The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (51-57, 16-17) concluded the six-game homestand on Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bisons (52-56, 17-16). Brian Keller was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Jack Nedrow of Buffalo.
In the bottom of the second inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when catcher Payton Henry hit a two-run RBI double to center field, scoring Liover Peguero and Christian Cairo scored to put the IronPigs ahead 2-0. Robert Moore followed up by hitting an RBI single to right field, scoring Payton Henry for a 3-0 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Dylan Moore ended the inning.
At the top of the fourth inning, Buffalo had a runner on third base with one out when Sean Keys hit an RBI double to right field, scoring Ismael Munguia, and it was now 3-1. Buffalo center fielder Daz Cameron tied the game 3-3 by hitting Keller’s sweeper for a two-run home run at 360 feet to left-center field.
It was his second home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 98 mph. With two outs, Buffalo catcher C.J. Stubbs hit Keller’s cutter for a solo home run at right-center field to give the Bisons a 4-3 lead. It was his fifth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 102.7 mph. A flyout by Carlos Mendoza ended the inning.
At the top of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley starter Brian Keller put two runners on base with one out before he was replaced by Michael Mercado. With two outs, Daz Cameron hit a two-run RBI double to left-center field, scoring Nick Goodwin and Ismael Munguia for a 6-3 lead. A groundout by Eloy Jiménez ended the inning. Brian Keller went 4.1 innings, allowing five hits, six runs, three walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 63 pitches, of which 39 were strikes. Mercado allowed a hit, throwing 12 pitches, of which seven were strikes.
Mitch Neunborn pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the sixth inning. He allowed a hit and struck out one, throwing 13 pitches, of which nine were strikes, to get three outs. Nolan Hoffman pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning.
Buffalo had runners on second and third base when Sean Keys hit a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Ismael Munguia for a 7-3 lead. With one out, Hoffman threw a wild pitch, scoring Josh Kasevich for an 8-3 lead. With two outs, a flyout by Eloy Jiménez ended the inning.
In the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had runners on the corners with two outs when Tommy Pham hit a two-run RBI double to center field, scoring Robert Moore and Kameron Misner, cutting the deficit to 8-5. It was his third double of the season. Keaton Anthony lined out to left field, and the inning was over.
Nolan Hoffman got two outs before he was replaced by Max Lazar at the top of the eighth inning. Hoffman went 1.2 innings, allowing a hit, two runs, one walk, and one strikeout, throwing 27 pitches, of which 14 were strikes. Lazar went 1.1 innings with one strikeout, throwing 14 pitches, of which 10 were strikes.
The IronPigs lost to the Bisons 8-5 to split the series. Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with seven hits, went 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Tommy Pham went 3 for 4 with a double, a triple, and two RBIs. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Brian Keller (0-2), while the win went to Buffalo pitcher Brendan Cellucci (4-2), and Tanner Andrews earned his 11th save of the season.
The IronPigs head to Polar Park to begin a six-game series against the Worcester Red Sox on Tuesday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live.
