The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (54-50) and the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp (50-55) played game four of a six-game series on Friday night from 121 Financial Ballpark. Lehigh Valley starter David Buchanan (8-3, 4.66 ERA) was on the mound against Jacksonville’s Evan Fitterer (1-1, 5.40 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when first baseman Darick Hall grounded toward second baseman Connor Norby scoring Cal Stevenson for a 1-0 lead. It was Hall’s 55th RBI of the season. Next, Jacksonville pitcher Evan Fitterer threw a wild pitch scoring Scott Kingery for a 2-0 lead.
Three batters later, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with one out. Third baseman Rodolfo Castro hit an RBI double to left field scoring Rafael Marchan extended the IronPigs lead 3-0. Clemens tried to score from first base but he was called out while Castro ran to third base. It was Castro’s sixth RBI of the season.
Jacksonville pitcher Evan Fitterer threw another wild pitch scoring Castro for a 4-0 lead. Two batters later with two outs, Fitterer struck out catcher Cody Roberts and the inning was over.
At the top of the second inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Matt Kroon hit Fitterer’s cutter for a solo home run clearing the wall at right-center field for a 5-0 lead. The home run went 394 feet with an exit velocity of 103.1 mph. It was Kroon’s fourth home run of the season and 22nd RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when right fielder Matt Kroon brought home Rodolfo Castro and it was now 6-0. Jonathan Bermudez was the new pitcher for Jacksonville. Three batters later with two outs, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded again when Bermudez walked Darick Hall scoring Jim Haley for a 7-0 lead.
It was Hall’s 56th RBI of the year. Next, Lehigh Valley catcher Rafael Marchan hit an RBI single to right field scoring Cody Roberts making it 8-0. It was Marchan’s seventh RBI of the season.
Then, left fielder Kody Clemens hit a two-run RBI ground ball to a diving first baseman Deyvison De Los Santos. Santos committed a throwing error scoring Scott Kingery and Darick Hall for a 10-0 lead. Clemens was credited with one RBI. It was his 34th RBI of the season. A flyout by Rodolfo Castro ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Jacksonville had runners on the corners with two outs when Tristan Gray hit an RBI double to left field scoring Deyvison De Los Santos and the Jumbo Shrimp trailed the IronPigs 10-1. Next, Griffin Conine hit a two-run RBI single to left field scoring Jhonny Pereda and Tristan Gray and it was now 10-3 IronPigs.
Jacksonville center fielder José Devers hit an RBI triple to right field scoring Griffin Conine and the Jumbo Shrimp trailed the IronPigs 10-4. Javier Sanoja was next to bat for Jacksonville. He hit an RBI single to center field scoring José Devers and the IronPigs lead was down to 10-5. Buchanan struck out Connor Norby to end the inning. Buchanan (4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 1 BB, 5 K) threw 83 pitches, of which 57 were strikes.
Andrew Bellatti was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning. Bellatti (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 12 pitches, of which 7 were strikes. Griff McGarry pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. McGarry (1.0 IP, 3 K) threw 14 pitches, of which 13 were strikes.
Anthony Maldonado was the new pitcher for Jacksonville at the top of the seventh inning. Lehigh Valley right fielder Matt Kroon hit Maldonado’s cutter for the solo home run clearing the wall at left field for an 11-5 lead. The home run went 352 feet with an exit velocity of 93.4 mph. It was Kroon’s fifth home run of the season and 23rd RBI of the year.
Two batters later, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base when shortstop Scott Kingery hit Maldonado’s sinker for a two-run home run over the wall at left field for a 13-5 lead. The home run went 332 feet with an exit velocity of 87.8 mph. It was Kingery’s 22nd home run of the season and 55th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Zach Haake was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. Haake (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 17 pitches, of which 14 were strikes. Haake (2.0 IP, 1 H, 1 BB, 2 K) threw 33 pitches, of which 22 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley left fielder Kody Clemens hit Luarbert Arias’s changeup for a solo home run clearing the wall at right field for a 14-5 lead. The home run went 396 feet with an exit velocity of 103.5 mph. It was Clemens’s ninth home run of the season and 35th RBI of the year.
Max Lazar was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. Lazar (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K) threw 15 pitches, of which 11 were strikes to end the game. The IronPigs defeated the Jumbo Shrimp 14-5. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 19 hits.
The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Griff McGarry for his second win of the season and the loss went to Jacksonville pitcher Evan Fitterer. Lehigh Valley leads the series 3-1. The IronPigs and Jumbo Shrimp play game five 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.
