The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (65-71) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (80-59) played a doubleheader on Wednesday from PNC Field. In game one, Lehigh Valley starter Alan Rangel (0-2, 5.59 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Yoendrys Gomez (3-5, 3.96 ERA).
In the bottom of the third inning with two outs, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre center fielder Cam Eden hit Rangel’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run over the wall at left-center field for a 1-0 lead. A ground out by Jorbit Vivas to first baseman Darick Hall ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base when left fielder Matt Kroon hit an RBI double to left field scoring Jared Thomas, and the game was tied 1-1. It was Kroon’s 40th RBI of the season.
Two batters later and Kroon on third base, Lehigh Valley third baseman Otto Kemp struck out swinging but a wild pitch by Yerry De Los Santos scored Kroon and the IronPigs took a 2-1 lead. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
At the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with two outs when second baseman Trevor Schwecke hit an RBI single to right field scoring David Dahl for a 3-1 lead. It was Schwecke’s first RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Alan Rangel (5.0 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 K) threw 64 pitches, of which 41 were strikes. Michael Mercado was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mercado (1.0 IP) threw 11 pitches, of which 8 were strikes to get the three outs.
Mercado returned to pitch in the bottom of the seventh inning. He got Ben Rice to fly out toward right field Carlos De La Cruz, followed by back-to-back groundouts from Oswald Peraza and T.J. Rumfield ended the game. Mercado (2.0 IP) threw 23 pitches, of which 15 were strikes. The IronPigs defeated the RailRiders 3-1. The IronPigs finished the game with five hits.
The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Alan Rangel for his first win of the season and Michael Mercado earned his first save of the season. The loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Yerry De Los Santos.
In game two, Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel (3-10, 5.98 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Cody Poteet (3-0, 4.25 ERA). This was a makeup game from August 6, 2024, in Lehigh Valley where the IronPigs were the home team in this game.
At the top of the first inning with one out, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre second baseman Caleb Durbin hit Abel’s slider over the wall at left field for a 1-0 lead. Abel struck out Ben Rice and Oswald Peraza to end the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on first base with two outs when left fielder Greg Allen hit an RBI triple to right field scoring Taylor Trammell for a 2-0 lead. Abel struck out Duke Ellis to end the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel (4.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 9 K) threw 95 pitches, of which 57 were strikes. Zach Haake was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the top of the fifth inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on the corners with one out when Oswald Peraza hit an RBI single to left field scoring Jorbit Vivas for a 3-0 lead. Next, a wild pitch by Haake scored Ben Rice extending the RailRiders lead 4-0.
After giving up a single to T.J. Rumfield, Lehigh Valley pitcher Zach Haake struck out Taylor Trammell and a pop-out by J.C. Escarra ended the inning. Haake (1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 K) threw 23 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Ryan McKenna hit Cody Poteet’s four-seam fastball clearing the wall at left field and the IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 4-1. It was McKenna’s sixth home run of the season and 20th RBI of the year. The home run went 371 feet with an exit velocity of 96.7 mph. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Griff McGarry was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the top of the sixth inning. McGarry (1.0 IP, 2 K) threw 12 pitches, of which 11 were strikes to get three outs. Jose Cuas was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Cuas (1.0 IP, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 13 pitches, of which six were strikes to get three outs.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall started the inning with a single to right field. Next, catcher Rafael Marchan grounded into a forceout at second base. Then, center fielder Ryan McKenna hit an RBI triple to left field scoring Marchan and the IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 4-2. It was McKenna’s 21st RBI of the season.
Lehigh Valley designated hitter David Dahl was next but he struck out swinging. Finally, Lehigh Valley second baseman Trevor Schwecke struck out swinging and the game was over. The IronPigs lost to the RailRiders 4-2 and split the doubleheader.
The IronPigs finished the game with six hits. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Mick Abel for his 11th loss of the season. The win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Scott Effross and the loss went to Ron Marinaccio.
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game four on Thursday at 6:35 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
