After Tuesday night’s game was rained out, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (48-55, 13-15) took on the Buffalo Bisons (50-53, 15-13) on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park. Kolby Allard was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Lazaro Estrada of Buffalo.
At the top of the second inning, Buffalo catcher Willie MacIver hit Allard’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 388 feet to left-center field to put the Bisons up 1-0. It was his fourth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 105.1 mph. With two outs, a flyout by Daz Cameron ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fourth inning, Willie MacIver hit Allard’s changeup for a solo home run at 404 feet to left-center field for a 2-0 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season, second of the night, and the exit velocity off the bat was 105.1 mph. With two outs, a flyout by Daz Cameron ended the inning.
Moving to the top of the fifth inning, Buffalo had a runner on second base when MacIver hit Allard’s four-seam fastball for a two-run home run at 414 feet to center field for a 4-0 lead. It was his sixth home run of the season, third of the night, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.6 mph. With two outs, a flyout by Eloy Jiménez ended the inning.
Koby Allard went five innings, allowing 10 hits, four runs, two walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 79 pitches, of which 55 were strikes. Lou Trivino III pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. Trivino III struck out one, throwing 10 pitches, of which seven were strikes, to get three outs.
Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Buffalo had runners on second and third base with one out when Holman walked Sean Keys on a wild pitch, scoring Daz Cameron for a 5-0 lead. With two outs, he struck out Eloy Jiménez to end the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley first baseman Keaton Anthony ended the shutout and no-hitter by hitting Pat Gallagher’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 412 feet to left-center field, cutting Buffalo’s lead to 5-1. It was Anthony’s sixth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.5 mph.
Later, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base with two outs when catcher Paul McIntosh hit a two-run RBI double to left-center field, scoring Otto Kemp and Carter Kieboom. It was now 5-3, and McIntosh’s 14th double of the season. A pop-out by Robert Moore ended the inning. Max Lazar pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. He walked two batters and struck out one, throwing 20 pitches, of which 10 were strikes, to get three outs.
In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley left fielder Felix Reyes hit a single, and Tommy Pham hit a double with two outs. Otto Kemp followed up by hitting an RBI single to third base, scoring Reyes, and it was now 5-4. A flyout by Dylan Moore ended the inning.
Alex McFarlane pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. McFarlane struck out two, throwing 20 pitches, of which 12 were strikes, to get three outs. Lehigh Valley would lose the game 5-4.
The IronPigs finished the night with five hits, committed one error, went 2 for 5 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Kolby Allard (2-3), while the win went to Pat Gallagher (3-3), and Tanner Andrews earned his 10th save of the season.
The IronPigs and Bisons will play a doubleheader on Thursday, beginning at 5:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. In game one, Chuck King (7-5, 4.31 ERA) will be on the mound for Fayetteville against Richard Gallardo (3-3, 4.48 ERA) of Buffalo. In game two, Drake Fellows (2-1, 5.09 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Grant Rogers (2-8, 5.70 ERA) of Buffalo.
