The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (32-38) and the Norfolk Tides (35-37) played game three of a six-game series on Thursday night from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley starter Ricardo Pinto (1-1, 4.60 ERA) was on the mound against Norfolk’s Brandon Young (2-0, 3.71 ERA).
At the top of the first inning with one out, Norfolk left fielder Daniel Johnson hit Pinto’s sinker for a solo home run clearing the wall at center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Johnson’s 13th home run of the season and 44th RBI of the year.
Four batters later, Norfolk had runners on the corners with two outs when shortstop Anthony Servideo hit an RBI single to center field scoring Billy Cook for a 2-0 lead. Pinto got out of the inning by getting Connor Pavolony to ground out to third baseman Weston Wilson, who threw the ball to first baseman Nick Podkul for the final out of the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning with a runner on third base, Lehigh Valley right fielder Ruben Cardenas hit an RBI single to center field scoring Johan Rojas and the score was now 2-1 Norfolk. It was Cardenas’s 37th RBI of the year. Cardenas was picked off during Buddy Kennedy’s at-bat and Kennedy struck out swinging.
Two batters later with two outs, Lehigh Valley shortstop Weston Wilson hit Young’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at left field, and the game was tied 2-2. It was Wilson’s 11th home run of the season and 40th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley catcher Cody Roberts struck out swinging and the inning was over.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning, Norfolk had a runner on first base with one out when third baseman Noelberth Romero hit an RBI double to center field scoring Anthony Servideo to take a 3-2 lead. Next, Norfolk center fielder Donta’ Williams hit an RBI single to center field scoring Romero and the score was now 4-2 Norfolk.
Two batters later, Norfolk left fielder Daniel Johnson hit an RBI double to right field scoring Williams extending Norfolk’s lead 5-2. Ricardo Pinto got Billy Cook to pop out toward second baseman Jim Haley for the second out and struck out Maverick Handley for the final out of the inning. Ricardo Pinto (4.0 IP, 10 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K) threw 89 pitches, of which 53 were strikes.
David Buchanan was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the fifth inning. Buchanan threw eight pitchers, of which three were strikes to get three outs. At the top of the sixth inning, Norfolk had a runner on first base with one out when second baseman Conor Norby hit Buchanan’s changeup for a two-run home run clearing the wall at left field for a 7-2 lead.
It was Norby’s 10th home run of the season. Buchanan walked Billy Cook with two outs before getting Maverick Handley to ground out to catcher Cody Roberts, who threw the ball to first baseman Nick Podkul and the inning was over. Buchanan (3.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 37 pitches, of which 24 were strikes.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out when shortstop Scott Kingery hit an RBI single to center field scoring Cal Stevenson and the score was now 7-4 Norfolk. It was Kingery’s 32nd RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley first baseman Nick Podkul hit into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
Corbin Martin was the new Norfolk pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning. With a runner on first base, Lehigh Valley right fielder Ruben Cardenas reached first base on a throwing error by third baseman Noelberth Romero allowing Johan Rojas to score from first base and the score was now 7-5 Norfolk. Four batters later, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out when left fielder Cal Stevenson brought Ruben Cardenas home with a sacrifice fly to center field and the score was now 7-6 Norfolk.
Two batters later with two outs and the bases loaded, Lehigh Valley shortstop Scott Kingery hit an RBI single to left field scoring Buddy Kennedy but left fielder Daniel Johnson made a nice throw to catcher Maverick Handley to get Weston Wilson out at home plate to end the inning. However, the game was tied 7-7. It was Kingery’s 33rd RBI of the season.
Yunior Marte was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the eighth inning. Marte (1.0 IP, 1 H) threw five pitches, of which five were strikes to get three outs.
In the bottom of the eighth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley center fielder Johan Rojas hit Luis Gonzalez’s fastball for a solo home run clearing the wall at right field for an 8-7 lead. It was Rojas’s first home run of the season and second RBI of the year.
Three batters later with two outs, Lehigh Valley third baseman Weston Wilson hit an RBI double to right field scoring Buddy Kennedy for a 9-7 lead. It was Wilson’s 41st RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley catcher Cody Roberts was called out on strikes and the inning was over.
Nick Nelson was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Nelson struck out Daniel Johnson and got Billy Cook to pop out before giving up a base hit to Maverick Handley. Then, Nelson got first baseman Shayne Fontana to ground out toward shortstop Scott Kingery, who threw the ball to first baseman Nick Podkul and the game was over. Nelson (1.0 IP, 1 H) threw 14 pitches, of which 9 were strikes.
The IronPigs defeated the Tides 9-7 for their third consecutive win. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 15 hits and committed one error. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Yunior Marte. It was his first win of the season and Nick Nelson earned his first save of the season. The loss went to Norfolk pitcher Luis Gonzalez for his first loss of the season.
The IronPigs and Tides play game four on Friday at 7:05 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.
