The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (55-39, 9-11) concluded the three-game series on Sunday afternoon from Coca-Cola Park against the Rochester Red Wings (36-57, 9-12). Alan Rangel (5-2, 4.82 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Shinnosuke Ogasawara (1-1, 4.80 ERA) of Rochester.
At the top of the third inning, Rochester catcher Francisco Mejía hit Rangel’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 380 feet to right-center field for a 1-0 lead. It was his first home run of the season. Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Rochester first baseman Yohandy Morales hit an RBI single to shortstop Rodolfo Castro, scoring Trey Lipscomb for a 2-0 lead.
After the bottom of the fifth inning, rain began to fall at Coca-Cola Park, leading to a rain delay. The delay lasted over 30 minutes. Alan Rangel finished the game pitching five innings, allowing four hits, two runs, three walks, and six strikeouts throwing 79 pitches, of which 52 were strikes.
Brett de Geus replaced Rangel as the new Lehigh Valley pitcher. He pitched one inning, allowing one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts throwing 16 pitches, of which 11 were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Rochester second baseman José Tena hit Lucas Sims’s cutter for an RBI double to center field scoring Darren Baker for a 3-0 lead. At the top of the eighth inning, Rochester third baseman Trey Lipscomb hit Nicholas Padilla’s sweeper for a solo home run at 407 feet to left field for a 4-0 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season.
At the top of the ninth inning, Rochester had the bases loaded when Lehigh Valley pitcher Phil Bickford was called for a balk, and Darren Baker scored for a 5-0 lead. Next, a groundout by José Tena scored Robert Hassell III for a 6-0 lead. Andrew Pinckney and Trey Lipscomb would hit RBI doubles to extend Rochester’s lead to 8-0.
Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the ninth inning. Third baseman Rafael Lantigua grounded into a 6-4-3 game-ending double play. Lehigh Valley was shut out by the Rochester Red Wings 8-0. Rochester takes 2 of 3 from Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley’s offense struggled in this game with seven hits, committed one error, went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Alan Rangel. It was his third loss of the season, and the win went to Rochester starter Shinnosuke Ogasawara.
The IronPigs continue their homestand on Tuesday when they begin a six-game series against the Norfolk Tides at 12:05 pm.
