The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (55-55) concluded the five-game series on Sunday afternoon from Coca-Cola Park against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (64-48). Lehigh Valley pitcher Alan Rangel (0-1, 9.00 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Josh Maciejewski (1-1, 4.35 ERA).
At the top of the first inning with one out, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre second baseman Caleb Durbin hit Rangel’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at left field for a 1-0 lead. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base when designated hitter Nick Podkul hit an RBI double to right field scoring Jim Haley, and the game was tied 1-1. It was Podkul’s 34th RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning with one out and a runner on third base, Lehigh Valley pitcher Alan Rangel was replaced by Ricardo Pinto. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre center fielder Taylor Trammell hit Pinto’s slider for a two-run home run clearing the wall at right field and giving the RailRiders a 3-1 lead. With two outs, Pinto struck out Peter Serruto to end the inning.
Alan Rangel (3.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 1 K) threw 47 pitches, of which 24 were strikes, and Ricardo Pinto (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 27 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning with two outs and a runner on first base. Lehigh Valley shortstop Scott Kingery hit an RBI double to left field scoring Nick Podkul and the IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 3-2. A ground out by catcher Rafael Marchan ended the inning.
Michael Rucker was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. At the top of the seventh inning, Rucker loaded the bases with one out and Andrew Bellatti replaced him after Rucker injured his shin.
With two outs, Bellatti walked Oswald Peraza and T.J. Rumfield and the RailRiders led 5-2. Then, Bellatti hit Taylor Trammell making it 6-2 RailRiders. Bellatti struck out Jahmai Jones and the inning was over. Bellatti (0.2 IP, 2 BB, 1 K) threw 15 pitches, of which 6 were strikes.
Dylan Covey was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. Covey (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 15 pitches, of which 9 were strikes to get three outs. Griff McGarry was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. McGarry (1.0 IP, 2 BB, 1 K) threw 16 pitches, of which 6 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs, Lehigh Valley left field Matt Kroon hit a single to third baseman Jorbit Vivas. Cody Roberts struck out swinging and the game was over. The IronPigs lost to the RailRiders 6-2.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with five hits and committed one error. They lose the series 1-4. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Alan Rangel for his second loss of the season, and the win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Tim Mayza.
The IronPigs visit Polar Park on Tuesday to begin a six-game series against the Worcester Red Sox at 6:45 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
