The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (55-56) started a six-game road trip on Tuesday night against the Worcester Red Sox (54-60) from Polar Park. Lehigh Valley starter Kolby Allard (2-6, 5.23 ERA) was on the mound against Worcester’s Shane Drohan (2-0, 9.00 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base with one out when first baseman Kody Clemens hit an RBI single to right field scoring Scott Kingery for a 1-0 lead. It was Clemens’s 37th RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Worcester had a runner on third base with one out when first baseman Triston Casas hit Allard’s sinker for a two-run home run clearing the wall at right field for a 2-1 lead. The home run went 402 feet with an exit velocity of 101 mph.
It was Casas’s first home run of the season and sixth RBI of the year. A flyout by Vaughn Grissom and a groundout by Kyle Teel ended the inning.
Kolby Allard (5.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 7 K) threw 91 pitches, of which 58 were strikes. Michael Mercado was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning.
Worcester second baseman Vaughn Grissom hit Mercado’s fastball for a solo home run over the wall at center field extending the Red Sox lead 3-1. Mercado got the last three outs to end the inning. Mercado (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 R, 1 BB) threw 16 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Zach Haake was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley pitcher in the bottom of the seventh inning. Worcester had a runner on third base with two outs when Chase Meidroth hit an RBI single to right field scoring Tyler McDonough for a 4-1 lead. A flyout by Triston Casas ended the inning. Haake (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 K) threw 30 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
Yohan Ramirez was the new pitcher for Worcester at the top of the eighth inning. Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with two outs when shortstop Scott Kingery hit a two-run RBI double to left field scoring Ryan McKenna and Matt Kroon and the IronPigs trailed the Red Sox 4-3. It was Kingery’s 58th RBI of the season.
Tyler McKay was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. With a runner on first base and two outs, Lehigh Valley replaced McKay with Tyler Gilbert. A ground out by Bobby Dalbec ended the inning. McKay (0.2 IP, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 12 pitches, of which 5 were strikes, while Gilbert (0.1 IP) threw three pitches, of which two were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley first baseman Kody Clemens was hit by Ramirez before Rodolfo Castro grounded into a forceout at second base. Lehigh Valley center fielder Ryan McKenna grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. The IronPigs lost to the Red Sox 4-3. Lehigh Valley finished the night with seven hits.
The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Kolby Allard. It’s his seventh loss of the season. The win went Worcester pitcher Wyatt Olds and Yohan Ramirez earned his second save of the season.
The IronPigs and Red Sox play game two on Wednesday at 6:45 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
