The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (84-56, 38-28) played game four on Friday night against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (82-57, 44-23) from PNC Field. Ryan Cusick (2-0, 7.20 ERA) was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Sean Boyle (8-9, 4.79 ERA) of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Oscar Mercado hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Aidan Miller scored for a 1-0 lead. It was Mercado’s 61st RBI of the season.
In the bottom of the second inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre first baseman T.J. Rumfield hit an RBI single to left field. Spencer Jones scored, and the game was tied 1-1. Next, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had the bases loaded. Shortstop Braden Shewmake was fouling off every pitch that Cusick threw. Cusick threw 14 pitches before walking Shewmake. The IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 2-1.
Next, second baseman Jorbit Vivas hit into a fielder’s choice. A fielding error by shortstop Rodolfo Castro scored Brennan Davis. The IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 3-1. Then, catcher J.C. Escarra hit a sacrifice fly to left fielder Brewer Hicklen.
Bryan De La Cruz scored, but the IronPigs were able to end the inning with a double play when Hicklen threw the ball to third baseman Rafael Lantigua to get Shewmake out. The IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 4-1. Ryan Cusick pitched 1.1 innings. He allowed three hits, four runs, three earned runs, one walk, and one strikeout throwing 41 pitches, of which 27 were strikes.
At the top of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley catcher Paul McIntosh hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Brewer Hicklen scored, and the IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 4-2. It was his fifth RBI of the season.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right fielder Bryan De La Cruz hit Seth Johnson’s slider for a solo home run at 420 feet to left-center field for a 5-2 lead. It was Cruz’s 13th home run of the season.
At the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Oscar Mercado hit an RBI single to right field. Rafael Lantigua scored, and the IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 5-3. Next, Lehigh Valley first baseman Christian Arroyo popped up to second baseman Jorbit Vivas. Vivas could not make the catch. Adian Miller and Oscar Mercado scored, and the game was tied 5-5.
Then, Lehigh Valley shortstop Rodolfo Castro hit an RBI double to left field. Christian Arroyo scored, and the IronPigs took a 6-5 lead. It was Castro’s 22nd double of the season.
Moving to the top of the ninth inning, Lehigh Valley left fielder Brewer Hicklen grounded into a forceout at second base. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre second baseman Jorbit Vivas overthrew first baseman T.J. Rumfield, and Aidan Miller scored for a 7-5 lead.
Next, shortstop Rodolfo Castro hit an RBI single to right field. Brewer Hicklen scored for an 8-5 lead. Then, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded. First baseman Luis Verdugo worked a four-pitch walk. Christian Arroyo scored for a 9-5 lead.
Devin Sweet pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. Sweet struck out two throwing 14 pitches, of which nine were strikes, as the IronPigs came back to beat the RailRiders 9-5. They now trail the RailRiders 5.5 games back for first place of the Second Half Division.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with eight hits, committed one error, went 3 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Oscar Mercado went 2 for 3 with a walk, a stolen base, and two RBIs, while Aidan Miller went 2 for 4 with a double, a hit by a pitch, and one stolen base.
The bullpen pitched 7.2 innings. They allowed three hits, one run, four walks, and 13 strikeouts. The win went to Lehigh Valley relief pitcher Seth Johnson. He pitched one inning, allowing two hits, one run, and two strikeouts throwing 12 pitches, of which 10 were strikes. The loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre relief pitcher Bailey Dees.
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game five on Saturday at 4:05 pm.
