The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (80-65, 44-28) hosted the Worcester Red Sox (78-67, 39-32) in game three of a six-game series on Thursday night from Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs lead the series 2-0.
Three transactions took place earlier in the day with the IronPigs transferring LHP Michael Plassmeyer and RHP Christian McGowan to the Development List and activating RHP Noah Skirrow.
Nick Nelson (7-2, 4.40 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley making his 20th start against Worcester’s Chase Shugart (4-1, 8.66 ERA).
Worcester struck first at the top of the second inning. With one out, first baseman Niko Kavadas hit Nelson’s changeup for a solo home run over the wall at right field for a 1-0 lead. Nelson gave up a single to Christian Koss before getting a groundout from Tyler Dearden and a Caleb Hamilton lineout toward left fielder Dustin Peterson which ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley tried to tie the game in the bottom of the second inning. Matt Kroon started the inning drawing a walk. Two batters later with one out and Cal Stevenson batting, Matt Kroon was caught stealing second and Stevenson worked a four-pitch walk. Dustin Peterson was next. Peterson got the count to 1-1 but Stevenson got caught stealing second and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the third inning, Esteban Quiroz worked a four-pitch walk with one out. The IronPigs did not have a hit through two innings until Drew Ellis put the ball down for a base hit to center field moving Quiroz to second base. Unfortunately, Kody Clemens grounded into an inning-ending 5-3 double play.
Moving ahead to the top of the fifth inning, Tyler McDonough hit a triple to center field with two outs. Next, Corey Rosier hit a line drive to left field in front of Dustin Peterson to score McDonough extending Worcester’s lead to 2-0. Nick Sogard was next. However, Lehigh Valley catcher Aramis Garcia caught Corey Rosier attempting to steal second base that ended the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Nick Nelson walked Nick Sogard before giving up a single to Stephen Scott. Next, Nelson struck out Narciso Crook before the IronPigs replaced him with Ben Bowden. Bowden struck out Niko Kavadas and Christian Koss to end the inning.
Nick Nelson finished the night pitching 5.1 innings, allowing seven hits, two runs, one walk, and two strikeouts in 89 pitches, of which 58 were strikes. Bowden threw 11 pitches, of which seven were strikes.
Ryan Fernandez was the new Worcester pitcher in the bottom of the sixth inning. Weston Wilson started the inning drawing a walk. Next, Darick Hall hit a sharp line drive off the wall at right field moving Wilson to third base with Matt Kroon up to bat.
Kroon brought Wilson home with a sacrifice fly to left field which made it 2-1 Worcester. Lehigh Valley could not bring Hall home when Aramis Garcia and Cal Stevenson both struck out and the inning was over.
McKinley Moore pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. He struck out two batters throwing 11 pitches, of which seven were strikes to get three outs. Luis Ortiz pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. He got Corey Rosier to pop out toward shortstop Weston Wilson, followed by back-to-back groundouts from Nick Sogard and Stephen Scott that ended the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Luis Ortiz drilled Narciso Crook on the ribs. Two batters later with one out, Ortiz struck out Christian Koss but Crook stole second base. Then, Tyler Dearden hit Ortiz’s fastball for a base hit to center field scoring Crook that extended Worcester’s lead 3-1. Ortiz struck out Caleb Hamilton with a fastball to end the inning.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth inning. Andrew Politi was the new Worcester pitcher. Matt Kroon grounded toward third baseman Nick Sogard, who made the throw to first baseman Niko Kavadas for the first out.
Next, Aramis Garcia pops out toward second baseman Tyler McDonough. Cal Stevenson was next. He worked a four-pitch walk to keep the game alive with Dustin Peterson up to bat. Peterson grounded out sharply to third baseman Nick Sogard, who threw the ball to first baseman Niko Kavadas and the game was over.
The IronPigs lost to the Red Sox by the final score of 3-1. Lehigh Valley finished the night with two hits, went 0-3 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Nick Nelson lost his third game of the season for Lehigh Valley, Justin Hagenman won his second game for Worcester, and Andrew Politi earned his 15th save of the season for Worcester.
In Gwinnett, the Durham Bulls beat the Stripers 10-2. Durham needs to win one game and they will clinch the second-half division. Lehigh Valley needs to win the rest of the way and the Bulls to lose their last three games to make the playoffs.
The IronPigs and Red Sox play game four on Friday at 6:45 pm on MiLB.com. Tickets for the game are available on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
