The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (55-61, 20-21) took on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (62-51, 25-14) in game two on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park. Drake Fellows was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Xavier Rivas of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
At the top of the first inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with one out when right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit an RBI double to center field, scoring Dylan Moore to put the IronPigs up 1-0. Two batters later, Tommy Pham hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Gabriel Rincones Jr. and Keaton Anthony for a 3-0 lead.
Lehigh Valley would get the bases loaded when catcher Paul McIntosh hit Zach Messinger’s four-seam fastball for a grand slam at 410 feet to left field for a 7-0 lead. It was his eighth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 107 mph. With two outs, Dylan Moore popped out to shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera for the final out of the inning.
At the top of the second with two outs, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera hit Fellows’s sinker for a solo home run at 414 feet to center field. It was now 7-1. It was Cabrera’s 14th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 99.5 mph. Yanquiel Fernández followed up by hitting Fellows’s changeup for a solo home run at 406 feet to right field. It was now 7-2. It was his 20th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 108 mph. A groundout by Tyler Hardman ended the inning.
At the top of the third inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on first base with two outs when Max Schuemann hit an RBI double to left field, scoring Anthony Volpe. It was now 7-3. A flyout by J.C. Escarra ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the fourth inning with one out, Lehigh Valley had runners on first and second base when designated hitter Keaton Anthony hit Hayden Merda’s cutter for a three-run home run at 365 feet to left field for a 10-3 lead. It was Anthony’s seventh home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 103.2 mph. Tommy Pham and Colby Thomas grounded out to end the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on third base when Carter Kieboom hit an RBI single to second base, scoring Otto Kemp for an 11-3 lead. With two outs, Paul McIntosh grounded into a force out at second base.
Drake Fellows went seven innings, allowing seven hits, three runs, one walk, and two strikeouts, throwing 89 pitches, of which 55 were strikes. Kyle Backhus pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. He allowed a hit, throwing 16 pitches, of which eight were strikes, to get three outs. Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He allowed a hit, throwing 16 pitches, of which 10 were strikes, to get the final three outs of the game.
The IronPigs beat the RailRiders 11-3 for their third straight win. Lehigh Valley finished the night with 10 hits, went 5 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left five men on base. Otto Kemp went 2 for 3 with a double, triple, and a walk. The win went to Lehigh Valley starter Drake Fellows (4-2), and the loss went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starter Xavier Rivas (0-1).
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game three on Thursday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Lehigh Valley has yet to name a starter, while Elmer Rodríguez (7-3, 2.85 ERA) will be on the mound for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
