The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (22-32) played game five on Saturday afternoon from Huntington Park against the Columbus Clippers (21-34). Lehigh Valley starter Tyler Phillips (5-3, 5.31 ERA) was on the mound against Columbus’s Darren McCaughan (1-0, 3.94 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Columbus had runners on first and second base when second baseman Juan Brito hit an RBI double to right field scoring José Tena for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later with one out, Columbus designated hitter George Valera brought Lorenzo Cedrola home with a sacrifice fly extending Columbus’s lead to 2-0. With two outs, Columbus first baseman Micah Pries flies out toward center fielder Cal Stevenson for the third out.
At the top of the second inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners as right fielder Simon Muzziotti grounded into a forceout at second base but Weston Wilson scored and the score was now 2-1 Columbus.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base when left fielder Weston Wilson hit McCaughan’s sweeper for a two-run home run at left-center field putting Lehigh Valley up 3-2. It was Wilson’s seventh home run of the season and 33rd RBI of the year.
Moving to the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base when right fielder Simon Muzziotti hit an RBI triple to right field scoring Esteban Quiroz for a 4-2 lead. It was Muzziotti’s second triple of the season and 16th RBI of the year.
Two batters later, Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson hit an RBI triple to left field scoring Muzziotti for a 5-2 lead. It was Stevenson’s second triple of the season and 18th RBI of the year.
Then, Lehigh Valley third baseman Jim Haley hit an RBI double to left field scoring Stevenson and it was now 6-2 IronPigs. It was Haley’s second double season and fifth RBI of the year.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Columbus had a runner on first base when Micah Pries hit the ball off of Lehigh Valley pitcher Tyler Phillips’s leg. Phillips picked up the ball but made a throwing error scoring Myles Straw cutting Lehigh Valley’s lead down to 6-3 while Pries ran to third base. Phillips was pulled from the game and replaced by Jonah Dipoto.
Next, Columbus catcher Bryan Lavastida grounded out toward shortstop Scott Kingery scoring Pries and the score was now 6-4 Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley starter Tyler Phillips finished the game pitching five innings, allowing seven hits, four runs, three walks, and four strikeouts throwing 91 pitches, of which 62 were strikes.
Then, Columbus third baseman Raynel Delgado hit Dipoto’s changeup for a solo home run over the wall at center field and the score was now 6-5 Lehigh Valley.
Three batters later, Columbus had runners on first and second base when second baseman Juan Brito hit an RBI single to right field scoring José Tena, and the game was now tied 6-6. With two outs, Dipoto struck out Jhonkensy Noel to end the inning. Dipoto pitched one inning, allowing two hits, two runs, one walk, and one strikeout throwing 26 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley had pitcher Taylor Lehman (1.0 IP, 1 K) pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning throwing 13 pitches, of which seven were strikes, and Nick Nelson (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K) pitched the bottom of the eighth inning throwing 13 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
At the top of the tenth inning, Mason Hickman was the new pitcher for Columbus and Esteban Quiroz started in the inning at second base. Hickman walked Cal Stevenson and Jim Haley with two outs that loaded the bases for David Dahl. Dahl hit a two-run single to center field scoring Esteban Quiroz and Cal Stevenson for an 8-6 lead. It was Dahl’s 25th RBI of the season. A flyout by catcher Rafael Marchan ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Max Lazer pitched in the bottom of the tenth inning. Lazer got Myles Straw to fly out toward right fielder Simon Muzziotti, before striking out Micah Pries and Bryan Lavastida to end the game. The IronPigs defeated the Clippers by the final score of 8-6. Max Lazer (2.0 IP, 2 K) pitched two innings throwing 28 pitches, of which 21 were strikes. The IronPigs are now 3-2 in the series.
Lehigh Valley finished the game with 10 hits and committed two errors. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Max Lazer. It was his first win of the season and the loss went to Columbus pitcher Mason Hickman.
The IronPigs will look to win the series on Sunday at 1:05 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics and Rally House.
