The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (65-74) played game six on Saturday afternoon against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (83-59) from PNC Field. Lehigh Valley starter Seth Johnson (2-0, 0.56 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Egar Barclay (7-9, 6.13 ERA). Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm and second baseman Edmundo Sosa made their rehab starts.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Scott Kingery hit Barclay’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run clearing the wall at left-center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Kingery’s 25th home run of the season and 66th RBI of the year. The home run went 411 feet with an exit velocity of 102.7 mph. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Caleb Durban stole third base and Jorbit Vivas stole second base for a double steal with a throwing error by catcher Rafael Marchan scored Durban and the game was tied 1-1. Then, Oswald Peraza hit an RBI single to right field scoring Vivas for a 2-1 lead. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre catcher Ben Rice hit Johnson’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run over the wall at center field extending the RailRiders lead 3-1. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on the corners with two outs when Oswald Peraza hit a two-run RBI single to left field scoring Jahmai Jones and Jorbit Vivas for a 5-1 lead. The RailRiders did not add any more runs in the inning. Lehigh Valley starter Seth Johnson (4.0 IP, 8 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 6 BB, 3 K) threw 86 pitches, of which 42 were strikes.
Zach Haake was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning. Haake (1.0 IP, 1 K) threw 13 pitches, of which 9 were strikes to get three outs. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on first base with two outs when Ben Rice it a two-run home run over the wall at right field for a 7-1 lead. The RailRiders did not add any more runs in the inning. Haake (1.2 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 1 K) threw 35 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
Michael Mercado was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on second and third base when Caleb Durbin brought Jahmai Jones home with a sacrifice fly to center field Ryan McKenna for an 8-1 lead. The RailRiders did not add any more runs in the inning. Mercado (1.2 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 K) threw 22 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
Griff McGarry was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on first base with two outs when Taylor Trammell hit McGarry’s four-seam fastball for a two-run home run clearing the wall at right field for a 10-1 lead. McGarry struck out Cam Eden to end the inning.
At the top of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley designated hitter Otto Kemp flies out to center fielder Greg Allen, right fielder Carlos De La Cruz grounded out to second baseman Jorbit Vivas, and a flyout by shortstop Scott Kingery ended the game. The IronPigs lost to the RailRiders 10-1. The IronPigs have now lost four straight games.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with seven hits and committed one error. Lehigh Valley starter Seth Johson lost his first game of the season, and the win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Joey Gerber.
The IronPigs and RailRiders will face each other for the final time in 2024 on Sunday at 1:05 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
