The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (32-36) played game five against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (33-34) on Saturday night from PNC Field. Chuck King was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Dom Hamel of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
The game was scoreless through three innings. At the top of the fourth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley right fielder Bryan De La Cruz hit Hamel’s sweeper for a solo home run to left field to put the IronPigs up 1-0. It was his tenth home run of the season. Lehigh Valley left fielder Christian Cairo was called out on strikes, and the inning was over.
Moving to the top of the sixth inning, Keaton Anthony and Carter Kieboom hit singles with one out. Bryan De La Cruz hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Anthony for a 2-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Christian Cairo ended the inning.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King put two runners on before he was replaced by Lou Trivino. Trivino walked Oswaldo Cabrera to load the bases. With two outs, Trivino struck out Seth Brown to retire the side. Chuck King went 5.1 innings, allowing four hits, one walk, and five strikeouts, throwing 87 pitches, of which 55 were strikes.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on third base with one out when Duke Ellis grounded out to second base, scoring Tyler Hardman. The RailRiders trailed the IronPigs 2-1. A groundout by Abrahan Gutierrez to third base ended the inning. Trivino went 1.2 innings, allowing one run, one walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 27 pitches, of which 15 were strikes.
Andrew Bechtold pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on first and second base when Oswaldo Cabrera hit an RBI single to right field, scoring George Lombard Jr., and the game was tied 2-2. With two outs, Tyler Hardman hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Marco Luciano. Oswaldo Cabrera was called out at third base to end the inning. The RailRiders took a 3-2 lead. Andrew Bechtold allowed two hits, two runs, two walks, and one strikeout, throwing 22 pitches, of which 14 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Christian Cairo hit a double to right field, and Dylan Carlson was hit by a pitch. Catcher Rene Pinto moved both runners up a base with a sacrifice bunt. With one out, second baseman Robert Moore hit a sacrifice fly to right field, scoring Cairo, and the game was tied 3-3. A groundout by Dylan Moore ended the inning.
Seth Johnson pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. With two outs and a runner on third base, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre right fielder Yanquiel Fernández hit the ball, and a fielding error by Carter Kieboom scored Duke Ellis. The IronPigs lost to the RailRiders 4-3. The loss ended Lehigh Valley’s three-game winning streak.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with seven hits, committed three errors, went 1 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Bryan De La Cruz went 3 for 4 with a home run, a double, and two RBIs. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Seth Johnson (0-1), and the win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre pitcher Angel Chivilli (1-0).
The IronPigs will look to win the series on Sunday against the RailRiders at 1:35 pm on the MLB App. Drake Fellows (0-0, 4.85 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre have yet to name a pitcher.
