The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (22-27) and the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (25-22) played game four on Friday night at Coca-Cola Park. Bryse Wilson was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Carlos Lagrange of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The game was scoreless in the first two innings. At the top of the third inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on second and third base when Yanquiel Fernández grounded out to second base. Kenedy Corona scored for a 1-0. A wild pitch by Wilson allowed George Lombard Jr. to score for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, Wilson struck out Oswaldo Cabrera to retire the side.
In the bottom of the third inning, Steward Berroa and Felix Reyes hit singles with two outs. Bryan De La Cruz was next. He hit Lagrange’s slider for a three-run home run to left field to give the IronPigs a 3-2 lead. It was his eighth home run of the season. Lehigh Valley second baseman Liover Peguero hit an RBI triple to right field. Carter Kieboom struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the fourth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had the bases loaded with two outs when George Lombard Jr. hit a two-run RBI single to center field to give the RailRiders a 4-3 lead.
With two outs, Wilson struck out Yanquiel Fernández to retire the side. Bryse Wilson would go on to pitch five innings, allowing six hits, four runs, two walks, and six strikeouts, throwing 89 pitches, of which 61 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with one out when Carter Kieboom was hit by a pitch. Felix Reyes scored, and the game was tied 4-4. Christian Cairo followed by working a four-pitch walk, scoring Bryan De La Cruz for a 5-4 lead. Dylan Moore was called out on strikes for the second out, followed by a groundout from Caleb Ricketts, and the inning was over.
Zach Pop pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. Pop walked two batters and struck out one, throwing 25 pitches, of which 12 were strikes, to get three outs.
Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right fielder Yanquiel Fernández hit Holman’s splitter for a solo home run at 413 feet to right-center field, and the game was tied 5-5. It was his 13th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 111.1 mph. After the home run, Holman struck out the side. He allowed one hit, one run, and three strikeouts, throwing 17 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. Mercado put two runners on base with two outs before he was replaced by Seth Johnson. A flyout by George Lombard Jr. ended the inning. Mercado allowed a hit, hit a batter, and struck out, throwing 15 pitches, of which eight were strikes.
Seth Johnson pitched 1.1 innings, allowing one walk and one strikeout, throwing 24 pitches, of which 14 were strikes. Kirby Snead was the new pitcher for Lehigh Valley at the top of the tenth inning. Snead struck out, throwing 18 pitches, of which 10 were strikes, to get three outs.
In the bottom of the tenth inning, Dylan Carlson was on second base. Robert Moore moved him to third base with a groundout. With two outs, Christian Cairo hit the ball to shortstop. A fielding error by shortstop George Lombard Jr. allowed Carlson to score, and the IronPigs defeated the RailRiders 6-5.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with eight hits, committed one error, went 1 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Bryan De La Cruz went 2 for 4 with a home run, a walk, and three RBIs. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Kirby Snead (1-0), and the loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Danny Watson (3-2).
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game five on Saturday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App. Chuck King (1-4, 5.40 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Elmer Rodríguez (1-2, 1.38 ERA) of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
