The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (59-63) concluded a six-game series on Sunday afternoon against the Rochester Red Wings (68-56) from Coca-Cola Park for the final time of the 2024 season. Lehigh Valley starter Robinson Pena (0-1, 3.60 ERA) was on the mound against Rochester’s Thaddeus Ward (7-4, 5.22 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Rochester had the bases loaded when Carter Kieboom grounded into a 4-6-3 double play scoring Darren Baker for a 1-0 lead. A ground out by Trey Lipscomb ended the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when third baseman Buddy Kennedy grounded into a 6-4-3 double play scoring Cal Stevenson, and the game was tied 1-1. A flyout by left fielder Kody Clemens ended the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out when Rochester pitcher Thaddeus Ward threw a wild pitch and David Dahl scored putting the IronPigs up 2-1.
Three batters later with the bases loaded and two outs, Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall was hit by Ward and Jim Haley scored extending Lehigh Valley’s lead to 3-1. It was Hall’s 63rd RBI of the season. Ty Tice replaced Thaddeus Ward. Lehigh Valley third baseman Buddy Kennedy struck out swinging and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with one out when shortstop Scott Kingery hit Garvin Alston’s fastball for a three-run home run over the wall at left field extending Lehigh Valley’s lead 6-1. It was Kingery’s 23rd home run of the season and 63rd RBI of the year. The home run went 359 feet with an exit velocity of 94.1 mph.
Two batters later, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base when third baseman Buddy Kennedy hit an RBI double to right field scoring Darick Hall for a 7-1 lead. It was Kennedy’s 44th RBI of the year. A throwing error by Rochester catcher Brady Lindsly allowed Kennedy to run to third base.
Lehigh Valley left fielder Kody Clemens grounded toward second baseman Erick Mejia scoring Kennedy for an 8-1 lead with two outs. It was Clemens’s 42nd RBI of the season. Cody Roberts struck out swinging and the inning was over.
At the top of the fifth inning with two outs, Rochester left fielder Jake Alu hit Pina’s sinker for a solo home run over the wall at right field and the Red Wings trailed the IronPigs 8-2. A pop-out by Travis Blankenhorn ended the inning. Robinson Pena (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 BB, 4 K) threw 87 pitches, of which 54 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had David Dahl on first base when second baseman Jim Haley hit Alston’s cutter for a two-run home run clearing the wall at left field for a 10-2 lead. It was Haley’s 8th home run of the season and 32nd RBI of the year. The home run went 355 feet with an exit velocity of 108.2 mph. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Michael Rucker was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. Rucker (1.0 IP, 2 H, 3 K) threw 21 pitches, of which 14 were strikes. Andrew Bellatti pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Bellatti (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 16 pitches, of which 10 were strikes to get three outs.
Yunior Marte was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. Marte (1.0 IP, 1 H) threw 14 pitches, of which 7 were strikes to get three outs.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley had Darick Hall on second base and Buddy Kennedy on first base with one out when left fielder Kody Clemens hit Jake Alu’s slider for a three-run home run clearing the wall at right-center field for a 13-2 lead.
It was Clemens’s 11th home run of the season and 45th RBI of the year. The home run went 423 feet with an exit velocity of 104.8 mph. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Dylan Covey was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Covey gave up a base hit to Jackson Cluff before striking out Jarrett Gonzales. Then, Covey got Erick Mejia to ground into a game-ending 4-6-3 double play. The IronPigs defeated the Red Wings 13-2 to split the series 3-3 and tie the overall series 11-11.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with 11 hits and committed two errors. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Robinson Pina for his first win of the season and the loss went to Rochester pitcher Thaddeus Ward for his fifth loss of the season.
The IronPigs continue their 12-game homestand on Tuesday against the Syracuse Mets at 6:45 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
