The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (43-47, 8-7) played against the Columbus Clippers (49-40, 8-7) in game three on Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park. The IronPigs were known as the Rubber Duckies. Kolby Allard was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Austin Peterson of Columbus. Before the game, the Philadelphia Phillies recalled RHP Chase Shugart after Tanner Banks was placed on the 15-day disabled list.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley starter Kolby Allard gave up a couple of hits and hit Ralphy Velazquez with one out. Bo Naylor hit Allard’s sinker for a grand slam at 370 feet to right field to put the Clippers up 4-0. It was his fifth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.8 mph. With two outs, a groundout by Kody Huff ended the inning.
In the bottom of the first inning, Lehigh Valley shortstop Dylan Moore hit a single to center field, followed by back-to-back walks by Felix Reyes and Tommy Pham. Keaton Anthony hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Moore and cutting the deficit to 4-1. Bryan De La Cruz followed up by hitting a two-run RBI double to right field, scoring Reyes and Pham, and it was now 4-3. With two outs, a lineout by Payton Henry ended the inning.
In the bottom of the second inning with one out, Dylan Moore hit Tommy Mace’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 351 feet to right field, tying the game 4-4. It was his fifth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 96.5 mph. With two outs, a groundout by Keaton Anthony ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Columbus shortstop Angel Genao hit a solo home run at 406 feet to center field, giving the Clippers a 5-4 lead. It was his seventh home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 101.8 mph. With two outs, Allard struck out Kody Huff to end the inning.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Steward Berroa worked a four-pitch walk, and Dylan Moore hit a single to center field. Both guys would steal second base and third base. Felix Reyes brought home Berroa with a sacrifice fly to center field, tying the game 5-5. A flyout by Tommy Pham ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Columbus had a runner on third base with two outs when Allard was called for a balk, scoring Angel Genao, and the Clippers took a 6-5 lead. A flyout by Bo Naylor ended the inning. Kolby Allard went five innings, allowing six hits, six runs, one walk, and struck out four, throwing 93 pitches, of which 60 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Keaton Anthony hit a single to right field, followed by Bryan De La Cruz hitting an RBI double to center field, scoring Anthony, and the game was tied 6-6. With two outs, Payton Henry struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Andrew Bechtold pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. He went two innings, allowing a hit, and struck out one, throwing 29 pitches, of which 21 were strikes. Jackson Rutledge pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. Rutledge threw eight pitches, of which five were strikes, to get three outs.
In the bottom of the eighth inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley shortstop Dylan Moore hit Daniel Espino’s slider for a solo home run at 381 feet to left field to give the IronPigs a 7-6 lead. It was his sixth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 101 mph. Felix Reyes struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
Seth Johnson pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. Columbus had a runner on second base when Milan Tolentino hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Joe Lampe that tied the game 7-7. With two outs, a flyout by Juan Brito ended the inning. Johnson allowed two hits, a run, and a walk, throwing 25 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, Tommy Phan hit a single to right field. Christian Cairo followed up by hitting a game-winning RBI double to left field, scoring Pham, and the IronPigs beat the Clippers 8-7.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with 10 hits, committed two errors, went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Dylan Moore went 4 for 5 with two home runs, two RBIs, and two stolen bases. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Seth Johnson (1-1), and the loss went to Columbus pitcher Trevor Stephan (0-2).
The IronPigs and Clippers play game four on Friday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Andrew Painter (0-0, 1.80 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while Columbus have yet to name a starter.
