The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (25-32) played game two of a six-game homestand on Wednesday night against the Buffalo Bisons (30-29) from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley starter Michael Mercado (0-1, 0.85 ERA) was on the mound against Buffalo’s Brandon Eisert (2-1, 6.61 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when catcher Cody Roberts hit Eisert’s slider for an RBI single to left field scoring Trevor Schwecke for a 1-0 lead. It was Roberts’s sixth RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley second baseman Jim Haley struck out swinging to end the inning.
At the top of the second inning with one out, Buffalo first baseman Riley Tirotta hit Mercado’s cutter for a solo home run over the wall at center field and the game was tied 1-1. It was Tirotta’s first home run of the season. Mercado struck out Will Robertson and a flyout by Max McDowell to end the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Michael Mercado pitched 4.2 innings, allowing two hits, one run, two walks, and six strikeouts. Taylor Lehman was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the fifth inning with two outs. He struck out Steward Berroa which ended the inning. Lehman (1.1 IP, 3 K) threw 19 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base with one out when catcher Cody Roberts hit an RBI double to left field scoring Trevor Schwecke to take a 2-1 lead. It was Roberts’s seventh RBI of the year. Jim Haley and Cal Stevenson both struck out swinging to end the inning.
Jonah Dipoto was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the seventh inning. He gave up a single to Buffalo first baseman Riley Tirotta with one out before getting a flyout from Will Robertson and a forceout by Max McDowell to end the inning. Dipoto threw 11 pitches, of which 7 were strikes.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with one out when shortstop Scott Kingery hit an RBI single to left field scoring Nick Podkul for a 3-1 lead. It was Kingery’s 31st RBI of the year. A forceout by Jordan Luplow and a flyout by Trevor Schwecke ended the inning.
Andrew Bellatti pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. He walked Spencer Horwitz and gave up a single to Nathan Lukes with two outs before striking out Orelvis Martinez to end the inning. Bellatti threw 20 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Max Lazer pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Lazer got a ground out from Addison Barger, a flyout from Riley Tirotta, and struck out Will Robertson and the game was over. The IronPigs defeated the Bisons by the final score of 3-1 for their fourth straight victory. Lazer threw 12 pitches, of which eight were strikes.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with five hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Taylor Lehman. It was his third win of the season while the loss went to Buffalo pitcher Hayden Juenger, and Lehigh Valley pitcher Max Lazer earned his fourth save of the season. Lazer has not allowed a hit in three straight games.
Lehigh Valley and Buffalo play game three on Thursday at 6:45 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.
