The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (53-61, 18-21) concluded the six-game series against the Worcester Red Sox (60-49, 24-14) on Sunday afternoon at Polar Park. Kirby Snead was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Blake Wehunt of Worcester. Before the game, Alan Rangel, who was supposed to start for the IronPigs, was called up by the Philadelphia Phillies.
At the top of the second inning, Lehigh Valley third baseman Otto Kemp hit Wehunt’s sinker for a solo home run at 419 feet to center field to put the IronPigs up 1-0. It was his 13th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 104.8 mph.
Moving to the bottom of the third inning, Worcester had a runner on second base when Vinny Capra hit a soft RBI bunt single to pitcher Kirby Snead. A throwing error by Snead allowed Kristian Campbell to score, and the game was tied 1-1.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Snead put a runner on first base with one out before he was replaced by Andrew Bechtold. Nate Eaton followed up by hitting an RBI single to center field, scoring Mikey Romero to give the Red Sox a 2-1 lead. Kirby Snead went 3.1 innings, allowing two hits and four strikeouts, throwing 47 pitches, of which 32 were strikes.
Worcester blew the game open in the bottom of the fifth inning. Lehigh Valley pitcher Andrew Bechtold put two runners on base before he was replaced by Kyle Backhus. Worcester had the bases loaded with two outs when Mikey Romero hit an RBI single to shortstop Robert Moore, scoring Kristian Campbell for a 3-1 lead.
Mickey Gasper followed up by hitting a two-run RBI single to right field, scoring Vinny Capra and Braiden Ward for a 5-1 lead. Nate Eaton hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Mikey Romero for a 6-1 lead. Andrew Bechtold allowed two hits, two runs, and one walk, throwing 20 pitches, of which 11 were strikes, while Backhus allowed three hits, two runs, one walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 40 pitches, of which 22 were strikes.
In the bottom of the sixth inning, Lehigh Valley right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit a solo home run to center field, cutting the Red Sox’s lead to 6-2. It was his first home run of the season. Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. Holman went two innings, allowing a hit and one strikeout, throwing 20 pitches, of which 13 were strikes.
Brandon Beckel pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the eighth inning. Beckel went an inning, allowing a hit, a walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 16 pitches, of which nine were strikes. At the top of the ninth inning, Carter Kieboom worked a four-pitch walk, followed by Tommy Pham reaching first base on a throwing error by Wyatt Olds.
Otto Kemp followed up by hitting an RBI single to left field, scoring Kieboom, and it was now 6-3. Lehigh Valley catcher Paul McIntosh hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Pham, and it was now 6-5. It was McIntosh’s 16th double of the season.
Designated hitter Steward Berroa hit a sacrifice bunt. Another throwing error by Olds brought home Colby Thomas, and the game was tied 6-6. Kameron Misner put the IronPigs up 7-6 with a sacrifice fly to center field, scoring Steward Berroa. With Felix Reyes on first base, a lineout by Gabriel Rincones Jr. ended the inning.
Lou Trivino III pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the ninth inning. He walked one, throwing 14 pitches, of which eight were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game. The IronPigs rallied to beat the Red Sox 7-6.
Lehigh Valley finished the afternoon with seven hits, committed two errors, went 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Otto Kemp went 2 for 3 with a home run, a hit by a pitch, two RBIs, and a stolen base. The win went to the Lehigh Valley pitcher Brandon Beckel (1-0), while Lou Trivino III earned his fifth save of the season, and the loss went to Worcester pitcher Wyatt Olds (4-5).
The IronPigs return to Coca-Cola Park to begin a six-game homestand against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders on Tuesday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live.
