The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (49-47) played game two of a six-game series from Innovative Field on Wednesday night against the Rochester Red Wings (52-44). Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel (2-7, 6.88 ERA) was on the mound against Rochester’s Kyle Luckham (0-0. 0.00 ERA).
The game was scoreless in the first two innings until the top of the third inning. Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with one out when second baseman Kody Clemens hit an RBI ground-rule double to right field scoring Scott Kingery for a 1-0 lead. It was Clemens’s eighth double of the season and 26th RBI of the year.
Two batters later, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when first baseman Darick Hall worked a four-pitch walking scoring Cal Stevenson for a 2-0 lead. Then, Lehigh Valley third baseman Buddy Kennedy brought Kody Clemens home with a sacrifice fly to left field extending their lead 3-0. It was Kennedy’s 35th RBI of the season. A flyout by designated hitter David Dahl ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when right fielder Matt Kroon reached first base on a fielder’s choice by third baseman Brady House for a 4-0 lead. Then, Rochester replaced Kyle Luckham with Tim Cate.
Next, Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson hit an RBI single deflected off the glove of shortstop Jackson Cluff and into center field scoring Scott Kingery. It was now 5-0 Lehigh Valley. For Stevenson, it was his 38th RBI of the season.
Three batters later, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when first baseman Darick Hall hit a two-run RBI single to right field scoring Matt Kroon and Cal Stevenson making it 7-0. It was Hall’s 45th RBI of the season.
Three batters later, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when left fielder Simon Muzziotti worked a four-pitch walk scoring Darick Hall for an 8-0 lead. A flyout by shortstop Scott Kingery ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Rochester had a runner on second base with two outs when Alex Call hit an RBI double to left field scoring Travis Blankenhorn and the score was now 8-1 Lehigh Valley. A flyout by Jake Alu ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base when second baseman Kody Clemens brought Cal Stevenson home for a 9-1 lead. It was Clemens’s 27th RBI of the season. A flyout by first baseman Darick Hall ended the inning.
Mick Abel (5.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K) threw 84 pitches, of which 50 were strikes. Griff McGarry was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. With two outs, Rochester first baseman Karter Kieboom hit McGarry’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at left field and the score was now 9-2 Lehigh Valley. A ground out by Drew Millas ended the inning. McGarry (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 K) threw 17 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Zach Haake was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He threw 11 pitches, of which seven were strikes to get three outs. Haake (2.0 IP, 2 K) threw 22 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when third baseman Buddy Kennedy hit an RBI double to left field scoring Darick Hall for a 10-2 lead. It was Kennedy’s 36th RBI of the season. Designated hitter Davis Dahl struck out swinging and the inning was over.
Michael Mercado was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. Mercado got Travis Blankenhorn to ground out toward second baseman Kody Clemens for the first out. Next, he walked Carter Kieboom. Finally, Mercado got Rochester catcher Drew Millas to ground into a double play and the game was over. The IronPigs defeated the Red Wings 10-2.
The IronPigs finished the night with 18 hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel for his third win of the season and the loss went to Rochester pitcher Kyle Luckham.
The IronPigs and Red Wings play game three on Thursday at 11:05 am on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo. Also, pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Rally House.
