The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (52-58, 17-18) took on the Worcester Red Sox (57-48, 21-13) on Wednesday night at Polar Park. Chuck King was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against John Holobetz of Worcester.
In the bottom of the third inning, Worcester had a runner on first base with two outs when Franklin Arias hit King’s four-seam fastball for a two-run home run at 419 feet to center field to give the Red Sox a 2-0 lead. It was his third home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 107.8 mph. King struck out Mickey Gasper to end the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fifth inning, Chuck King loaded the bases before he hit Franklin Arias, bringing home Vinny Capra for a 3-0 lead. Nate Eaton followed up by hitting a two-run RBI ground-rule double to right-center field, scoring Tsung-Che Cheng and Braiden Ward for a 5-0 lead. A sacrifice fly by Mickey Gasper scored Arias for a 6-0 lead.
Worcester third baseman Mikey Romero hit an RBI triple to center field, scoring Nate Eaton for a 7-0 lead. Tucker Davidson replaced King. With two outs, a lineout by Brett Harris ended the inning. Chuck King went 4.1 innings, allowing eight hits, seven runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 83 pitches, of which 54 were strikes. Davidson threw three pitches, of which three were strikes, to get the final two outs of the inning.
Mitch Neunborn pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. At the top of the seventh inning with two outs, Lehigh Valley second baseman Robert Moore hit Tyler Samaniego’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 385 feet to left field to end the shutout. The IronPigs trailed the Red Sox 7-1. A flyout by Keaton Anthony ended the inning.
At the top of the eighth inning, Worcester catcher Mickey Gasper hit Neunborn’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run to right field for an 8-1 lead. It was his ninth home run of the year. With one out, Neunborn struck out Brett Harris and Vinny Capra to end the inning. Mitch Neunborn went two innings, allowing two hits, one run, two walks, and six strikeouts, throwing 46 pitches, of which 25 were strikes.
Max Lazar pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Worcester had runners on first and second base with one out when Nate Eaton hit a two-run RBI triple to left-center field, scoring Tsung-Che Cheng and Franklin Arias for a 10-1 lead. With two outs, Lazar struck out Mikey Romero to end the inning. Max Lazar allowed two hits, two runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 28 pitches, of which 20 were strikes.
The IronPigs were Shellacked by the Red Sox 10-1. Lehigh Valley finished the night with ten hits, went 0 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left nine men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Chuck King (7-6), and the win went to Worcester pitcher Hobie Harris (2-0).
The IronPigs and Red Sox play game three on Thursday at 12:05 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Drake Fellows (3-1, 5.12 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley, while Worcester has yet to name a starter.
