The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (40-41) played game one of a doubleheader on Wednesday afternoon from Coca-Cola Park against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (45-36). Lehigh Valley starter Max Castillo (0-3, 8.54 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Tanner Tully (1-6, 7.54 ERA).
The game was scoreless in the first three innings until the bottom of the fourth inning. Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with one out when designated hitter Nick Podkul hit an RBI double to left field scoring Ruben Cardenas for a 1-0 lead. It was Podkul’s fourth double of the season and 27th RBI of the year.
Next, Lehigh Valley catcher Cody Roberts hit an RBI single deflected off of third baseman Oswald Peraza scoring Darick Hall for a 2-0 lead. It was Roberts’s ninth RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Max Castillo (4.0 IP, 3 H, 3 BB, 3 K) threw 72 pitches, of which 41 were strikes. Taylor Lehman replaced Castillo at the top of the fifth inning with nobody out.
Lehman struck out Josh VanMeter before getting Oswald Peraza to line out toward right fielder Ruben Cardenas, who then threw the ball to first baseman Darick Hall to complete an inning-ending double play. It was the fourth Lehigh Valley inning-ending double play of the game. Lehman threw 8 pitches, of which 6 were strikes.
Moving to the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley pitcher Taylor Lehman put runners on first and second base before being replaced by Andrew Bellatti. Bellatti gave up a single to Brandon Lockridge before giving up a sacrifice fly to Jose Rojas and the score was now 2-1 Lehigh Valley with two outs. Next, Bellatti walked Taylor Trammell, followed by another walk to Jeter Downs, and the game was tied 2-2. A ground out by Josh VanMeter ended the inning. Lehman (1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K) threw 25 pitches, of which 15 were strikes, while Bellatti (0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 BB) threw 15 pitches, of which six were strikes.
Tyler Gilbert was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher at the top of the seventh inning. Gilbert (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw nine pitches, of which seven were strikes.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Weston Wilson hit a single to left field with two outs and third baseman Buddy Kennedy coming to the plate.
Kennedy hit Anthony Misiewicz’s cutter for a game-winning two-run home run onto the berm at left-center field and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 4-2 in game one of the doubleheader. It was Kennedy’s eighth home run of the season and 29th RBI of the year. The home run went 391 feet with an exit velocity of 99.4 mph.
The win marked Lehigh Valley’s fifth consecutive win. They finished the afternoon with four hits and committed one error. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Tyler Gilbert for his third win of the season, while the loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Anthony Misiewicz.
Game two between the IronPigs and RailRiders starts 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.
