The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (57-39, 11-11) played game two on Wednesday night against the Norfolk Tides (38-56, 8-13) from Coca-Cola Park. Gabe Mosser (3-3, 5.72 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Cameron Weston (2-5, 4.55 ERA) of Norfolk.
At the top of the first inning, Norfolk center fielder Dylan Beavers hit Mosser’s slider for a solo home run at 361 feet to right field for a 1-0 lead. It was his 12th home run of the season.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Justin Crawford hit Weston’s cutter for a solo home run at 381 feet to right field. The game was tied 1-1, and it was Crawford’s third home run of the season.
At the top of the second inning, Norfolk center fielder Dylan Beavers hit Mosser’s curveball for a three-run home run at 381 feet to right field, giving the Tides a 4-1 lead. It was his 13th home run of the season.
In the bottom of the second inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with two outs for Justin Crawford. Crawford hit an RBI soft ground ball to catcher Adley Rutschman. Gabriel Rincones Jr. scored, and the IronPigs trailed the Tides 4-2. It was Crawford’s 31st RBI of the season. Two batters later, the bases were loaded again for left fielder Cal Stevenson. He was called out on strikes.
At the top of the third inning, former IronPig and Norfolk third baseman Vimael Machín hit Mosser’s slider for a solo home run at 445 feet to right field. The Tides extended their lead 5-2. It was Machín’s 12th home run of the season. This was the last inning that Gabe Mosser pitched. He finished the game pitching three innings, allowing six hits, five runs, three walks, and six strikeouts throwing 77 pitches, of which 46 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley third baseman Rafael Lantigua hit Weston’s slider for a two-run home run at 362 feet to left field. The IronPigs trailed Tides 5-4. It was Lantigua’s fourth home run of the season and 33rd RBI of the year.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit Weston’s sinker for a two-run home run at 407 feet to right-center field. The IronPigs took a 6-5 lead. It was Rincones Jr.’s tenth home run of the season and 44th RBI of the year.
Lehigh Valley designated hitter Oscar Mercado was next. He hit Weston’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 372 feet to left-center field for a 7-5 lead. It was Mercado’s ninth home run of the year.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley designated hitter Oscar Mercado hit an RBI single to center field. Garrett Stubbs scored to make it 8-5. Norfolk right fielder Jordyn Adams deflected the ball. Gabriel Rincones Jr. went to third base and Oscar Mercado went to second base.
Then, Lehigh Valley second baseman Donovan Walton hit an RBI single to right field. Gabriel Rincones Jr. scored, and it was now 9-5. It was Walton’s 10th RBI of the season for the IronPigs, 47th overall RBI of the season.
Lehigh Valley added more insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Catcher Garrett Stubbs hit a two-run RBI single to right field. Rafael Lantigua and Matt Kroon scored for an 11-5 lead. It was Stubbs’s 39th RBI of the season.
Next, right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit an RBI single to left field. Keaton Anthony scored for a 12-5 lead. It was his 13th double of the season. Then, designated hitter Oscar Mercado hit a two-run RBI single to center field. Garrett Stubbs and Gabriel Rincones Jr. scored for a 14-5 lead.
Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. With runners on second and third base, Norfolk third baseman Vimael Machín hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Justin Crawford. Dylan Beavers scored and it was now 14-6.
With two outs, Mercado got designated hitter Heston Kjerstad to ground to first baseman Keaton Anthony for the final out of the game. The IronPigs defeated the Tides 14-6 for their second straight win.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 16 hits, went 7 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. The bullpen pitched six innings, allowing one hit, one run, five walks, and four strikeouts. Lehigh Valley designated hitter Oscar Mercado went 3 for 5 with two singles, a home run, and four RBIs. Justin Crawford went 2 for 4 with a single, a home run, and two RBIs.
The win went to Lehigh Valley relief pitcher Nicholas Padilla. It was his fourth win of the season. He pitched two innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and two strikeouts throwing 33 pitches, of which 22 were strikes. The loss went to Norfolk starter Cameron Weston.
The IronPigs and Tides play game three on Thursday at 7:05 pm.
