After rain postponed Saturday’s game, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (16-11) concluded the six-game series on Sunday with a doubleheader against the Durham Bulls (9-18) from Coca-Cola Park. In game one, Tucker Davidson was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Logan Workman of Durham.
Lehigh Valley’s offense went to work in the bottom of the first inning. Center fielder Steward Berroa hit a single to right field, followed by Otto Kemp getting hit by a pitch. With one out, shortstop Liover Peguero hit a sharp groundball RBI single to shortstop Carson Williams. The ball was deflected by second baseman Gavin Lux, and Berroa scored for a 1-0 lead.
Left fielder Christian Cairo hit Workman’s changeup for a three-run home run at 389 feet to left field for a 4-0 lead. It was Cairo’s second home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 101.9 mph. Carter Kieboom hit a single to right field before Robert Moore popped out to third base, and Paul McIntosh struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Steward Berroa hit a sacrifice fly to center field. Paul McIntosh scored for a 5-0 lead. Third baseman Otto Kemp followed up with an RBI double to center field. Cade Fergus scored for a 6-0 lead. It was Kemp’s second double of the season. With one out, a flyout by Bryan De La Cruz, and the inning was over after Liover Peguero struck out swinging.
Lehigh Valley starter Tucker Davidson was sharp. He pitched six innings, allowing four hits, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 85 pitches, of which 55 were strikes.
Jonathan Bowlan was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Bowlan struck out two, throwing 16 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The IronPigs pitched a combined shutout to defeat the Bulls 6-0.
Lehigh Valley finished game one with seven hits, 3 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Christian Cairo went 2 for 3 with a home run and three RBIs, while Otto Kemp went 1 for 2 with a double, a walk, a hit by a pitch, a stolen base, and an RBI.
The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Tucker Davidson (1-1), and the loss went to Durham starter Logan Workman (1-1).
In game two, Jean Cabrera was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Alex Cook of Durham.
At the top of the second inning, Durham had a runner on first base when catcher Dom Keegan hit Cabrera’s sinker for a two-run home run at 346 feet to right field to give the Bulls a 2-0 lead. It was Keegan’s second home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 97.8 mph. With one out, Cabrera struck out Justyn-Henry Malloy, and a pop-out by Blake Sabol ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners with one out. Center fielder Steward Berroa hit Luis Guerrero’s cutter for a three-run home run at 391 feet to right field for a 3-2 lead. It was Berroa’s third home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.7 mph.
Jean Cabrera pitched five innings, allowing two hits, two runs, three walks, and four strikeouts, throwing 77 pitches, of which 46 were strikes. Seth Johnson was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. Johnson allowed a hit, throwing 17 pitches, of which 12 were strikes, to get three outs.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley picked up an insurance run. They had runners on first and second base when Liover Peguero hit an RBI single to center field. Christian Cairo scored for a 4-2 lead. Later, Peguero stole second base. With two outs, Sergio Alcantara struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Trevor Richards was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Richards struck out Logan Davidson, got Tatem Levins to line out to center field, and Justyn-Henry Malloy grounded out to third base, and the game was over. The IronPigs completed the doubleheader sweep with a 4-2 win. They win the series 5-1.
Lehigh Valley finished game two with seven hits, committed one error, went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Steward Berroa went 1 for 2 with a home run, a walk, and three RBIs, while Liover Peguero went 3 for 3 with a double, an RBI, and a stolen base.
The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Jean Cabrera (1-1), while Trevor Richards earned the save (1), and the loss went to Durham pitcher Luis Guerrero (1-2).
The IronPigs will be on the road against the Syracuse Mets starting on Tuesday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App.
