The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (56-57) and Worcester Red Sox (55-61) played game three on Thursday night from Polar Park. Lehigh Valley starter Kyle Tyler (4-2, 3.06 ERA) was on the mound against Worcester’s Justin Hagenman (3-4, 5.49 ERA).
The game was scoreless through two innings until the top of the third inning. Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base when David Dahl hit an RBI double to right field scoring Scott Kingery for a 1-0 lead. It was Dahl’s eighth double of the season and 27th RBI of the year.
Next, Lehigh Valley third baseman Buddy Kennedy hit an RBI double to left field scoring David Dahl for a 2-0 lead. It was Kennedy’s 29th double of the season and 40th RBI of the year.
Then, Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall nearly hit a home run but the ball hit the top of the wall at right field for an RBI single scoring Buddy Kennedy and extending their lead 3-0. It was Hall’s 57th RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning. With that RBI, Hall broke the franchise record with 262 career RBIs in Lehigh Valley.
In the bottom of the third inning, Worcester had a runner on first base with two outs when Triston Casas hit an RBI double to right field scoring Chase Meidroth and the Red Sox trailed the IronPigs 3-1. Tyler struck out Vaughn Grissom and the inning was over.
Lehigh Valley starter Kyle Tyler (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 3 BB, 7 K) threw 88 pitches, of which 51 were strikes. Nick Nelson was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Nelson (1.0 IP, 1 H) threw 10 pitches, of which 6 were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when second baseman Jim Haley hit an RBI single to third baseman Chase Meidroth scoring Darick Hall for a 4-1 lead. It was Haley’s 26th RBI of the season. A ground out by designated hitter Kody Clemens ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley pitcher Nick Nelson walked Kyle Teel before the rain began at 9:27 pm. The game did not resume and the IronPigs defeated the Red Sox 4-1 snapping a three-game losing streak. Nelson (1.0 IP, 1 BB) threw 18 pitches, of which 9 were strikes.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 11 hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Kyle Tyler for his fifth win of the season, while Nick Nelson earned his second save of the season. The loss went to Worcester pitcher Justin Hagenman.
The IronPigs and Red Sox play game four on Friday at 6:45 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
