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MOOSIC — Lehigh Valley entered Monday night’s game at PNC Field with the best record in the International League since June 14, being 10 games over .500 in that span.
The RailRiders entered Monday night on a five-game winning streak and a 2.5 game lead in the International League North Division.
Something had to give.
In a game that consisted of some of the wackiest plays you could see in a baseball game, and both managers being ejected, the IronPigs won 3-1 to claim their fourth straight win over Scranton/Wilkes-Barre in the season series.
Perhaps the screwiest plays of the game was the way it started and ended.
In the bottom of the ninth, SWB catcher Gary Sanchez singled to left with two outs. The outfielder bobbled the ball and Sanchez tried to get to second, but was tagged out to end the game with All-Star Kyle Roller waiting to bat. That was the second time a RailRider was nailed at second. The first time was in the first inning when Cole Figueroa attempted the same thing and was thrown out.
“We want to be aggressive. We want to put pressure on the defense. It just didn’t work out in our favor today,” Roller said. “But I like the aggressiveness in our guys. Even when we’re down you still want to make the defense make the plays.”
Facing IronPigs lefty Anthony Vasquez for the third time this season, the RailRiders didn’t have nearly as much success this time around. The first two times they faced the 28-year-old they scored a total of 12 runs off him in 11 2/3 innings. On Monday, Vasquez kept RailRiders hitter off balance, giving up just five hits and one run in eight innings. Vasquez only struck out two, but he induced 10 groundball outs including a pair of double plays.
In fact, the only run he gave up scored on a twin-killing in the bottom of the third to score Roller. The only other time he allowed an SWB runner to get to third base was after he balked Ben Gamel to second — which prompted an argument and ejection by LV manager Dave Brundage — and a groundout moved him to third with two outs before Aaron Judge flied out to deep center to end the bottom of the sixth inning.
“He pitched in a lot more than I was expecting. Last time he was mostly away. He would show in, but I know to me — and I was talking to Ben a little — he was pounding in keeping us off balance with that curveball and slider,” said Roller, who had a hit in five previous at-bats against Vasquez this season and reached base three times on Monday night with a single and a pair of hit by pitches.
RailRiders starter Esmil Rogers walked five and struck out six, both season highs. After his third walk, on a pitch that could have gone either way with two outs in the fourth, SWB manager Dave Miley was tossed from the game after yelling from the dugout at home plate umpire Jansen Visconti.
Lehigh Valley scored the first run of the game in the top of the first when a rare fielding error by third baseman Figueroa was made, allowing a run to score for a 1-0 lead. The IronPigs took a 2-0 lead on another rare play as Aaron Altherr hit an inning-ending sacrifice fly. The run scored before Brian Bogusevic was out trying to return to first base for the third out to make it 2-0.
The third IronPigs’ run scored in the fifth on a RBI single by Altherr making the lead 3-1. They tried for another one in the inning when Altherr stole second and Bogusevic attempted to steal home on the same play, but was nailed on the throw back home to end the inning.
IronPigs 3, RailRiders 1
Lehigh Valley`AB`R`H`BI
d’Arnaud ss`4`2`2`0
Serna ss`1`0`0`0
Henson 2b`3`1`2`0
Bogusevic rf`3`0`0`0
Altherr cf`3`0`1`2
Kratz dh`4`0`1`0
Phelps 3b`4`0`1`0
McGuiness 1b`1`0`0`0
Lino c`4`0`0`0
Danks lf`4`0`0`0
Totals`31`3`7`2
RailRiders`AB`R`H`BI
Gamel cf`4`0`1`0
Pirela 2b`4`0`1`0
Figueroa 3b`4`0`1`0
Judge rf`3`0`0`0
Bird 1b`4`0`0`0
Sanchez c`4`0`1`0
Roller dh`1`1`1`0
Austin lf`3`0`1`0
Culver ss`2`0`0`0
Totals`29`1`6`0
Lehigh Valley`101`010`000`—`3
RailRiders`001`000`000` —1
E: Figueroa (8). DP: IronPigs 2, RailRiders 1. LOB: IronPigs 7, RailRiders 5. 3B: Henson (3). SF: Altherr. SB: d’Arnaud (19), Bogusevic (18). CS: Bogusevic (5). Outfield assists: Danks (Figueroa at 2nd), Altherr (Sanchez at 2nd), Austin (Henson at 3rd), Gamel (Bogusevic at 2nd).
IronPigs`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Vasquez (W, 7-3)`8.0`5`1`1`2`2
McGowan (S, 7) `1.0`1`0`0`0`0
RailRiders`IP`H`R`ER`BB`SO
Rogers (L, 1-1)`5.1`6`3`2`5`6
Ramirez `2.1`1`0`0`0`5
Pazos`1.1`0`0`0`0`2
Balk: Vasquez, Rogers.
HBP: Roller (by Vasquez), Roller (by Vasquez)
Umpires: HP: Jansen Visconti. 1B: Doug Vines. 3B: Jon Byrne
T: 2:37. Att: 6,072
