On Saturday afternoon at Coca-Cola Park, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs took on Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders in game five of the series. Last night, the IronPigs were officially eliminated from playoff contention. They were now looking to spoil the RailRiders’ chances of making the playoffs. The IronPigs are 2-8 in their last ten games.
Cristopher Sanchez (2-2, 3.58 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while Scranton/Wilkes-Barre started Chi Chi Gonzalez (2-3, 4.36 ERA).
IronPigs pitcher Cristopher Sanchez started the top of the first inning by walking Estevan Florial. Two batters later, Ben Rortvedt was up to bat with one out. During Rortvedt’s plate appearance, IronPigs’ catcher Rafael Marchan saw Florial trying to steal second base, and Florial got caught for the second out. Then, Rortvedt grounded towards first baseman Darick Hall, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, IronPigs’ left fielder Dustin Peterson singled with two outs, but Josh Ockimey was called on strikes, ending the inning.
Moving ahead to the bottom of the third inning, IronPigs’ shortstop Scott Kingery doubled to left field with two outs. It was Kingery’s 12th double of the season. Unfortunately, IronPigs’ first baseman Darick Hall grounded towards second baseman Chris Owings, ending the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, IronPigs’ third baseman Daniel Robertson doubled to center field with two outs. It was Robertson’s 13th double of the season. IronPigs’ second baseman Ali Castillo was next but popped out towards second baseman Chris Owings, ending the inning.
At the top of the seventh inning, IronPigs pitcher Cristopher Sanchez struck out Ryan LaMarre and got back-to-back flyouts from Josh Breaux and Chris Owings to retire the side. That was it for Sanchez, who pitched seven innings, allowing one hit, four walks, and six strikeouts in 90 pitches, of which 53 were strikes. It was Sanchez’s longest game of the season. The last time he went seven innings was with the DSL Rays on August 23rd, 2016.
IronPigs’ designated hitter Josh Ockimey started the bottom of the seventh inning with a single, followed by another single from Jorge Bonifacio with nobody out. IronPigs’ catcher Rafael Marchan was next and flew out towards center fielder Estevan Florial, moving Ockimey to third base.
Then, IronPigs’ center fielder Madison Strokes grounded in front of catcher Josh Breaux for the second out. Next, Daniel Robertson walked, loading the bases for Ali Castillo, but he grounded out, ending the inning. The IronPigs had done a good job getting runners on base, but what’s hurt them in this series is that they are unable to bring them home.
Sam Coonrod was the new IronPigs pitcher at the top of the eighth inning. He got back-to-back groundouts from Ronald Guzman and Phillip Evans before striking out Blake Perkins, ending the inning. Coonrod pitched an inning with no hits, no runs, no walks, and one strikeout in 15 pitches, of which nine were strikes.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, IronPigs’ shortstop Scott Kingery doubled for the second time to center field with Darick Hall coming to the plate. However, Hall struck out swinging, and Dustin Peterson was next.
Peterson singled on a ground ball to center, scoring Kingery for a 1-0 lead. It was Peterson’s 47th RBI of the season. IronPigs’ designated hitter Josh Ockimey was next. He flew out towards left field Blake Perkins. Then, Jorge Bonifacio walked with two outs for Rafael Marchan. Unfortunately, Marchan lined out that was caught by first baseman Ronald Guzman, ending the inning.
Nick Duron was the new IronPigs pitcher at the top of the ninth inning. First, Duron got back-to-back strikeouts on Estevan Florial and Anthony Volpe. Then, Duron walked Ben Rortvedt before getting Ryan LaMarre to pop out towards Scott Kingery, securing a 1-0 win for the IronPigs. The IronPigs had seven hits, and their record is 75-70 with four games left in the season.
The win went to IronPigs pitcher Sam Coonrod. It was his first win of the season, while the loss went to RailRiders pitcher Anthony Banda for his second loss of the year.
The final home game of the season for the IronPigs is tomorrow at 1:35 pm. Tickets for the game can be purchased on StubHub, and pick up IronPigs merchandise today at Fanatics.com.
