The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (27-34) concluded the six-game homestand from Coca-Cola Park on Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bisons (32-31). Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel (1-5, 6.26 ERA) was on the mound against Buffalo’s Andrew Bash (1-0, 4.40 ERA).
At the top of the second inning with one out and a runner on second base, Buffalo catcher Max McDowell hit an RBI double to right field scoring Michael Turconi for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Buffalo had runners on first and second base when first baseman Phil Clarke hit an RBI double to center field scoring Max McDowell for a 2-0 lead.
Two batters later with the bases loaded and one out, Buffalo left fielder Steward Berroa grounded into a forceout at second base but scored Will Robertson for a 3-0 lead. Then, Abel struck out Addison Barger for the final out of the inning. Mick Abel finished the day pitching four innings, allowing six hits, three runs, three walks, and two strikeouts throwing 65 pitches, of which 34 were strikes.
Tyler Gilbert was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the fifth inning. He gave up a single to Michael Turconi with two outs before getting Buffalo catcher Max McDowell to ground into a forceout at second base ending the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Buffalo had runners on first and second base when shortstop Addison Barger hit a two-run RBI single when the ball took a high bounce before shortstop Scott Kingery got it but overthrew first baseman Jim Haley as Cam Eden and Steward Berroa scored for a 5-0 lead.
Three batters later with two outs, Gilbert got Michael Turconi to ground out toward shortstop Scott Kingery for the final out of the inning. Gilbert (2.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 2 K) threw 41 pitches, of which 26 were strikes.
Yunior Marte was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. He walked first baseman Phil Clark with two outs before striking out Cam Eden for the final out of the inning. Marte threw 15 pitches, of which 8 were strikes. At the top of the eighth inning, Buffalo had runners on first and second base with one out Buffalo designed hitter Orelvis Martinez hit an RBI double to left field scoring Steward Berroa for a 6-0 lead.
That was it for Yunior Marte, who was replaced by Andrew Bellatti. Bellatti struck out Michael Turconi and got Max McDowell to fly out toward left fielder Simon Muzziotti ending the inning. Marte (1.1 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 3 K) threw 39 pitches, of which 19 were strikes. Bellatti (0.2 IP, 1 K) threw 11 pitches, of which six were strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley left fielder Simon Muzziotti hit Erik Swanson’s splitter for a solo home run over the wall at right field and the score was now 6-1 Buffalo. It was Muzziotti’s third home run of the season and 19th RBI of the year.
Four batters later, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when second baseman Esteban Quiroz hit Mike Mayers’s cutter for a three-run home run over the wall at right field and the score was now 6-4 Buffalo. It was Quiroz’s fourth home run of the season and 22nd RBI of the year. A flyout by Jim Haley ended the inning.
Max Lazer was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He walked Buffalo first baseman Cam Eden with two outs before Eden got caught stealing second base which ended the inning. Lazer (1.0 IP, 1 BB) threw 14 pitches, of which 8 were strikes.
Connor Cooke was the new pitcher for Buffalo at the top of the ninth inning. He got Cal Stevenson to fly out toward center fielder Cam Eden, Jordan Luplow popped out toward second baseman Michael Turconi, and a ground out by Scott Kingery ended the game. Lehigh Valley lost to the Buffalo Bisons by the final score of 6-4. However, the IronPigs win the series 4-2.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with six hits and committed three errors. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel. It’s his sixth loss of the season and the win went to Buffalo pitcher Andrew Bash and Connor Cooke earned his fourth save of the season.
Lehigh Valley heads to NBT Bank Stadium for a six-game road trip against the Syracuse Mets starting on Tuesday at 6:05 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.
