The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (55-62, 20-22) took on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (63-51, 26-14) in game three on Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park. Ryan Cusick was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Elmer Rodríguez of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
Ryan Cusick went two innings, allowing a hit and one strikeout, throwing 26 pitches, of which 18 were strikes. Tucker Davidson pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the third inning. At the top of the fourth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on first base with two outs when Tyler Hardman hit Davidson’s slider for a two-run home run at right field to put the RailRiders up 2-0. It was his 10th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 98.4 mph. Yanquiel Fernández popped out to first baseman Felix Reyes for the third out.
At the top of the fifth inning, Tucker Davidson loaded the bases with two outs. J.C. Escarra hit a two-run RBI single to left field, scoring Christian Bethancourt and Jasson Domínguez for a 4-0 lead. Davidson was replaced by Mitch Neunborn. A flyout by Oswaldo Cabrera ended the inning. Tucker Davidson went 2.2 innings, allowing three hits, four runs, four walks, and two strikeouts, throwing 65 pitches, of which 35 were strikes.
At the top of the sixth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on first and second base with two outs when Anthony Volpe hit a two-run RBI double to left field, scoring Yanquiel Fernández and Kenedy Corona for a 5-0 lead. A lineout by Jasson Domínguez ended the inning. Mitch Neunborn went 1.1 innings, allowing two hits, one run, and one walk, throwing 32 pitches, of which 18 were strikes.
Andrew Bechtold pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the seventh inning. Bechtold went two innings with one strikeout, throwing 19 pitches, of which 13 were strikes. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley had the bases loaded with nobody out. Catcher Payton Henry grounded into a forceout at second base, scoring Steward Berroa. It was now 5-1. Felix Reyes struck out, and Gabriel Rincones Jr. grounded into a forceout at second base.
Lou Trivino III pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the ninth inning. He struck out two, throwing 16 pitches, of which nine were strikes, to get three outs. The IronPigs did not have answers in this game and went on to lose 5-1 to snap a three-game winning streak.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with three hits, 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Tucker Davidson (6-5), and the win went to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre starter Elmer Rodríguez (8-3).
The IronPigs and RailRiders play game four on Friday at 6:45 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Brian Keller (0-3, 4.09 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Adam Kloffenstein (2-8, 5.57 ERA) of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
