The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (11-10) concluded the six-game series against the St. Paul Saints (9-11) on Sunday afternoon at CHS Field. Tucker Davidson was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against John Klein of St. Paul.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley second baseman Sergio Alcantara hit a single, and center fielder Steward Berroa hit a double to right field. Bryan De La Cruz followed up with a groundout to shortstop Kaelen Culpepper. Culpepper threw the ball to first baseman Eric Wagaman, and Alcantara scored for a 1-0 lead. A flyout by Liover Peguero and a lineout by Garrett Stubbs ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, St. Paul had a runner on third base with two outs, when Gabriel Gonzalez reached first base on a fielding error by shortstop Christian Cairo. Kaelen Culpepper scored, and the game was tied 1-1. Two batters later, Orlando Arcia grounded into a forceout at second base to end the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Sergio Alcantara hit Klein’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 363 feet to center field to give the IronPigs a 2-1 lead. It was Alcantara’s first home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.3 mph.
The game got out of hand in the bottom of the third inning. Lehigh Valley starter Tucker Davidson gave up a single to Walker Jenkins, a double to Gabriel Gonzalez, and walked Emmanuel Rodriguez to load the bases with one out.
Orlando Arcia cleared the bases with a three-run RBI double to left field that made it 4-2. Kyler Fedko followed up with an RBI double to left field, bringing home Arcia for a 5-2 lead. Then, Eric Wagaman hit a two-run home run to left-center field for a 7-2 lead.
A pop-out by Noah Cardenas and a groundout from Kaelen Culpepper ended the inning. Tucker Davidson pitched three innings, allowing seven hits, six runs, three walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 75 pitches, of which 46 were strikes.
At the top of the fourth inning, Christian Cairo and Carter Kieboom hit back-to-back singles. Two batters later, with two outs, Lehigh Valley catcher Paul McIntosh hit a two-run RBI double off the wall at center field. Both Cairo and Kieboom scored, and the IronPigs cut the deficit to 7-4. Sergio Alcantara struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Andrew Walling was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the fourth inning. St. Paul third baseman Royce Lewis hit Walling’s cutter for a solo home run at 395 feet to left field for an 8-4 lead. It was his second home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 106.4 mph. Walker Jenkins and Gabriel Gonzales grounded out, and Emmanuel Rodriguez struck out swinging to end the inning. Walling allowed a hit, one run, and one strikeout, throwing 13 pitches, of which nine were strikes.
John McMillon was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning. He struck out two, throwing 17 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get three outs. At the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with two outs. They were unable to capitalize when Sergio Alcantara grounded into a forceout at second base.
Colin Peluse was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Peluse walked one and struck out one, throwing 16 pitches, of which eight were strikes, to get three outs. Peluse would pitch one more inning. He allowed one hit, two walks, and one strikeout, throwing 35 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
At the top of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley left fielder Garrett Stubbs hit John Brebbia’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 385 feet to right field. The IronPigs trailed the Saints 8-5. It was Stubbs’s third home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.8 mph.
Two batters later with one out, Carter Kieboom hit a single to center field. Robert Moore followed up by hitting Brebbia’s sinker for a two-run home run at 372 feet to right field. The IronPigs trailed the Saints 8-7. It was Moore’s third home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.6 mph.
Then, Sergio Alcantara hit Brebbia’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 405 feet to right field, and the game was tied 8-8. It was Alcantara’s second home run of the day, second home run of the year, and the exit velocity off the bat was 105.9 mph. Steward Berroa hit a double to center field, but Bryan De La Cruz popped out to second base, and the inning was over.
Génesis Cabrera was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. St. Paul first baseman Eric Wagaman hit a triple to right field. Two batters later, St. Paul shortstop Kaelen Culpepper hit an RBI single to left field. Wagaman scored to give the Saints a 9-8 lead. Cabrera loaded the bases with two outs.
Emmanuel Rodriguez cleared the bases with a three-run double to right field that made it 12-8. Cabrera struck out Orlando Arcia to end the inning. Cabrera allowed four hits, four runs, one walk, and one strikeout, throwing 35 pitches, of which 21 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Christian Cairo hit a single to right field with two outs. A groundout by Carter Kieboom ended the game. The IronPigs lost the series finale to the Saints by the final score of 12-8. They lose the series 4-2.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with 16 hits, committed three errors, went 1 for 12 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Sergio Alcantara went 3 for 5 with two home runs, a single, and two RBIs. Robert Moore went 1 for 4 with a home run and two RBIs.
The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Génesis Cabrera (0-1), and the win went to St. Paul pitcher Zak Kent (1-0).
The IronPigs return to Coca-Cola Park to begin a six-game series against the Durham Bulls starting on Tuesday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App.
