The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (9-5) played game five at Coca-Cola Park on Saturday night against the Rochester Red Wings (7-7). Ryan Cusick was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Andry Lara of Rochester.
The game was scoreless in the first two innings until the top of the third inning. Rochester had a runner on second base when designated hitter Abimelec Ortiz hit a sharp line drive RBI single to right field. Dylan Crews scored to put the Red Wings up 1-0.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had a chance to tie the game with Oscar Mercado at third base and Steward Berroa at second base with two outs. However, they were unable to capitalize on the opportunity when Bryan De La Cruz grounded out to third baseman Yohandy Morales, and the inning was over.
Lehigh Valley starter Ryan Cusick pitched five innings, allowing three hits, one run, three walks, and six strikeouts, throwing 84 pitches, of which 47 were strikes. Andrew Walling was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Rochester first baseman Andrés Chaparro hit Walling’s cutter for a solo home run at 389 feet to left field for a 2-0 lead. It was Chaparro’s first home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 109.9 mph.
After striking out Riley Adams, the inning should’ve been over, but Lehigh Valley first baseman Liover Peguero could not make the catch on a pop-up by Yohandy Morales. Rochester shortstop Trey Lipscomb hit a single to right field to move Morales to second base. Walling struck out Phillip Glasser, and the inning was over. He threw 23 pitches, of which 16 were strikes.
Génesis Cabrera was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. He got hit by a line drive single from Christian Franklin and stayed in the game. Rochester had runners on first and second base when Dylan Crews hit an RBI double to center field. Christian Franklin scored for a 3-0 lead with nobody out. Next, Abimelec Ortiz grounded out to first baseman Liover Peguero, but Robert Hassell III scored for a 4-0 lead.
That was it for Cabrera. He threw 17 pitches, of which nine were strikes. Lou Trivino replaced Cabrera. Trivino threw a wild pitch to score Dylan Crews that made it 5-0. Trivino struck out Andrés Chaparro, and a lineout by Riley Adams ended the inning. Trivino pitched 1.2 innings with three strikeouts, throwing 16 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Seth Johnson was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Johnson walked one batter and two strikeouts, throwing 18 pitches, of which 13 were strikes, to get three outs.
Lehigh Valley’s offense struggled with three hits throughout the game and was shut out by the Rochester Red Wings 5-0. They committed one error, went 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Ryan Cusick, and the win went to Rochester starter Andry Lara.
The IronPigs and Red Wings conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 1:15 pm on the MLB App. Tucker Davidson (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Riley Cornelio (1-0, 2.89 ERA) of Rochester.
