The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (50-29) played game five on Saturday night from Sahlen Field against the Buffalo Bisons (31-47). Wil Crowe (0-1, 13.50 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Lazaro Estrada (1-4, 5.07 ERA) of Buffalo.
In the bottom of the first inning, Buffalo center fielder Will Robertson hit the ball to shortstop Rodolfo Castro. Castro made a throwing error to first baseman Josh Breaux, allowing Leo Jimenez and Michael Stefanic to score, while Robertson ran to third base for a 2-0 lead.
Lehigh Valley starter Wil Crowe got into trouble in the bottom of the second inning by loading the bases with nobody out. Buffalo second baseman Michael Stefanic hit the ball to center fielder Justin Crawford. Crawford threw the ball to second baseman Nick Dunn to get Rainer Nunez out for the double play. Then, Crowe struck out Will Robertson to end the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley second baseman Nick Dunn hit Estrado’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 376 feet to right-center field. The IronPigs trailed the Bisons 2-1. It was Dunn’s first home run of the season.
Buffalo blew the game open starting in the bottom of the third inning. Ali Sánchez hit an RBI double, a groundout by Phil Clarke, and an RBI single from Rainer Nunez made it 5-1. In the bottom of the fourth inning, a wild pitch by Wil Crowe and an RBI double by Yohendrick Pinango extended Buffalo’s lead to 7-1.
Buffalo continued to put runs on the board. In the bottom of the sixth inning, a sacrifice fly by Will Robertson made it 8-1. Then, Phil Clarke hit Devin Sweet’s slider for a grand slam at 379 feet to right field for a 12-1 lead. In the bottom of the seventh inning, Buffalo center fielder Will Robertson hit an RBI single to left field scoring Leo Jiminez for a 13-1 lead. It was his third RBI of the game.
At the top of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Oscar Mercado hit an RBI single to left field scoring Justin Crawford. Buffalo now led 13-2. Next, Lehigh Valley catcher Garrett Stubbs hit an RBI single to left field scoring Gabriel Rincones Jr. Lehigh Valley trailed Buffalo 13-3.
That would be all for Lehigh Valley, as their four-game winning streak came to an end with a 13-3 loss to the Bisons. Lehigh Valley had eight errors, six hits, went 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base.
Lehigh Valley starter Wil Crowe lost his second game of the season. He pitched 3.2 innings, allowing seven hits, seven runs, six walks, and three strikeouts throwing 91 pitches, of which 48 were strikes. The win went to Buffalo starter Lazaro Estrada.
The IronPigs and Bisons wrap up the six-game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm.
