The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (41-43) played game two of a three-game series on Friday night from PNC Field against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (47-37). Lehigh Valley starter David Parkinson (1-4, 5.84 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s J.T. Brubaker (0-0, 0.00 ERA).
In the bottom of the second inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre first baseman Agustin Ramirez hit Parkinson’s sinker for a solo home run onto the berm at center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Ramirez’s third home run of the season.
Three batters later with one out and a runner on first base, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre left fielder Taylor Trammell hit Parkinson’s fastball for a two-run home run over the wall and onto the berm at center field extending Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s lead to 3-0. It was Trammell’s fourth home run of the season. Parkinson got a ground out from Jeter Downs, and a flyout by Kevin Smith to end the inning.
At the top of the third 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 Weston Wilson and the score was now 3-1 RailRiders. It was Hall’s 58th RBI of the season.
Next, Lehigh Valley right fielder Ruben Cardenas hit Brubaker’s curveball for a two-run home run onto the berm at center field tying the game 3-3. It was Cardenas’s 20th home run of the season and 56th RBI of the year. The home run went 399 feet with an exit velocity of 99.7 mph. Nick Podkul struck out swinging and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the third inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre third baseman Jorbit Vivas hit Parkinson’s sweeper for a solo home run over the wall and onto the berm at center field putting the RailRiders back up 4-3 with one out. It was Vivas’s fourth homer run of the season. Parkinson got back-to-back ground outs from Oswald Peraza and Agustin Ramirez to end the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base with two outs when designated hitter Nick Podkul hit an RBI single to left field scoring Buddy Kennedy, and the game was tied again 4-4. It was Podkul’s 29th RBI of the season. A ground out by Esteban Quiroz ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter David Parkinson (5.0 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 2 BB, 3 K) threw 77 pitches, of which 42 were strikes. Andrew Bellatti was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on first base with one out when Oscar Gonzalez hit an RBI double to center field scoring Carlos Narvaez for a 5-4 lead.
Bellatti got a ground out from Taylor Trammell and a flyout by Jeter Downs for the final out of the inning. Bellatti (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 16 pitches, of which 9 were strikes.
Jonah Dipoto was the new Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on third base with one out when Jorbit Vivas hit an RBI single to right field scoring Kevin Smith extending the RailRiders lead to 6-4.
Dipoto was able to get Oswald Peraza to ground out to third baseman Buddy Kennedy, and Agustin Ramirez lined out toward second baseman Esteban Quiroz for the final out of the inning. Dipoto (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R) threw 15 pitches, of which 9 were strikes.
Michael Rucker was the pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on third base with two outs when Jeter Downs hit an RBI single shortstop Scott Kingery scoring Taylor Trammell for a 7-4 lead. Kevin Smith struck out swinging and the inning was over. Rucker (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 K) threw 15 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance to get back into the game at the top of the ninth inning. Anthony Misiewicz was the new pitcher for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with two outs leading to the RailRiders replacing Misiewicz with Victor Gonzalez and Cody Roberts coming in as a pinch-hitter for Jose Godoy.
Roberts hit an RBI single to left field scoring Ruben Cardenas and the score was now 7-5 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. It was Roberts’s 10th RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson was next to bat but he struck out swinging and the game was over.
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs lost to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders by the final score of 7-5. They finished the night with 11 hits. Lehigh Valley pitcher Andrew Bellatti lost his first game of the season, while the win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Oddanier Mosqueda, and Victor Gonzalez earned his first save of the season.
The IronPigs and RailRiders conclude the three-game series on Saturday at 6:05 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.
