The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (9-6) concluded a six-game series on Sunday afternoon from Coca-Cola Park against the Rochester Red Wings (8-7). Tucker Davidson was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Riley Cornelio of Rochester.
At the top of the second inning, Rochester had a runner on second base when designated hitter Yohandy Morales hit an RBI single to center field. Andrew Pinckney scored for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a lineout by Zack Short ended the inning.
Rochester blew the game open at the top of the third inning. With the bases loaded, Abimelec Ortiz hit an RBI single to center field. Christian Franklin scored for a 2-0 lead. Next, Andrés Chaparro hit a two-run RBI double to right field. Harry Ford and Dylan Crews scored for a 4-0 lead.
A wild pitch by Lehigh Valley starter Tucker Davidson scored Abimelec Ortiz, making it 5-0. Two batters later with one out, Yohandy Morales hit an RBI single to center field. Chaparro scored for a 6-0 lead. That was it for Davidson; he was replaced by Jonathan Hernandez.
Davidson pitched 2.1 innings, allowing six hits, six runs, three walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 63 pitches, of which 38 were strikes. Hernandez gave up a hit to Phillip Glasser before striking out Zack Short and Christian Franklin to end the inning. Hernandez pitched 1.2 innings, with one walk and three strikeouts, throwing 21 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley catcher Paul McIntosh hit Cornelio’s sinker for a solo home run at 360 feet to left field. The IronPigs trailed the Red Wings 6-1, and the exit velocity off the bat was 110.4 mph.
Sergio Alcantara worked a four-pitch walk, but a pop-out by Steward Berroa, a flyout by Bryan De La Cruz, and Alcantara not getting back to first base in time ended the inning.
Trevor Richards was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the fifth inning. He struck out Andrés Chaparro, walked Andrew Pinckney, and struck out Yohandy Morales and Phillip Glasser to end the inning. Richards threw 20 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Richards pitched two innings, with one walk and five strikeouts, throwing 32 pitches, of which 20 were strikes. Kyle Backhus was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Backhus did not allow a hit and struck out one to get three outs, throwing 12 pitches, of which seven were strikes.
Moving to the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley started showing signs of life. Rochester pitcher Andre Granillo gave up a single to Felix Reyes with one out and walked Garrett Stubb, Christian Cairo, and Robert Moore to force in a run. Reyes scored, and the IronPigs trailed the Red Wings 6-2.
Julian Fernández replaced Granillo. Lehigh Valley catcher Paul McIntosh lined out to right field before Sergio Alcantara worked a four-pitch walk. Garrett Stubbs scored, and the IronPigs trailed the Red Wings 6-3. Steward Berroa was next up to bat. He worked a four-pitch walk to force in another run. Christian Cairo scored, and it was now 6-4. However, a groundout by Bryan De La Cruz ended the inning.
Kyle Backhus pitched two innings, allowing two hits and four strikeouts, throwing 29 pitches, of which 22 were strikes. Chase Shugart was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Shugart allowed one hit and struck out one, throwing five pitches to get three outs.
Lehigh Valley had one more chance to get back into the game in the bottom of the ninth inning. A flyout by Robert Moore, a strikeout by Paul McIntosh, and a flyout by Sergio Alcantara ended the game. The IronPigs lost to the Red Wings by the final score of 6-4. They lose the series four games to two.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with five hits, went 0 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Felix Reyes went 3 for 4 with a double. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Tucker Davidson, while the win went to Rochester pitcher Seth Shuman, and Jack Sinclair earned the save.
The IronPigs head to St. Paul, Minnesota, to begin a six-game series against the St. Paul Saints on Tuesday at 7:37 pm on the MLB App.
