center field scoring Ellis and Stevenson for a 6-4 lead. It was Hall’s 52nd RBI of the season.
Dustin Peterson was next up to bat. He put the ball down for a fielder’s choice off the chest of shortstop Jeter Downs and everyone was safe. It was now 7-4 Lehigh Valley. Simon Muzziotti grounded out toward first baseman Frankie Tostado, who stepped on the first base bag and the inning was over.
Junior Fernandez was the new pitcher for Rochester at the top of the eighth inning. With one out, Esteban Quiroz worked a four-pitch walk. Two batters later with two outs, Cal Stevenson put the ball down for a base hit to left field moving Quiroz up to second base with Kody Clemens up to bat.
Clemens hit Fernandez’s sinker for a base hit to right field bringing Quiroz home for an 8-4 lead. It was Clemens’s fifth RBI of the game. Then, Weston Wilson lined out toward right fielder Blake Rutherford, who made the catch which ended the inning.
Ben Bowden was pitching for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. With one out, Bowden gave up a single to Frankie Tostado. Then, Bowden struck out Erick Mejia and Matt Adams which ended the game. The IronPigs defeated the Red Wings by the final score of 8-4.
Ben Bowden did a good job pitching two innings, allowing one run and six strikeouts in 36 pitches, of which 28 were strikes. Kody Clemens had a great game going 3-5 with two home runs and five RBIs.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with nine hits, went 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. The IronPigs got some help tonight from the Louisville Bats as they defeated the Durham Bulls 2-0. Lehigh Valley now trails Durham by two games in the second-half standings with eight games left of the regular season.
The IronPigs and Red Wings 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.
