On Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on the Charlotte Knights in game four. Lehigh Valley came into this game on a three-game losing streak and one game behind Durham and Jacksonville for first place in the International League East Division.
Ricardo Sanchez (5-4, 4.90 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while Charlotte started Tobias Myers (1-10, 6.02 ERA).
In the bottom of the first inning, IronPigs’ center fielder Simon Muzziotti and shortstop Yairo Munoz hit back-to-back singles to start the game. Then, first baseman Josh Ockimey walked, loading the bases for Johan Camargo. Camargo singled to center field, scoring Muzziotti and Munoz for a 2-0 lead.
IronPigs’ third baseman Will Toffey was up next and hit a three-run home run over the roof of the KLYR Bar building at right field, making it 5-0.
Next, IronPigs’ left fielder Dustin Peterson and right fielder Justin Williams grounded out. IronPigs’ second baseman Ali Castillo was up next. He hit a ground-rule double to center field. After IronPigs’ catcher Jack Conley walked, the Knights changed pitchers.
J.B. Olson was the new Knights pitcher. Simon Muzziotti was next and singled on a soft ground ball to first baseman Laz Rivera. Muzziotti beat Rivera to the first base bag, but he injured himself afterward, and Chris Sharpe took over. It looked like Muzziotti pulled a hamstring after beating Rivera to the first base bag. Finally, Yairo Munoz grounded out that ended the inning.
At the top of the second inning, Knights’ designated hitter Blake Rutherford reached first base on an error by Ricardo Sanchez when the ball bounced out of his glove with one out. Two batters later, Tyler Neslony singled to center field, moving Rutherford to second base with two outs.
Laz Rivera was up next. During his plate appearance, Rutherford and Neslony stole second and third bases. IronPigs pitcher Ricardo Sanchez walked Rivera, loading the bases for Mark Payton. Sanchez walked Payton, forcing in a run, 5-1. Finally, Sanchez got Yolbert Sanchez to fly out that retired the side.
Moving ahead to the top of the sixth inning, IronPigs pitcher Ricardo Sanchez gave up a single to Adam Haseley, followed by striking out Blake Rutherford. Then, Sanchez allowed another single to Zach Remillard before throwing a wild pitch during Tyler Neslony’s at-bat.
Neslony singled to right field, scoring two runs, and reached second base on a throwing error by Justin Williams. The score was 5-3 IronPigs. Sanchez hit Mark Payton with two outs and was replaced with Jonathan Hennigan.
Sanchez went 5.2 innings, allowing six hits, three runs, three walks, and three strikeouts in 83 pitches. Hennigan got Yolbert Sanchez to line out to third baseman Will Toffey that, which ended the inning.
Anderson Severino was the new Knights pitcher to start the bottom of the seventh inning. Severino gave up back-to-back singles to Will Toffey and Dustin Peterson. Then, he walked Justin Williams, loading the bases for Ali Castillo. Castillo walked, forcing in a run, 6-3, and catcher Jack Conley was up next. Conley struck out, and Chris Sharpe was next. Sharpe hit a two-run single to center field, scoring Peterson and Williams for an 8-3 lead.
The Knights brought in Hunter Schryver as the new pitcher. Yairo Munoz was up first to face Schryver. He singled on a line drive to right field, making it 9-3. Josh Ockimey was up next and was called out on strikes, and Johan Camargo popped out to end the inning.
Jace Fry was the new IronPigs pitcher at the top of the eighth inning. He gave up a single to Blake Rutherford, followed by hitting Zach Remillard. After striking out Tyler Neslony, Fry walked Laz Rivera, loading the bases for Mark Payton. Payton cleared the bases with a three-run double to right field, cutting the IronPigs lead 9-6.
That was it for Jace Fry, and Michael Kelly came in to pitch. He got Yolbert Sanchez to fly out for the second out. Jake Burger was up next. He singled to left field, scoring Payton, and it was a two-run game, 9-7. Finally, Kelly got Carlos Perez to pop out that ended the inning.
Jakob Hernandez closed out the game for the IronPigs at the top of the ninth inning. He got Adam Haseley to ground out, followed by back-to-back strikeouts on Blake Rutherford and Zach Remillard, ending the game. The IronPigs had 13 hits and snapped a three-game losing streak with a 9-7 win.
The IronPigs are now 60-50 and are tied with the Jacksonville Jumbo Shrimp for second place and one game behind Durham for first place.
It was nice to see the IronPigs bats come alive. They made adjustments and did a great job finding holes in the outfield to put the ball in play. As for the pitchers, Sanchez, Hennigan, and Michael Kelly did a nice job. Kelly should’ve pitched the eighth inning after Hennigan and saved Jace Fry for another game.
The win went to IronPigs starter Ricardo Sanchez. It is his sixth win of the year, and the loss went to Knights starter Tobias Myers. It’s Myers’s eleventh loss of the season.
The IronPigs will look to split the series today at 5:35 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise on Fanatics.com.
