The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (4-0) started its first road trip of the season on Tuesday night to begin a six-game series against the Durham Bulls (0-4) from Durham Bulls Athletic Park. Jean Cabrera was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against K.C. Hunt of Durham.
Lehigh Valley’s offense did not waste time at the top of the first inning. With runners on first and second base, designated hitter Carter Kieboom hit an RBI single to center field. Pedro Leon scored for a 1-0 lead. Next, first baseman Caleb Ricketts hit a fly ball to left field for an RBI double. Felix Reyes scored, and Carter Kieboom tried to run to third base, but got caught. Lehigh Valley extended its lead to 2-0. The IronPigs did not add any more runs in the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Durham had a runner on first base with one out when second baseman Logan Davidson hit Cabrera’s slider for an RBI double. Raynel Delgado scored, and Lehigh Valley’s lead was now 2-1. A groundout by Edward Olivares and Cabrera struck out Carlos Colmenarez to end the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with one out when third baseman Christian Cairo hit a ground ball RBI double to Durham shortstop Raynel Delgado. Delgado deflected it to left field, allowing Bryan De La Cruz to score for a 3-1 lead. With runners on second and third base, Lehigh Valley could not add any more runs as second baseman Liover Peguero struck out, and a flyout by catcher Rene Pinto ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley third baseman Christian Cairo worked a four-pitch walk. With two outs, second baseman Liover Peguero hit a line drive RBI double to left field. Cairo scored for a 4-1 lead. A groundout by Rene Pinto ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Jean Cabrera got two outs and walked Carlos Colmenarez before his night came to an end. Andrew Walling replaced Cabrera, and Walling got Tre’ Morgan to line out to center fielder Pedro Leon for the final out of the inning. Jean Cabrera finished night pitching 4.2 innings, allowing five hits, one run, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 84 pitches, of which 52 were strikes.
Orion Kerkering was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. He got Justyn-Henry Malloy to ground out for the first out before giving up a double to Jacob Melton. Next, Durham catcher Dom Keegan hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Melton, and Lehigh Valley’s lead was down to 4-2. Kerkering would get a groundout from Raynel Delgado and struck out Logan Davidson with a four-seam fastball to end the inning.
Trevor Richards pitched the next two innings for Lehigh Valley. He did not allow a hit and struck out four batters, throwing 32 pitches, of which 21 were strikes. Seth Johnson pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. Johnson got the first out when Dom Keegan grounded out to second base. Then, he gave up a soft ground ball single to Raynel Delgado and hit Logan Davidson to put runners on first and second base.
Both runners would steal a base during Edward Olivares at-bat. Johnson walked Olivares to load the bases. Pinch hitter Blake Sabol grounded into a forceout at third base. Raynel Delgado scored, and Lehigh Valley’s lead was down to 4-3. Durham center fielder Victor Mesa Jr. was up to bat. With the count 2-2, Johnson struck out Mesa Jr. with a four-seam fastball to end the game.
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs defeated the Durham Bulls by the final score of 4-3. For the first time in franchise history, they start the season 4-0. Lehigh Valley finished the night with eight hits, 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base.
Lehigh Valley second baseman Christian Cairo went 2 for 2 with a double, two walks, an RBI, and a stolen base. Designated hitter Carter Kieboom went 2 for 5 with two singles and one RBI. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Trevor Richards, and the loss went to Durham starter K.C. Hunt.
The IronPigs and Bulls continue the six-game series on Wednesday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App. Bryse Wilson will take the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jesse Scholtens of Durham.
