The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (37-40) and the Durham Bulls (37-42) played game five of a six-game series on Saturday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Lehigh Valley pitcher David Parkinson (1-4, 5.96 ERA) was on the mound against Durham’s Jacob Lopez (2-3, 4.50 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Durham had a runner on second base with one out when third baseman Austin Shenton hit an RBI single to right field scoring Ronny Simon for a 1-0 lead. Then, Lehigh Valley starter David Parkinson got Jake Mangum to ground into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
In the bottom of the second inning, Durham had runners on first and second base with two outs when shortstop C.J. Hinojosa hit a two-run RBI single to left field scoring Rob Brantly and Heriberto Hernandez for a 3-0 lead. A line out by Kameron Misner to right fielder Ruben Cardenas ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when designated hitter Nick Podkul hit Lopez’s slider for a three-run home run clearing the billboards at left field and the game was tied 3-3. It was Podkul’s eighth home run of the season and 24th RBI of the year. The home run went 424 feet with an exit velocity of 97.6 mph.
Four batters later, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when first baseman Darick Hall grounded into a forceout at second base but Weston Wilson scored to put the IronPigs ahead 4-3. It was Hall’s 30th RBI of the year. Both Cody Roberts and Jim Haley struck out and the inning was over.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall hit Joe Record’s slider for a solo home run over the wall at center field extending the IronPigs lead to 5-3. It was Hall’s seventh home run of the season and 31st RBI of the year. A ground out by Cody Roberts ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher David Parkinson (4.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 2 BB, 2 K) threw 56 pitches, of which 33 were strikes. David Buchanan was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the fifth inning. Buchanan allowed two hits and one strikeout throwing 19 pitches, of which 13 were strikes to get three outs.
At the top of the sixth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base when designated hitter Nick Podkul hit an RBI single to left field scoring Cal Stevenson for a 6-3 lead. It was Podkul’s 25th RBI of the year.
Three batters later, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when right fielder Ruben Cardenas hit a three-run RBI double to left-center field scoring Nick Podkul, Weston Wilson, and Buddy Kennedy extending the IronPigs lead to 9-3. Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall struck out swinging and the inning was over.
Moving to the bottom of the eighth inning, Durham had runners on second and third base with one out when left fielder Heriberto Hernandez reached first base on a fielding error by first baseman Aramis Garcia. Jake Mangum scored and the score was now 9-4 Lehigh Valley with two outs. A pop-out by Tristan Peters and Buchanan struck out C.J. Hinojosa to end the inning. David Buchanan (4.0 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 5 K) threw 74 pitches, of which 45 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley shortstop Scott Kingery hit Rob Brantly’s slider for a solo home run clearing the wall at center field for a 10-4 lead. It was Kingery’s 14th home run of the season and 37th RBI of the year. A flyout by Cal Stevenson ended the inning.
Andrew Bellatti was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the ninth inning. Bellatti (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 13 pitches, of which 9 were strikes to get the final three outs of the game. The IronPigs defeated the Bulls by the final score of 10-4. The IronPigs take the series lead 3-2 and can win the series on Sunday.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 11 hits and committed two errors. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher David Buchanan. It was hit fifth win of the season, and the loss went to Durham starter Jacob Lopez.
The IronPigs and Bulls conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 5:05 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.
