The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (81-54, 35-26) and the Toledo Mud Hens (75-62, 36-26) played game five on Saturday night from Coca-Cola Park. Walker Buehler (0-0, 0.00 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jose Urquidy (1-1, 4.30 ERA) of Toledo.
At the top of the first inning, Toledo second baseman Hao-Yu Lee hit Buehler’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 367 feet to right field for a 1-0 lead. It was Lee’s 14th home run of the season.
At the top of the second inning, Toledo center fielder Akil Baddoo hit an RBI single to second baseman Donovan Walton. Andrew Navigato scored for a 2-0 lead.
Lehigh Valley starter Walker Buehler pitched three innings. He allowed five hits, two runs, three walks, and five strikeouts throwing 78 pitches, of which 47 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley catcher Payton Henry hit an RBI single to center field. Oscar Mercado scored, and the IronPigs trailed the Mud Hens 2-1. It was Henry’s 44th RBI of the season.
Moving to the bottom of the sixth inning, Otto Kemp reached first base on a fielder’s choice to Toledo shortstop Trei Cruz made a throwing error. Rodolfo Castro and Johan Rojas scored to put the IronPigs up 3-2. Next, Toledo relief pitcher Brant Hurter threw a wild pitch, and Otto Kemp scored for a 4-2 lead. Then, right fielder Oscar Mercado hit an RBI single to center field. Christian Arroyo scored for a 5-2 lead.
At the top of the seventh inning, Toledo right fielder Riley Unroe hit a two-run single to right field. Gage Workman and Trei Cruz scored, but Andrew Navigato was out at home plate. Lehigh Valley’s lead was now 5-4.
Moving to the top of the ninth inning, Nolan Hoffman pitched for Lehigh Valley. Hoffman allowed one hit and one strikeout. The game ended when Toledo shortstop Trei Cruz grounded into a 6-4-3 double play. It was Hoffman’s fourth save of the season. The IronPigs defeated the Mud Hens 5-4 to take the series 4 of 5 from the Mud Hens with one game left to play.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with seven hits, committed one error, went 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. Rafael Lantigua went 2 for 3 with one RBI. The bullpen pitched 5.3 innings, allowing five hits, two runs, three walks, and five strikeouts.
The win went to Lehigh Valley relief pitcher Seth Johnson. He pitched 1.2 innings, allowing two hits, two runs, three walks, and one strikeout throwing 36 pitches, of which 19 were strikes. The loss went to Toledo relief pitcher Brant Hurter.
The IronPigs and Mud Hens conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 1:35 pm.
