The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (27-31) returned to Coca-Cola Park on Tuesday night to begin a six-game homestand against the Rochester Red Wings (35-22). Drake Fellows was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Zach Penrod of Rochester.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley starter Drake Fellows walked Christian Franklin, who later stole second base. Rochester designated hitter Yohandy Morales hit Fellows’s sinker for a two-run home run at 392 feet to right field to give the Red Wings a 2-0 lead.
It was his 13th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.9 mph. With one, Seaver King lined out to Lehigh Valley second baseman Liover Peguero, who then threw the ball to third baseman Otto Kemp to get Brady House out to end the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners with one out when designated hitter Bryan De La Cruz hit Trevor Gott’s cutter for a three-run home run at 389 feet to left field to give the IronPigs a 3-2 lead. It was his ninth home run of the season, 39th RBI of the year, and the exit velocity off the bat was 106.3 mph.
Lehigh Valley starter Drake Fellows pitched five innings, allowing four hits, two runs, two walks, and six strikeouts, throwing 70 pitches, of which 48 were strikes. Levi Stoudt pitched at the top of the sixth inning. He struck out one, throwing 11 pitches, of which nine were strikes, to get three outs.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Liover Peguero hit a double to left field. Lehigh Valley first baseman Keaton Anthony hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Peguero for a 4-2 lead. Lehigh Valley stranded Anthony at second base.
Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Mercado walked one and struck out three, throwing 21 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on second and third base when right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Dylan Carlson for a 5-2 lead. A sacrifice fly by Otto Kemp brought home Felix Reyes for a 6-2 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Keaton Anthony ended the inning.
Mercado gave up a base hit with one out when he was replaced by Max Lazar at the top of the eighth inning. Later, Rochester had runners on the corners when Brady House hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Christian Franklin, and it was now 6-3. Mercado pitched 1.1 innings, allowing a hit, a run, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 25 pitches, of which 16 were strikes. A wild pitch by Lazar allowed Yohandy Morales to score, and it was now 6-4.
A groundout by Abimelec Ortiz scored Brady House, and it was now 6-5. With two outs, a groundout by Seaver King ended the inning. Max Lazar allowed two hits, two runs, and one strikeout, throwing 25 pitches, of which 14 were strikes, to get three outs.
Kirby Snead pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He walked the first two batters with nobody out. Trey Lipscomb grounded into a forceout at third base for the first out.
He walked Christian Franklin, and a groundout by Yohandy Morales scored Phillip Glasser, and the game was tied 6-6. With two outs, a flyout by Brady House ended the inning. Snead allowed a run and three walks, throwing 18 pitches, of which six were strikes. The game went to extra innings.
At the top of the tenth inning, Rochester had a runner on first base when Seaver King hit Snead’s slider for a two-run home run at 385 feet to left field to give the Red Wings an 8-6 lead. It was his third home run of the season. With two outs, Snead struck out Tres Barrera to retire the side. Snead allowed one hit, three runs, five walks, and one strikeout, throwing 44 pitches, of which 19 were strikes.
In the bottom of the tenth inning, Bryan De La Cruz hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Liover Peguero, and the IronPigs cut the deficit to 8-7. Dylan Moore grounded into a game-ending 5-4-3 double play. The IronPigs lost to the Red Wings 8-7.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 10 hits, 4 for 17 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Bryan De La Cruz went 3 for 5 with a double, a home run, and four RBIs, while Liover Peguero went 2 for 3 with two walks and two doubles.
The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Kirby Snead (2-1), while the win went to Zak Kent (2-0), and Eddy Yean earned his eighth save of the season.
The IronPigs and Red Wings play game two on Wednesday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App. Tucker Davidson (3-1, 5.63 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Chandler Champlain (4-1, 3.51 ERA) of Rochester.
