The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (64-47, 18-19) and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (66-33, 28-9) played game five on Friday night from Coca-Cola Park. Mitch Neunborn (0-1, 4.15 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Sean Boyle (7-7, 4.32 ERA) of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Justin Crawford hit Boyle’s cutter for a solo home run at 375 feet to right-center field for a 1-0 lead. It was Crawford’s fourth home run of the season.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with outs. Catcher Payton Henry hit Boyle’s sweeper for a three-run home run at 401 feet to left field. The IronPigs extended its lead to 4-0. It was Henry’s ninth home run of the season and 37th RBI of the year.
At the top of the fourth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre center fielder Duke Ellis hit Neunborn’s slider for a solo home run at 382 feet to left-center field. Lehigh Valley’s lead was now 4-1. Lehigh Valley starter Mitch Neunborn pitched 3.2 innings. He allowed four hits, one run, five walks, and two strikeouts throwing 77 pitches, of which 43 were strikes.
At the top of the fifth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had the bases loaded. Right fielder Bryan De La Cruz grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but J.C. Escarra scored, and it was now 4-2.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Rodolfo Castro hit an RBI double to right field. Rafael Lantigua scored for a 5-2 lead. It was Castro’s 19th double of the year. At the top of the sixth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre second baseman Jorbit Vivas hit a sacrifice fly to center fielder Justin Crawford. Duke Ellis scored, and it was now 5-3.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Justin Crawford hit an RBI single to right field Robert Moore scored for a 6-3 lead. Later, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded for Brewer Hicklen. Hicklen worked a four-pitch walk, scoring Luis Verdugo for a 7-3 lead.
Second baseman Donovan Walton was up next. He hit an RBI single to shortstop Braden Shewmake. Walton beat the throw at first base, while Justin Crawford scored for an 8-3 lead. Next, shortstop Rodolfo Castro hit an RBI groundout to second baseman Jorbit Vivas. Rafael Lantigua scored for a 9-3 lead.
At the top of the seventh inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre designated hitter Jose Rojas hit Brett de Geus’s knuckle curve for a two-run home run at 370 feet to right field. The IronPigs led the RailRiders 9-5.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley designated hitter Rafael Lantigua hit an RBI single to shortstop Braden Shewmake. Shewmake bobbled the ball, and everyone was safe. Robert Moore scored for a 10-5 lead.
Lou Trivino pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He threw 15 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The IronPigs defeated the RailRiders 10-5.
Lehigh Valley’s offense finished the night with 11 hits, committed two errors, went 5 for 14 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. The bullpen pitched 4.4 innings, allowing six hits, three runs, two walks, and three strikeouts.
The win went to Lehigh Valley relief pitcher Michael Mercado. It was his fifth win of the season. He pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one run, two walks, and one strikeout throwing 30 pitches, of which 15 were strikes. The loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starter Sean Boyle.
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game six on Saturday at 6:35 pm.
