The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (19-22) played game two against the Rochester Red Wings (22-19) from ESL Ballpark on Wednesday night. Ryan Cusick was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Andry Lara of Rochester.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base when Carter Kieboom hit an RBI single to right field. Steward Berroa scored for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Dylan Moore ended the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning, Rochester had a runner on first base when Dylan Crews hit Cusick’s slider for a two-run home run at 377 feet to center field to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 103.6 mph. With two outs, a groundout by Abimelec Ortiz ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley did some damage at the top of the second inning. Christian Cairo worked a four-pitch walk and later stole second base. Caleb Ricketts hit a single to move Cairo to third base. Third baseman Robert Moore hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Cairo, and the game was tied 2-2. Center fielder Steward Berroa hit an RBI ground-rule double to right field. Caleb Ricketts scored to give the IronPigs a 3-2 lead.
Lehigh Valley right fielder Dylan Carlson hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Robert Moore for a 4-2 lead. A groundout by Otto Kemp scored Steward Berroa for a 5-2 lead. Later, the bases were loaded when Christian Cairo worked a four-pitch walk, scoring Dylan Carlson for a 6-2 lead. Caleb Ricketts followed up by working a four-pitch walk, scoring Bryan De La Cruz for a 7-2 lead. With two outs, Robert Moore struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the second inning, Rochester had runners on first and second base when Harry Ford hit an RBI single to right field. Levi Jordan scored, and it was now 7-3. With two outs, a flyout by Dylan Crews ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Ryan Cusick pitched two innings, allowing three hits, three runs, three walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 55 pitches, of which 30 were strikes.
Genesis Cabrera was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the third inning. Rochester first baseman Yohandy Morales hit Cabrera’s sinker for a solo home run at 412 feet to center field, and the Red Wings cut the deficit to 7-4. It was his eighth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 99.2 mph.
Cabrera walked Andrés Chaparro and Robert Hassell III with one out. Trey Lipscomb followed up by hitting an RBI single to center field. Chaparro scored, and it was now 7-5. Levi Jordan hit a single, and the bases were loaded for Christian Franklin. Franklin hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Hassell III, and it was now 7-6.
Rochester catcher Harry Ford hit with a two-run RBI double to center field to give the Red Wings an 8-7 lead. Dylan Crews followed up by hitting a two-run RBI double to second base. Christian Franklin and Harry Ford scored for a 10-7 lead.
Genesis Cabrera was replaced by Jonathan Hernandez. Yohandy Morales followed up by hitting Hernandez’s slider for a two-run home run at 394 feet to right field for a 12-7 lead. It was his ninth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 101.3 mph. Genesis Cabrera allowed six hits, eight runs, two walks, and one strikeout, throwing 35 pitches, of which 19 were strikes. With two outs, Hernandez struck out Robert Hassell III, and the inning was finally over.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Rochester shortstop Trey Lipscomb hit Hernandez’s sinker for a solo home run at 402 feet to center field for a 13-7 lead. It was his second home run of the game, sixth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 100.6 mph.
After putting two more runners on base, Hernandez was able to get out of the jam by getting Harry Ford to line out to shortstop Christian Cairo, and Dylan Crews grounded into a 4-6-3 inning-ending double play. Hernandez pitched 1.2 innings, allowing three hits, two runs, one walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 35 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
Max Lazar was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lazar allowed a hit and one strikeout, throwing 14 pitches, of which nine were strikes, to get three outs. Lazar would pitch two innings, allowing two hits and two strikeouts, throwing 33 pitches, of which 20 were strikes.
At the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Steward Berroa hit a two-run RBI single to left field. Dylan Moore and Christian Cairo scored, and it was now 13-9. A flyout by Dylan Carlson ended the inning.
John McMillon was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He struck out one, throwing 14 pitches, of which 10 were strikes, to get three outs. Levi Stoudt pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. He struck out one, throwing 13 pitches, of which seven were strikes, to get three outs.
At the top of the ninth inning, Christian Cairo hit a single to right field, and it led to a Rochester pitching change. Erik Tolman was the new pitcher for Rochester. Two batters later, with one out, Robert Moore hit an RBI single to center field. Christian Cairo scored, and it was now 13-10.
Dylan Carlson followed up with an RBI single to right field, scoring Robert Moore, and it was now 13-11. A flyout by Otto Kemp ended the game. The IronPigs lost to the Red Wings by the final score of 13-11. It is Lehigh Valley’s third consecutive loss.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 12 hits, committed two errors, went 8 for 16 with runners in scoring position, and left 10 men on base. Christian Cairo went 2 for 2 with three walks, an RBI, and two stolen bases. Steward Berroa went 3 for 6 with three RBIs.
The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Genesis Cabrera (1-2), and the win went to Rochester pitcher Jack Sinclair (2-0).
The IronPigs and Red Wings play game three on Thursday at 6:05 pm on the MLB App. Tucker Davidson (2-1, 5.27 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Andrew Alvarez (2-1, 5.29 ERA) of Rochester.
