The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (40-45, 5-5) and the Rochester Red Wings (50-33, 5-5) played game four on Friday night at ESL Ballpark. Kolby Allard was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jackson Kent of Rochester.
In the bottom of the second inning, Rochester had a runner on second with two outs when Joey Wiemer hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Trey Lipscomb to put the Red Wings ahead 1-0. A groundout by Robert Hassell III ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Dylan Moore hit a triple to right field. Felix Reyes followed up with a sacrifice fly to left field, scoring Moore to tie the game 1-1. With two outs, Tommy Pham lined out to right fielder Joey Wiemer for the final out of the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fifth inning, Rochester had a runner on second base when Christian Franklin hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Robert Hassell III to give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead. Two batters later, Brady House hit a two-run RBI double to center field, scoring Christian Franklin and Yohandy Morales to extend its lead to 4-1.
The inning continued to unravel for Allard. With runners on the corners, Andrew Pinckney hit the ball to Felix Reyes. Reyes went to toss the ball to Allard, who did not catch it, and Brady House scored for a 5-1 lead. Allard was replaced by Mitch Neunborn.
Neunborn walked Trey Lipscomb before Joey Wiemer hit a two-run RBI single to left field, scoring Harry Ford and Andrew Pinckney for a 7-1 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Robert Hassell III finally ended the inning. Kolby Allard went 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits, seven runs, two walks, and five strikeouts, throwing 84 pitches, of which 56 were strikes.
Moving to the top of the sixth inning, Otto Kemp hit a single, and Dylan Carlson worked a four-pitch walk with one out. With two outs, Lehigh Valley third baseman Robert Moore hit Jack Sinclair’s slider for a three-run home run at 360 feet to right field, cutting the deficit to 7-4. It was his seventh home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 107.7 mph. Dylan Moore struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Rochester had a runner on third base with one out when Yohandy Morales hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Phillip Glasser for an 8-4 lead. With two outs, Andrew Pinckney popped out in foul territory, which was caught by Lehigh Valley catcher Rene Pinto for the final out of the inning. Neunborn went 1.1 innings, allowing three hits, one run, and two walks, throwing 28 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Brad Keller pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. With a runner on first base, Rochester right fielder Joey Wiemer hit Keller’s slider for a two-run home run at 407 feet to left-center field for a 10-4 lead. It was his first home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 101.7 mph. With two outs, a groundout by Christian Franklin ended the inning. Keller went an inning, allowing two hits and two runs, throwing 16 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
Nolan Hoffman pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Rochester had runners on first and second base with one out when Andrew Pinckney hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Yohandy Morales, while Brady House was called out at third base. It was now 11-4. Hoffman struck out Trey Lipscomb to end the inning. Hoffman allowed three hits, one run, and two strikeouts, throwing 18 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
At the top of the ninth inning, Dylan Moore hit a double, and Felix Reyes hit a single, moving Moore to third base with one out. Designated hitter Tommy Pham grounded out to third base, scoring Moore, and it was now 11-5. A flyout by Bryan De La Cruz ended the game.
Lehigh Valley would see its three-game win streak come to an end with an 11-5 loss. They finished the night with eight hits, went 3 for 15 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. Robert Moore went 1 for 4 with a home run and three RBIs. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Kolby Allard (2-2), and the win went to Rochester starter Jackson Kent (5-2).
The IronPigs and Red Wings play game five on Saturday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App. Andrew Painter (0-0, 2.25 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Luis Perales (2-4, 4.27 ERA) of Rochester.
