The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (46-44) and Buffalo Bisons (41-50) played game five of a six-game series on Saturday evening from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley starter David Buchanan (5-3, 5.31 ERA) was on the mound against Buffalo’s James Kaprielian (0-0, 9.00 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Buffalo had a runner on third base with one out when left fielder Damiano Palmegiani hit an RBI single to center field scoring Addison Barger for a 1-0 lead. Buchanan struck out Will Robertson and got a flyout by Gabriel Cancel to end the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base with one out when right fielder Carlos De La Cruz brought Buddy Kennedy home with a sacrifice fly to right field and the game was tied 1-1. It was Cruz’s fifth RBI of the season. A pop-out by center fielder Cal Stevenson ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson hit Kaprielian’s sinker for a solo home run onto the berm at center field for a 2-1 lead. The home run went 415 feet with an exit velocity of 101.3 mph. It was Stevenson’s sixth home run of the season and 33rd RBI of the year.
Four batters later with one out and runners on first and second base, Lehigh Valley second baseman Jim Haley hit a two-run RBI double to left field scoring Cody Roberts and Scott Kingery for a 4-1 lead. It was Haley’s sixth double of the season and 21st RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base with one out when second baseman Jim Haley hit a two-run RBI double to left field scoring Cody Roberts and Scott Kingery for a 6-1 lead. It was Haley’s seventh double of the season and 23rd RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter David Buchanan (6.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 8 K) threw 99 pitches, of which 61 were strikes. Jonah Dipoto was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Dipoto (1.0 IP, 1 H, 2 K) threw 20 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base with one out when center fielder Cal Stevenson hit an RBI single to center field scoring Darick Hall for a 7-1 lead. It was Stevenson’s 34th RBI of the season. Cody Roberts and Scott Kingery both struck out and the inning was over.
Yunior Marte was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. Marte (1.0 IP) threw 12 pitches, of which eight were strikes to get the three outs. Michael Rucker was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning.
Five batters later, Buffalo had runners on second and third base with two outs when Buffalo designated hitter Addison Barger hit an RBI single shortstop Scott Kingery scoring Rafael Lantigua and the score was now 7-2 Lehigh Valley.
Two batters later with the bases loaded, a lineout by Damiano Palmegiani to center field which was caught by Cal Stevenson ended the game. The IronPigs defeat the Bisons by the final score of 7-2. With the win, the IronPigs win the series with one game left to play.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 10 hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter David Buchanan for his sixth win of the season, while the loss went to Buffalo starter James Kaprielian.
The IronPigs and Bisons conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Rally House.
