The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (20-26) returned to Coca-Cola Park on Tuesday night to begin a six-game homestand against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (24-20). Levi Stoudt was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Brendan Beck of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Before the game, the Philadelphia Phillies made several moves. They recalled INF/OF Otto Kemp and sent INF Felix Reyes to Lehigh Valley. The Phillies also released pitchers Genesis Cabrera, Lenny Torres Jr., and Jonathan Hernandez.
Lehigh Valley starter Levi Stoudt pitched one inning. He allowed a hit and struck out two, throwing 15 pitches, of which 11 were strikes. Ryan Cusick pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the second inning.
At the top of the third inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on second base when Yanquiel Fernández hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Duke Ellis to give the RailRiders a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a lineout by Oswaldo Cabrera ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley left fielder Dylan Carlson hit Beck’s curveball for a solo home run at 353 feet to right field, and the game was tied 1-1. It was Carlson’s third home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 97.5 mph.
At the top of the fifth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on second base when Max Lazar replaced Ryan Cusick. Cusick pitched three innings, allowing four hits, two runs, one walk, and one strikeout, throwing 49 pitches, of which 30 were strikes. Duke Ellis hit a sacrifice bunt to Lazar. A throwing error by Lazar allowed Jonathan Ornelas to score for a 2-1 lead.
Later, Yanquiel Fernández hit Lazar’s splitter for a two-run home run at 401 feet to right field for a 4-1 lead. It was his 10th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 107.2 mph. A groundout by Oswaldo Cabrera ended the inning. Lazar allowed a hit, three runs, one walk, and one strikeout, throwing 31 pitches, of which 22 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Sergio Alcantara hit an RBI single to right field. Dylan Moore scored, and the IronPigs cut the deficit to 4-2. Later, Felix Reyes hit a sacrifice fly to right field. Carter Kieboom scored, and it was now 4-3. With two outs, a pop-out by Dylan Carlson ended the inning.
Daniel Harper pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on first and second base when Jonathan Ornelas hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Ali Sanchez for a 5-3 lead.
Two batters later, George Lombard Jr. hit a two-run RBI single to right field. Jonathan Ornelas and Duke Ellis scored for a 7-3 lead. A groundout by Yanquiel Fernández ended the inning. Harper allowed two hits, two runs, and one walk, throwing 25 pitches, of which 17 were strikes.
Zach Pop pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. With the bases loaded and one out, Ernesto Martinez Jr. hit a sacrifice fly to left field. Oswaldo Cabrera scored, and it was now 8-3. A flyout by Duke Ellis ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Sergio Alcantara hit a double with one out. Lehigh Valley center fielder Steward Berroa hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Alcantara, and the IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 8-4. With two outs, a flyout by Felix Reyes ended the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on first and second base when Oswaldo Cabrera hit Pop’s cutter for a three-run home run at 397 feet to right field for an 11-4 lead. It was Cabrera’s fourth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 100.5 mph. That was it for Pop. He pitched 1.1 innings, allowing five hits, four runs, one walk, and one strikeout, throwing 38 pitches, of which 27 were strikes.
Grant Holman was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley. Three pitches in, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre first baseman Seth Brown hit Holman’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 403 feet to right field for a 12-4 lead. It was Brown’s seventh home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 101 mph.
At the top of the ninth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on second and third base when Yanquiel Fernández hit Holman’s four-seam fastball for a three-run home run at 374 feet to right field for a 15-4 lead. It was his second home run of the night, eleventh home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 98.7 mph. Holman gave up two hits before he was replaced by John McMillon. With two outs, a lineout by Ali Sánchez ended the inning.
Grant Holman pitched 1.1 innings, allowing five hits, four runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 39 pitches, of which 27 were strikes. McMillon threw five pitches, of which three were strikes, to get the final out of the inning.
Lehigh Valley would go on to lose the series opener by the final score of 15-4. They finished the night with eight hits, committed three errors, went 2 for 3 with runners in scoring position, and left four men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Ryan Cusick (0-4), and the win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Yerry De los Santos.
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game two tomorrow at 11 am on the MLB App. Tucker Davidson (2-1, 5.54 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Adam Kloffenstein (1-1, 4.55 ERA) of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
