The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (58-63) and the Rochester Red Wings (68-55) played game five of a six-game series on Saturday night from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley starter Alan Rangel (0-2, 4.00 ERA) was on the mound against Rochester’s Tim Cate (7-2, 5.48 ERA).
At the top of the second inning, Rochester had a runner on second base with one out when Trey Lipscomb hit an RBI single to center field scoring Joey Meneses for a 1-0 lead. Lipscomb was caught stealing second base for the second out and Rangel struck out Brady Lindsly to end the inning.
Lehigh Valley pitcher Alan Rangel (3.0 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 2 K) threw 34 pitches, of which 23 were strikes. Nick Nelson was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the fourth inning. Nelson threw 13 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley third baseman Buddy Kennedy hit Zach Brzykcy’s curveball for a solo home run into Lehigh Valley’s bullpen at left field, and the game was tied 1-1. The home run went 417 feet with an exit velocity of 105.6 mph. It was Kennedy’s 12th home run of the season and 43rd RBI of the year. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Nick Nelson (4.0 IP, 3 H, 4 K) threw 56 pitches, of which 37 were strikes to keep the game tied after seven innings. Zach Haake was the new pitcher for the Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. Haake (1.0 IP, 2 K) threw 17 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Michael Mercado was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Mercado (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 K) threw 17 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Orlando Ribalta was the new pitcher for Rochester. Lehigh Valley catcher Aramis Garcia started the inning by getting hit on the back. Lehigh Valley center fielder Cal Stevenson was next to bat. He hit Ribalta’s fastball for a game-winning RBI double to center field scoring Aramis Garica for a 2-1 win. It was Stevenson’s 22nd double of the season and 40th RBI of the year. It was Lehigh Valley’s second straight win.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with six hits. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Michael Mercado for his second win of the season, and the loss went to Rochester pitcher Orlando Ribalta.
The IronPigs have a chance to split the series against the Red Wings on Sunday at 1:35 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
