The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (49-56, 14-16) and the Buffalo Bisons (51-54, 16-14) played a doubleheader on Thursday at Coca-Cola Park. In game one, Chuck King was on the mound for Fayetteville against Richard Gallardo of Buffalo. The game started with an hour rain delay.
At the top of the first inning with two outs, Buffalo third baseman Charles McAdoo hit an RBI single to third baseman Carter Kieboom, scoring Ismael Munguia for a 1-0 lead. King struck out Willie MacIver to end the inning. Later, the game went into another rain delay at the top of the fourth inning. The rain delay lasted for over half an hour.
Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King went five innings, allowing seven hits, one run, one walk, and struck out five, throwing 86 pitches, of which 57 were strikes. Kirby Snead pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. He struck out one, throwing 16 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, to get three outs. Snead would pitch two innings, allowing two hits and one strikeout, throwing 25 pitches, of which 16 were strikes.
The IronPigs were shut out by the Bisons in game one by the final score of 1-0. Lehigh Valley finished the game with four hits, committed two errors, went 0 for 9 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King (7-5), while the win went to Brendan Cellucci (3-2), and Chase Lee earned his fifth save of the season.
In game two, Drake Fellows was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Richard Gallardo of Buffalo. At the top of the second inning, Buffalo had runners on first and second base with one out when Rudy Martin Jr. hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Nick Goodwin to give Buffalo a 1-0 lead. With two outs, Ismael Munguia was caught stealing second base, and the inning was over.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley center fielder Kameron Misner tied the game 1-1 by hitting Richard Gallardo’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 415 feet to right-center field. It was his 15th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 105.4 mph. With two outs, Otto Kemp struck out swinging, and the inning was over.
At the top of the fourth inning, Buffalo had runners on second and third base with two outs when Rudy Martin Jr. hit a two-run RBI single to center field, scoring Eloy Jiménez and Nick Goodwin for a 3-1 lead. Rudy Martin Jr. was picked off and caught stealing second base for the final out of the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base when designated hitter Tommy Pham hit Gallardo’s cutter for a two-run home run at 412 feet to center field, tying the game 3-3. It was his fifth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 106.4 mph.
With two outs, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded when Christian Cairo hit a two-run RBI single to second base. A throwing error by second baseman Charles McAdoo allowed Otto Kemp and Liover Peguero to score for a 5-3 lead. A flyout by Payton Henry ended the inning.
Lehigh Valley starter Drake Fellow went five innings, allowing five hits, three runs, five walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 87 pitches, of which 53 were strikes. Michael Mercado pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Mercado allowed two hits and struck out two, throwing 19 pitches, of which 12 were strikes, to get three outs. Mercado went two innings, allowing three hits and five strikeouts, throwing 40 pitches, of which 27 were strikes, to get the final six outs of the game. The IronPigs beat the Bisons 5-3 to split the doubleheader.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with seven hits, went 1 for 4 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. Tommy Pham went 1 for 3 with a home run, a walk, and two RBIs. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Drake Fellows (3-1), while Michael Mercado earned his third save of the season, and the loss went to Buffalo starter Richard Gallardo (0-3).
The IronPigs and Bisons play game four on Friday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Andrew Painter (1-2, 4.56 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Chad Dallas (0-3, 3.16 ERA) of Buffalo.
