The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (63-70) concluded the five-game series on Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bisons (63-73) from Sahlen Field. Lehigh Valley starter Tyler Phillips (7-4, 5.27 ERA) was on the mound against Buffalo’s Trenton Wallace (0-2, 6.12 ERA).
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out when right fielder Carlos De La Cruz grounded into a forceout to first baseman Damiano Palmegiani scoring Scott Kingery for a 1-0 lead. It was Cruz’s 14th RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Buffalo had a runner on second base with one out when Alan Roden hit an RBI single to right field scoring Jonatan Clase, and the game was tied 1-1. Buffalo did not add any more runs in the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the third inning, Buffalo had runners on the corners with two outs when Will Robertson hit a two-run RBI double to center field scoring Alan Roden and Josh Kasevich for a 3-1 lead. Then, Orelvis Martinez hit an RBI double to left field scoring Robertson extending their lead 4-1.
A ground out by Damiano Palmegiani ended the inning. Lehigh Valley starter Tyler Phillips (5.0 IP, 5 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 3 BB, 4 K) threw 75 pitches, of which 40 were strikes.
At the top of the sixth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley left fielder Matt Kroon hit Paolo Espino’s fastball for a solo home run clearing the wall at left-center field and the IronPigs trailed the Bisons 4-2. It was Kroon’s 11th home run of the season and 38th RBI of the year. The home run went 386 feet with an exit velocity of 100.2 mph. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Freddy Tarnok was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Buffalo had runners on first and second base with two outs when Michael Turconi hit an RBI double to right-center field scoring Orelvis Martinez for a 5-2 lead. Then, Tarnok threw a wild pitch scoring Damiano Palmegiani for a 6-2 lead. A pop-out by Jonatan Clase ended the inning. Tarnok (1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) threw 22 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Zach Haake was the pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. Buffalo had a runner on second base when Josh Kasevich hit an RBI single to center field scoring Alan Roden for a 7-2 lead. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning. Haake (1.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 K) threw 16 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
At the top of the eighth inning, Brandon Eisert was the new pitcher for Buffalo. Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with two outs when left fielder Matt Kroon hit an RBI single to center field scoring Trevor Schwecke and the IronPigs trailed the Bisons 7-3. Lehigh Valley shortstop Scott Kingery grounded into a forceout at second base to end the inning.
Michael Mercado was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Buffalo had the bases loaded with one out when Alan Roden grounded to second baseman Trevor Schwecke scoring Michael Turconi for an 8-3 lead.
Then, Josh Kasevich hit an RBI single to shortstop Scott Kingery scoring Steward Berroa for a 9-3 lead. Mercado struck out Will Robertson to end the inning. Michael Mercado (1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 1 K) threw 27 pitches, of which 13 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Dillon Tate was the new pitcher for Buffalo. Lehigh Valley center fielder Marcus Lee Sang struck out swinging. Two batters later, first baseman Darick Hall flies out to right fielder Alan Roden, and right fielder Carlos De La Cruz struck out swinging and the game was over.
The IronPigs lost to the Bisons 9-2 and lost the series 4-1. Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with nine hits. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Tyler Phillips for his fifth loss of the season, and the win went to Buffalo pitcher Paolo Espino.
The IronPigs continue their road trip on Tuesday against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at 6:35 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
