The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (36-40) played game four of a six-game series on Friday night against the Durham Bulls (37-41) from Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel (1-7, 7.08 ERA) was on the mound against Durham’s Jeffrey Springs (0-0, 1.42 ERA).
At the top of the second inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when center field Cal Stevenson hit Springs’s slider for a three-run home run clearing the wall at left-center field for a 3-0 lead. It was Stevenson’s fourth home run of the season and 29th RBI of the year. The home run went 372 feet with an exit velocity of 99.2 mph. Weston Wilson struck out swinging and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the second inning, Durham catcher René Pinto hit Abel’s slider for a solo home run over the wall at left field and the score was now 3-1 Lehigh Valley. Three batters later with one out and a runner on third base, Durham designated hitter Heriberto Hernandez brought Jake Mangum home with a sacrifice fly to center field.
The score was now 3-2 Lehigh Valley. Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel got Rob Brantly to line out toward right fielder Ruben Cardenas for the final out of the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base when third baseman Weston Wilson hit an RBI single to left field scoring Cal Stevenson for a 4-2 lead. It was Wilson’s 47th RBI of the year.
Two batters later with a runner on second base, Lehigh Valley right fielder Ruben Cardenas hit Carlos Garcia’s fastball for a two-run home run clearing the wall at center field and extending their lead to 6-2. It was Cardenas’s 18th home run of the season and 47th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Mick Abel (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 5 K) threw 79 pitches, of which 50 were strikes. Tyler McKay was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. McKay (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 10 pitches, of which 8 were strikes to get three outs.
At the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with two outs when first baseman Darick Hall hit an RBI single to right field scoring Buddy Kennedy for a 7-2 lead. It was Hall’s 29th RBI of the season.
During Lehigh Valley catcher Aramis Garcia’s at-bat, Darick Hall stole second base and Ruben Cardenas stole home plate for an 8-2 lead. Garica was called out on strikes and the inning was over.
Jonah Dipoto was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Dipoto (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB) threw 14 pitches, of which 8 were strikes to get three outs.
At the top of the ninth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley third baseman Weston Wilson hit Tyler Zuber’s fastball for a solo home run clearing the wall at left-center field for a 9-2 lead. It was Wilson’s 14th home run of the season and 48th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Nick Nelson was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, Nelson gave up a home run to Rob Brantly and the score was now 9-3 Lehigh Valley.
Nelson got C.J. Hinojosa to ground out toward shortstop Scott Kingery for the final out of the game. The IronPigs defeated the Bulls by the final score of 9-3. Nelson (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 K) threw 17 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 10 hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel for his second win of the season. The loss went to Durham starter Jeffrey Springs.
The IronPigs and Bulls play game five on Saturday at 6:35 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.
