The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (26-30) and the Buffalo Bisons (27-29) played game five on Saturday afternoon from Sahlen Field. Brian Keller was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Grant Rogers of Buffalo.
The game was scoreless in the first two and a half innings. In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley starter Brian Keller gave up a base hit before he was replaced by Ryan Cusick.
Cusick loaded the bases before Buffalo center fielder R.J. Schreck hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Ryan McCarty to give the Bisons a 1-0 lead. Josh Kasevich grounded into an inning-ending 5-4-3 double play.
Lehigh Valley starter Brian Keller pitched two innings, allowing two hits, one run, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 45 pitches, of which 26 were strikes.
Moving to the bottom of the fifth inning, Buffalo had runners on second and third base when R.J. Schreck hit a two-run RBI single to left field. Carlos Mendoza and Jonatan Clase scored to extend Buffalo’s lead to 3-0. With two outs, a flyout by Josh Kasevich ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Buffalo catcher William Simoneit hit Cusick’s slider for a solo home run at 388 feet to center field for a 4-0 lead. It was his fourth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.4 mph. With two outs, Carlos Mendoza struck out on a foul tip, and the inning was over.
Ryan Cusick went four innings, allowing six hits, three runs, two walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 79 pitches, of which 50 were strikes. John McMillon pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. With two outs, Davis Schneider was caught stealing second base, and the inning was over. McMillon allowed two walks and struck out one, throwing 18 pitches, of which six were strikes.
At the top of the eighth inning, Robert Moore and Dylan Carlson hit singles, and Gabriel Rincones Jr. worked a four-pitch walk to load the bases for Lehigh Valley. Liover Peguero followed up by hitting an RBI double to left field. Moore and Carlson scored, and the IronPigs cut the deficit to 4-2.
After a pitching change, Christian Cairo hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Rincones Jr., and it was now 4-3. Carter Kieboom followed up by hitting Chase Lee’s sinker for a two-run home run at 367 feet to left field to give the IronPigs a 5-4 lead. It was his fourth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 103.5 mph. With two outs, Dylan Moore struck swinging, and the inning was over.
Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. With two outs, Josh Rivera hit Mercado’s sinker for a solo home run at 412 feet to center field, and the game was tied 5-5. It was his seventh home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 105 mph. Je’Von Ward followed up by hitting Mercado’s splitter for a solo home run at 393 feet to right field to put the Bisons back up 6-5.
It was his fifth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 109.7 mph. A flyout by Carlos Mendoza ended the inning. Mercado allowed two hits and two runs, throwing 18 pitches, of which eight were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Dylan Carlson hit a single to right field with two outs. Felix Reyes grounded into a forceout at second base, and the game was over. Lehigh Valley’s three-game winning streak came to an end with a 6-5 loss.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with 10 hits, 2 for 5 with runners in scoring position, and left six men on base. Liover Peguero went 3 for 4 with a double and two RBIs. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Michael Mercado (2-2), and the win went to Buffalo pitcher Chase Lee (1-1).
The IronPigs and Bisons conclude the six-game series on Sunday at 1:05 pm on the MLB App. Neither team has yet to name a starter for Sunday.
