The Lehigh Valley IronPigs (60-63, 25-23) took on the Buffalo Bisons (61-63, 26-23) in game three on Friday night at Sahlen Field. Brian Keller was on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Richard Gallardo of Buffalo.
The game was scoreless in the first two innings. In the bottom of the third inning, Brian Keller put runners on the corners with two outs when Sean Keys hit his sweeper for a three-run home run at 413 feet to center field to put Buffalo ahead 3-0. It was his 12th home run of the season, and the exit velocity off the bat was 103 mph. Keller walked Yohendrick Piñango before Josh Kasevich grounded out to third base for the final out of the inning.
Sean Keys continued to do damage in the bottom of the fifth inning when he hit Keller’s sweeper for a two-run home run at 349 feet to right field for a 5-0 lead. It was his 13th home run of the season, second of the night, and the exit velocity off the bat was 97 mph. With one out, Keller was replaced by Tristan Garnett.
Brian Keller went 4.1 innings, allowing seven hits, five runs, two walks, and three strikeouts, throwing 88 pitches, of which 55 were strikes. With two outs, a lineout by Peyton Williams ended the inning. Tristan Garnett allowed a hit and a walk, throwing 14 pitches, of which nine were strikes.
Ryan Cusick pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the sixth inning. He put runners on first and second base when Jay Harry hit an RBI single to left field, scoring William Simoneit for a 6-0 lead. Two batters later, Yohendrick Piñango hit a two-run RBI single to left field, scoring Rudy Martin Jr. and Jay Harry for an 8-0 lead. With two outs, a groundout by Ismael Munguia ended the inning. Cusick went 1.1 innings, allowing five hits, three runs, one walk, and three strikeouts, throwing 35 pitches, of which 23 were strikes.
Mitch Neunborn pitched for Lehigh Valley in the bottom of the seventh inning. He went 1.2 innings, with two strikeouts, throwing 14 pitches, of which nine were strikes. The IronPigs saw their five-game winning streak come to an end with an 8-0 shutout loss to the Bisons.
Lehigh Valley finished the night with three hits, 0-7 with runners in scoring position, and left eight men on base. The loss went to Lehigh Valley starter Brian Keller (1-4), and the win went to Buffalo starter Richard Gallardo (1-3).
The IronPigs and Bisons play game five on Saturday at 6:35 pm on the MLB App and Bally Sports Live. Alan Rangel (3-5, 4.41 ERA) will be on the mound for Lehigh Valley against C.J. Van Eyk (6-3, 3.76 ERA) of Buffalo.
