The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (62-43, 16-15) played game five on Saturday afternoon against the Worcester Red Sox (54-52, 13-19) at Polar Park. Nabil Crismatt (5-6, 4.20 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Connelly Early (0-0, 0.00 ERA) of Worcester.
The game was scoreless for the first five innings. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Worcester center fielder Jhostynxon Garcia hit Crismatt’s changeup for a solo home run to left-center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Garcia’s 14th home run of the season.
Next, second baseman Mikey Romero grounded to first baseman Keaton Anthony. Anthony threw the ball to shortstop Rodolfo Castro to get Vaughn Grissom out at second base. Then, Castro threw the ball wide to Anthony, and Kristian Campbell scored for a 2-0 lead.
Lehigh Valley starter Nabil Crismatt pitched six innings. He allowed six hits, two runs, two walks, and four strikeouts throwing 92 pitches, of which 58 were strikes.
Moving to the top of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners with two outs. Shortstop Rodolfo Castro hit Hobie Harris’s splitter for a three-run home run at 376 feet to left field. The IronPigs took a 3-2 lead. It was Castro’s 12th home run of the season.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Worcester shortstop Vaughn Grissom hit Guillo Zuñiga’s slider for a solo home run at 354 feet to left field. The game was tied 3-3. It was Grissom’s 13th home run of the season. The game went to extra innings.
At the top of the tenth inning, Lehigh Valley first baseman Keaton Anthony reached first base on a fielding error by Worcester first baseman Nick Sogard. Johan Rojas scored, giving the IronPigs a 4-3 lead.
Nolan Hoffman pitched in the bottom of the tenth inning. He walked Vaughn Grissom with two outs. Finally, Hoffman got Nate Evans to ground out to shortstop Rodolfo Castro for the final out of the game. The IronPigs defeated the Red Sox 4-3.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with nine hits, committed one error, went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. The bullpen pitched four innings, allowing three hits, one run, one walk, and five strikeouts. The win went to Lehigh Valley relief pitcher Nolan Hoffman for his third win of the season. He pitched two innings, allowing one hit, one walk, and three strikeouts. The loss went to Worcester relief pitcher Isaiah Campbell.
The IronPigs and Red Sox concluded the six-game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm.
