The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (27-30) concluded the six-game series against the Buffalo Bisons (27-30) on Sunday afternoon at Sahlen Field. Alan Rangel was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Max Scherzer of Buffalo.
The game was scoreless in the first two and a half innings. In the bottom of the third inning, Buffalo had a runner on third base when R.J. Schreck hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Rafael Lantigua for a 1-0 lead. Schreck stole second base before Willie MacIver hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Schreck for a 2-0 lead. Josh Kasevich followed up by hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring MacIver for a 3-0 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Je’Von Ward to center fielder Dylan Carlson ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when Bryan De La Cruz hit a two-run RBI double to right field. Liover Peguero and Christian Cairo scored, and the IronPigs cut the deficit to 3-2. A sacrifice fly by Caleb Ricketts scored Cruz, and the game was tied 3-3. With two outs, a flyout by Felix Reyes ended the inning.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Buffalo had runners on first and second base when Willie MacIver hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Davis Schneider for a 4-3 lead. Josh Kasevich followed up by hitting a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring R.J. Schreck for a 5-3 lead.
Alan Rangel was replaced by Kirby Snead. With two outs, a groundout by Riley Tirotta ended the inning. Alan Rangel pitched 4.2 innings, allowing six hits, five runs, three walks, and seven strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 53 were strikes.
At the top of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when Bryan De La Cruz hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Gabriel Rincones Jr., and the IronPigs trailed the Bisons 5-4. With two outs, Caleb Ricketts struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Kolby Snead pitched 1.1 innings, allowing three walks and one strikeout, throwing 31 pitches, of which 14 were strikes. Moving to the top of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when second baseman Liover Peguero hit Conor Larkin’s curveball for a grand slam at 344 feet to left field to give the IronPigs an 8-5 lead. It was his first home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 93.1 mph. With two outs, a bunt groundout by Christian Cairo ended the inning.
Andrew Bechtold pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He allowed two walks and struck out one, throwing 24 pitches, of which 12 were strikes, to get three outs. Seth Johnson pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning.
In the bottom of the ninth inning with one out, Josh Kasevich grounded into a game-ending 6-4-3 double play. Johnson allowed two walks and struck out two, throwing 38 pitches, of which 21 were strikes, to get the final six outs of the game.
The IronPigs defeated the Bisons 8-5. They take four of six from Buffalo. Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with five hits, went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Liover Peguero went 1 for 2 with three walks, a stolen base, a home run, and four RBIs. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Kirby Snead (2-0), while Seth Johnson earned his fifth save of the season, and the loss went to Buffalo pitcher Michael Plassmeyer (3-1).
The IronPigs return to Coca-Cola Park on Tuesday to begin a six-game homestand against the Rochester Red Wings at 6:45 pm on the MLB App.
