The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (45-50, 10-10) took on the Omaha Storm Chasers (42-52, 9-11) in game two on Saturday night at Werner Park. Chuck King was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Stephen Kolek of Omaha.
In the bottom of the first inning, Omaha had a runner on third base when Kameron Misner hit an RBI double to right field, scoring Matthew Lugo for a 1-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Drew Waters ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when designated hitter Carter Kieboom hit a two-run single to left field, scoring Felix Reyes and Tommy Pham to give the IronPigs a 2-1 lead. With two outs, Paul McIntosh struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Omaha had runners on first and second base with one out when Matthew Lugo hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Elih Marrero and John Rave to put the Storm Chasers up 3-2. Chuck King was replaced by Kyle Backhus. With two outs, a groundout by Brett Squires ended the inning. Chuck King went 4.1 innings, allowing six hits, three runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 68 pitches, of which 46 were strikes.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Omaha had a runner on third base when Kyle Backhus was replaced by Michael Mercado. Brandon Drury reached first base on a fielder’s choice, scoring Drew Waters for a 4-2 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Matthew Lugo ended the inning.
Kyle Backhus went one inning, allowing a hit, a run, and struck out two, throwing 16 pitches, of which 12 were strikes. Mercado allowed a hit and a walk, and struck out two, throwing 15 pitches, of which eight were strikes. Andrew Bechtold pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Omaha had runners on the corners when Bechtold threw a wild pitch, scoring Kameron Misner for a 5-2 lead with one out. With two outs, a flyout by Brandon Drury ended the inning. Bechtold allowed a hit, a run, a walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 19 pitches, of which 12 were strikes.
Mitch Neunborn pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. With two outs, John Rave hit Neunborn’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 373 feet to right field for a 6-2 lead. It was his 12th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 106.8 mph. Matthew Lugo popped out to first baseman Felix Reyes for the final out of the inning. Neunborn allowed a hit and a run, throwing nine pitches, of which five were strikes.
The IronPigs would lose to the Storm Chasers 6-2. Lehigh Valley finished the night with nine hits, went 2 for 7 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King (6-4), and the win went to Omaha pitcher Vince Velasquez (2-1).
The IronPigs will look to avoid the sweep against the Storm Chasers in the series finale on Sunday at 6:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Drake Fellows (1-1, 4.50 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Mitch Spence (2-4, 5.54 ERA) of Omaha.
