The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (46-46) returned from their All-Star break on Friday night to Coca-Cola Park against the Worcester Red Sox (44-49) to finish off a nine-game homestand. Lehigh Valley starter Max Castillo (0-4, 8.82 ERA) was on the mound against Worcester’s Grant Gambell (3-6, 4.56 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners when designated hitter Kody Clemens brought Cal Stevenson home with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 1-0 lead. A force out by right fielder Carlos De La Cruz and a line out from Simon Muzziotti ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Worcester third baseman Chase Meidroth hit Castillo’s fastball for a solo home run clearing the wall at left-center field and the game was tied 1-1. Four batters later, Worcester had the bases loaded when designated hitter Niko Kavadas brought Enmanuel Valdez home with a sacrifice fly to center field for a 2-1 lead.
Next, Worcester first baseman Bobby Dalbec hit a two-run RBI single to left field scoring Nick Yorke and Nick Sogard extending their lead to 4-1. After Castillo gave up a base hit to Eddy Alvarez, Lehigh Valley pitcher Max Castillo was replaced by Ricardo Pinto.
Then, Worcester catcher Mickey Gasper grounded into a forceout at second base but Bobby Dalbec scored for a 5-1 lead. A throwing error by shortstop Scott Kingery could not complete the inning-ending double play. A ground out by Mark Contreras ended the inning. Lehigh Valley starter Max Castillo (2.1 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 2 BB, 3 K) threw 72 pitches, of which 38 were strikes. Pinto threw six pitches, of which four were strikes.
Moving to the top of the sixth inning, Worcester had runners on second and third base with two outs when Nick Yorke reached first base on a throwing error by second baseman Jim Haley and two runs scored for a 7-1 lead. Two batters later, Niko Kavadas flies out toward center fielder Cal Stevenson for the final out of the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Ricardo Pinto (3.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 3 K) threw 78 pitches, of which 43 were strikes. Jonah Dipoto was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Dipoto (2.0 IP, 2 H, 1 BB, 3 K) threw 33 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
Eury Ramos was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Worcester had runners on second and third base when Eddy Alvarez hit a two-run RBI triple to center field for a 9-1 lead. Then, a balk by Ramos scored Alvarez for a 10-1 lead with one out.
Three batters later, Worcester second baseman Enmanuel Valdez crushed a two-run home run clearing the wall at right field for a 12-1 lead. Two batters later, Worcester shortstop Nick Sogard hit Ramos’s fastball for a two-run home run over the wall at right field for a 14-1 lead.
Zach Haake replaced Ramos. Haake struck out Niko Kavadas to end the inning. Ramos (0.2 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 2 BB) threw 41 pitches, of which 22 were strikes. Haake (0.1 IP, 1 K) threw 5 pitches, of which 4 were strikes.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base with one out when second baseman Jim Haley hit Luis Guerrero’s splitter for a two-run home run clearing the wall left field and the score was now 14-3 Worcester. It was Haley’s seventh home run of the season and 25th RBI of the year. The home run went 365 feet with an exit velocity of 98.8 mph.
Scott Kingery struck out, and Cody Roberts flies out toward right fielder Eddy Alveraz for the final out of the game. The IronPigs lost to the Red Sox by the final score of 14-3. Lehigh Valley finished the game with five hits and committed two errors. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Max Castillo for his fifth loss of the season, while the win went to Worcester pitcher Grant Gambell.
The IronPigs and Red Sox play game two on Saturday at 6:35 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.
