The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (57-62, 22-22) took on the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders (63-53, 26-16) in game five on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park. Alan Rangel was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Brendan Beck of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. Before the game, IronPigs placed Felix-Reyes on the 7-day IL.
At the top of the second inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had a runner on third base with one out when Tyler Hardman hit an RBI single to left field, scoring Oswaldo Cabrera to put the RailRiders up 1-0. With two outs, Ernesto Martinez Jr. popped out to second baseman Dylan Moore for the third out.
At the top of the third inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre had runners on second and third base with two outs when J.C. Escarra hit a two-run RBI double to right field, scoring Jasson Domínguez and Max Schuemann for a 3-0 lead. A groundout by Oswaldo Cabrera ended the inning.
In the bottom of the third inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with one out when Tommy Pham hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Payton Henry. The IronPigs trailed the RailRiders 3-1. Two batters later, Keaton Anthony hit an RBI single to center field, scoring Pham, and it was now 3-2. Designated hitter Carter Kieboom grounded into a 6-4-3 inning-ending double play.
At the top of the fifth inning, Scranton/Wilkes-Barre left fielder Max Schuemann hit Rangel’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 374 feet to left field for a 4-2 lead. It was his third home run of the season, and exit velocity off the bat was 100.7 mph. With two outs and runners on first and second base, Alan Rangel was replaced by Michael Mercado. A groundout by Yanquiel Fernández ended the inning. Alan Rangel went 4.2 innings, allowing eight hits, four runs, three walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 98 pitches, of which 59 were strikes.
In the bottom of the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on second base with two outs when Kameron Minser hit an RBI single to right field, scoring Tommy Pham, and it was now 4-3. A groundout by Keaton Anthony ended the inning.
Moving to the bottom of the seventh inning, Lehigh Valley catcher Payton Henry tied the game 4-4 by hitting Hayden Merda’s four-seam fastball for a solo home run at 409 feet to right-center field. It was his sixth home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 106.8 mph. With two outs, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base when Keaton Anthony popped out to shortstop Oswaldo Cabrera for the final out of the inning.
Michael Mercado went 2.1 innings, allowing a hit and four strikeouts, throwing 43 pitches, of which 28 were strikes. Grant Holman pitched for Lehigh Valley at the top of the eighth inning. In the bottom of the eighth inning, Lehigh Valley had a runner on first base when Otto Kemp grounded out to third base. A throwing error by first baseman Ernesto Martinez Jr. allowed Colby Thomas to score, and the IronPigs took a 5-4 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Christian Cairo ended the inning.
Grant Holman pitched two innings, allowing a hit and struck out, throwing 18 pitches, of which 15 were strikes, to get the final six outs of the game. The IronPigs beat the RailRiders 5-4 to win the series with one game to go. It is their second win in a row.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with eight hits, went 2 for 10 with runners in scoring position, and left seven men on base. Tommy Pham went 3 for 4 with a double and an RBI. The win went to Lehigh Valley pitcher Grant Holman (2-0), and the loss went to Justin Topa (0-3).
The IronPigs and RailRiders conclude the series on Sunday at 1:15 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Casey Lawrence (6-7, 4.37 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Alexander Cornielle (2-5, 3.91 ERA) of Scranton/Wilkes-Barre.
