The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (39-41) returned to Coca-Cola Park on Tuesday night to begin a three-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (45-35). Lehigh Valley starter Freddy Tarnok (0-4, 9.82 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Yoendrys Gomez (2-3, 3.l3 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Weston Wilson hit Gomez’s fastball for a solo home run onto the berm at center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Wilson’s 17th home run of the season and 52nd RBI of the year. Wilson has now hit 11 home runs in 17 games. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Freddy Tarnok (2.0 IP, 1 H, 2 BB, 4 K) threw 45 pitches, of which 25 were strikes. Ricardo Pinto was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the third inning. He gave up one hit and one walk while striking out one to get three outs throwing 16 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
In the bottom of the third inning with one out and a runner on second base, Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall hit an RBI single to right field scoring Buddy Kennedy for a 2-0 lead. It was Hall’s 32nd RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Cody Morris threw a wild pitch, and coming in to score was Cal Stevenson extending Lehigh Valley’s lead to 3-0. Then, Lehigh Valley left fielder Cody Roberts brought Jim Haley home with a sacrifice fly to left field for a 4-0 lead. The inning came to an end when shortstop Weston Wilson lined out toward third baseman Jeter Downs.
In the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley pitcher Ricardo Pinto had thrown a splitter to T.J. Rumfield for a ball but Oswald Peraza tried to steal third base and got caught to end the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning with the bases loaded, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre left fielder Taylor Trammell grounded into a forceout at first base but T.J. Rumfield scored and the score was now 4-1 Lehigh Valley. Next, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre third baseman Jeter Downs grounded out toward shortstop Weston Wilson and Carlos Narvaez scored. The score was now 4-2 Lehigh Valley. A flyout by Brandon Lockridge ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson worked a four-pitch walk before stealing second and third base. Then, Lehigh Valley second baseman Jim Haley hit an RBI single that deflected off of third baseman Jeter Downs scoring Stevenson for a 5-2 lead. After Downs made a throwing error, Haley attempted to reach second base but was caught for the second out. A ground out by Cody Roberts ended the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning with two outs and a runner on second base, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre first baseman T.J. Rumfield hit an RBI double to right field scoring Agustin Ramirez and the score was now 5-3 Lehigh Valley.
After that, the IronPigs replaced Ricardo Pinto for Tyler McKay. A flyout by Carlos Narvaez ended the inning. Ricardo Pinto (4.2 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 4 BB, 2 K) threw 83 pitches, of which 47 were strikes, and McKay (1.1 IP, 2 K) threw 17 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Max Lazar was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Lazar struck out Brandon Lockridge, followed by a line out from Jorbit Vivas, and a flyout by Oswald Peraza for the final out of the game. Lazar threw eight pitches, of which six were strikes.
The IronPigs defeated the RailRiders by the final score of 5-3. Lehigh Valley finished the night with five hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Ricardo Pinto for his second win of the season and Max Lazar earned his ninth save of the season. The loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Yoendrys Gómez. It was his fourth loss of the season.
The IronPigs and RailRiders play a doubleheader on Wednesday. The first game starts at 1:35 pm and game two is at 7:05 pm. Both games are 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.
