Lehigh Valley IronPigs waste a gem by Mick Abel in a loss to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (54-53) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (62-47) played game two on Friday night from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel (3-8, 6.66 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Tom Pannone (1-1, 3.14 ERA).

Before the took place, the Philadelphia Phillies made several moves affecting the IronPigs. First, they recalled outfielder Cal Stevenson and RHP Max Lazar. Second, they sent LHP Kolby Allard back to Lehigh Valley and designated RHP Max Castillo and first baseman Darick Hall for assignment.

 In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with two outs when first baseman Kody Clemens hit Pannone’s fastball for an RBI double to center field scoring Scott Kingery for a 1-0 lead. It was Clemens’s 36^th RBI of the season. A pop-out by second baseman Rodolfo Castro to shortstop Oswaldo Peraza ended the inning.

At the top of the third inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had the bases loaded with two outs when shortstop Oswaldo Peraza lined out toward center fielder Ryan McKenna to end the inning.

At the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel struck out Jasson Domínguez, a ground out by Oswald Peraza, and struck out T.J. Rumfield to end the inning. Abel (6.0 IP, 3 H, 2 BB, 8 K) threw 81 pitches, of which 61 were strikes.

Dylan Covey was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right fielder Taylor Trammell hit Covey’s cutter for a solo home run onto the berm at center field and the game was tied 1-1. Covey got the last three outs to end the inning. Covey (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R) threw 13 pitches, of which 9 were strikes.

Jonah Dipoto was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on second and third base with one out when shortstop Oswald Peraza hit Dipoto’s slider for a three-run home run clearing the wall at left field giving the RailRiders a 4-1 lead. It was Peraza’s eighth home run of the season.

Tyler Gilbert replaced Dipoto. He got the last two outs to end the inning. Dipoto (0.1 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 BB) threw 16 pitches, of which eight were strikes, and Gilbert (1.2 IP, 4 K) threw 22 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.

Lehigh Valley had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth inning. Yerry De Los Santos was the new pitcher for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. After Kody Clemens got a base hit, Rodolfo Castro struck out, and Rafael Marchan hit into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. The IronPigs lost to the RailRiders 4-1. They have now lost three consecutive games.

Lehigh Valley finished the night with six hits. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Jonah Dipoto for his first loss of the season. The win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Scott Effross and Yerry De Los Santos earned his first save of the season.

The IronPigs and RailRiders play a doubleheader on Saturday beginning at 5:05 pm on MiLB.TV. Game 2 will happen 30 minutes later. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.