The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (67-78) and the Worcester Red Sox (79-70) played game five on Saturday night from Coca-Cola Park. Lehigh Valley starter Kyle Tyler (5-4, 4.22 ERA) was on the mound against Worcester’s Quinn Priester (4-2, 4.43 ERA).
At the top of the third inning, Worcester had a runner on third base with one out when Roman Anthony hit an RBI single to second baseman Buddy Kennedy scoring Corey Rosier for a 1-0 lead. Two batters later, Jamie Westbrook hit an RBI single to right field scoring Roman Anthony for a 2-0 lead. Bobby Dalbec grounded into an inning-ending 6-4-3 double play.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when second baseman Buddy Kennedy hit an RBI single to left field scoring Austin Hays and the IronPigs trailed the Red Sox 2-1. It was Kennedy’s 48th RBI of the season.
Two batters later, Lehigh Valley shortstop Scott Kingery brought Carson Taylor home with a sacrifice fly to center field, and the game was tied 2-2. It was Kingery’s 67th RBI of the season. Lehigh Valley did not add any more runs in the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Kyle Tyler (5.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 5 K) threw 84 pitches, of which 55 were strikes. Nelson L. Alvarez was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. Alvarez (1.0 IP, 3 K) threw 12 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
Freddy Tarnok was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Worcester had a runner on first base with two outs when Corey Rosier hit an RBI triple to left field scoring Max Ferguson for a 3-2 lead. After Tarnok walked Roman Anthony, he was replaced by Jose Cuas.
Next, Worcester catcher Kyle Teel hit an RBI single to right field scoring Rosier for a 4-2 lead. A lineout by Jamie Westbrook ended the inning. Tarnok (0.2 IP, 1 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 BB, 2 K) threw 27 pitches, of which 17 were strikes, while Cuas (0.2 IP, 1 H, 1 K) threw 13 pitches, of which 9 were starts.
Wyatt Olds was the new pitcher for Worcester in the bottom of the seventh inning. Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with two outs when second baseman Buddy Kennedy worked a four-pitch walk scoring Carlos De La Cruz and the IronPigs trailed the Red Sox 4-3. Olds struck out Ethan Wilson to end the inning.
Andrew Bellatti was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning with one out. Bellatti (0.2 IP, 1 BB) threw nine pitches, of which five were strikes to get the last two outs to end the inning.
Dylan Covey was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Covey (1.0 IP, 1 H, 1 K) threw 10 pitches, of which 9 were strikes to get three outs.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley first baseman Darick Hall got a base hit with one out. Next, Yohan Ramirez struck out Austin Hays for the second out. Next, Ramirez hit Carson Taylor and Hall moved the second base with two outs.
Lehigh Valley second baseman Buddy Kennedy was up next. He worked a four-pitch walk and the bases were loaded for Ethan Wilson. Wilson was called out on strikes and the game was over. The IronPigs lost to the Red Sox 4-3 and the Red Sox lead the series 3-2 series.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with six hits and one error. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Freddy Tarnok for his third loss of the season. The win went to Worcester pitcher Chase Shugart and Yohan Ramirez earned his sixth save of the season.
The IronPigs conclude the 2024 season against the Red Sox on Sunday at 1:05 pm on MiLB.TV. Purchase IronPigs tickets for the 2024 season today on StubHub and Viagogo.
