The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (65-75) concluded their 13-game road on Sunday afternoon against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (84-59) from PNC Field. Lehigh Valley starter Kyle Tyler (1-2, 6.56 ERA) was on the mound against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre’s Josh Maciejewski (1-3, 5.72 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shortstop Caleb Durbin hit Tyler’s cutter on the first pitch of the game for a solo home run clearing the wall at left field for a 1-0 lead. Three batters later with two outs, Tyler gave up a single to Ben Rice. Then, Tyler struck out Taylor Trammell and the inning was over.
Moving to the bottom of the sixth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on second base with two outs when Oswald Peraza hit an RBI single to left field scoring Caleb Durbin for a 2-0 lead and Peraza made it to second base. A wild pitch by Tyler allowed Peraza to move to third base before Ben Rice hit an RBI single to center field scoring Peraza for a 3-0 lead.
Jose Cuas was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley replacing Kyle Tyler. After giving up a single to Taylor Trammell, Cuas struck out Carlos Narvaez to end the inning. Tyler (5.2 IP, 4 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 1 BB, 6 K) threw 86 pitches, of which 51 were strikes. Cuas (0.1 IP, 1 H, 1 K) threw 7 pitches, of which 5 were strikes.
Phil Bickford was the new pitcher for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at the top of the seventh inning. Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners with one out when right fielder David Dahl hit a two-run RBI single to center field scoring Jim Haley and Otto Kemp and the IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 3-2. It was Dahl’s 37th RBI of the season.
After David Dahl stole second base, designated hitter Carlos De La Cruz hit an RBI double to center field scoring Dahl, and the game was tied 3-3. It was Cruz’s 17th RBI of the season.
After Lehigh Valley left fielder Trevor Schwecke grounded out for the second out, the RailRiders replaced Bickford with Anthony Misiewicz. Misiewicz walked Lehigh Valley catcher Jared Thomas. Next, Lehigh Valley center fielder Ryan McKenna hit an RBI single to left field scoring Carlos De La Cruz to take a 4-3 lead. It was McKenna’s 21st RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Jose Cuas returned to pitch for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He gave up a single to J.C. Escarra and hit Caleb Durbin with two outs. Then, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre second baseman Jorbit Vivas hit a two-run RBI ground-rule double to left field scoring Escarra and Durbin for a 5-4 lead.
After walking Oswald Peraza, Cuas was replaced by Andrew Bellatti. Bellatti struck out Ben Rice to end the inning. Jose Cuas (1.0 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 2 K) threw 29 pitches, of which 16 were strikes, and Bellatti (0.1 IP, 1 K) threw five pitches, of which three were strikes.
At the top of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley had a chance to regain the lead with two outs and the bases loaded but catcher Jared Thomas struck out swinging and the inning was over.
Andrew Bellatti returned to pitch for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Bellatti got a flyout from Taylor Trammell, a ground out by Carlos Narvaez, and another flyout by J.C. Escarra to end the inning. Bellatti (1.1 IP, 1 K) threw 18 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
Ron Marinaccio was the new pitcher for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre at the top of the ninth inning. Lehigh Valley center fielder Ryan McKenna grounded out for the first out, shortstop Edmundo Sosa lined out to right field for the second out, and a ground out by second baseman Jim Haley ended the game. The IronPigs lost to the RailRiders 5-4. They lose the series 5-2 and the overall series 13-10 which means the IronRail stays with Scranton/Wilkes-Barre for another season.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with eight hits. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Jose Cuas for his third loss of the season. The win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Scott Effross and Ron Marinaccio earned his eighth save of the season.
The IronPigs return to Coca-Cola Park for the final week of the regular season starting on Tuesday against the Worcester Red Sox at 6:45 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
