The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (42-43) concluded the three-game series against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (47-38) on Saturday night from PNC Field. Lehigh Valley starts Kolby Allard (2-5, 6.20 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Will Warren (5-5, 7.05 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson hit Warren’s fastball for a solo home run clearing the wall and onto the berm at center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Stevenson’s fifth home run of the season and 32nd RBI of the year. The home run went 404 feet with an exit velocity of 104.9 mph. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on second base when catcher Agustin Ramirez hit Allard’s changeup for a two-run home run onto the berm at left-center field giving the RailRiders a 2-1 lead. It was Ramirez’s fourth home run of the season. Next, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre first baseman T.J. Rumfield hit Allard’s fastball for a solo home run onto the berm at right-center field for a 3-1 lead. It was Rumfield’s ninth home run of the season.
After giving up a single to Carlos Narvaez, Allard got Oscar Gonzalez to ground into a 5-4-3 double play, followed by a pop-out from Taylor Trammell to end the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, Yerry De Los Santos was the new pitcher for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. With one out, Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall hit Santos’s changeup for a solo home run onto the berm at right-center field and the score was now 3-2 Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
It was Hall’s ninth home run of the season and 37th RBI of the year. The home run went 406 feet with an exit velocity of 104 mph. The home run tied Andy Tracy for the all-time home run record in franchise history.
Two batters later with two outs, Lehigh Valley second baseman Jim Haley hit Santos’s sinker for a solo home run onto the berm at right-center field, and the game was tied 3-3. The home run went 373 feet with an exit velocity of 103.6 mph. It was Haley’s fifth home run of the season and 16th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Kolby Allard (6.1 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 7 K) threw 84 pitches, of which 66 were strikes. Eury Ramos was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He walked two batters with two outs before being replaced by Nick Nelson. Ramos (0.1 IP, 2 BB) threw 18 pitches, of which 8 were strikes. Nelson got Agustin Ramirez to pop out for the final out of the inning. Nelson (0.1 IP, 1 BB) threw 9 pitches, of which 4 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Phil Bickford was the new pitcher for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. With one out, Lehigh Valley second baseman Jim Haley hit Bickford’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at left-center field giving the IronPigs a 4-3 lead. The home run went 409 feet with an exit velocity of 102 mph. It was Haley’s sixth home run of the season and 17th RBI of the year.
Next, Lehigh Valley shortstop Scott Kingery hit Bickford’s slider for a solo home run off the over the wall at left-center field making it 5-3 IronPigs. The home run went 400 feet with an exit velocity of 102 mph. It was Kingery’s 15th home run of the season and 38th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Nick Nelson (1.1 IP, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 20 pitches, of which 14 were strikes. Max Lazar was the pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked Brandon Lockridge with two outs before getting a ground out by Jorbit Vivas and the game was over.
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs defeated the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders by the final score of 5-3. They finished the night with seven hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Nick Nelson. It was his second win of the season while Max Lazar earned his 10th save of the season and the loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Phil Bickford. The IronPigs win the series 4-2 this week with three games at home and three away.
Lehigh Valley are off on Sunday. They return to Coca-Cola Park to begin a nine-game homestand starting on Tuesday against the Buffalo Bisons at 11 am 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.
