A late IronPigs (56-36) comeback came up short, as the Rochester Red Wings (50-40) defeated the Pigs 4-1 Friday night at Coca-Cola Park before 9,749 fans.
A late IronPigs (56-36) comeback came up short, as the Rochester Red Wings (50-40) defeated the Pigs 4-1 Friday night at Coca-Cola Park before 9,749 fans.
Trailing 4-0 in the bottom of the ninth, Herlis Rodriguez led off the frame with a base hit to left field. Scott Kingery followed with a base hit to right-center field, and the Pigs had their first runner reach second base in the entire game. J.P. Crawford then bounced into a double play, as Kingery was retired at second with Crawford out at first and Rodriguez advanced to third on the play.
After the double play, Jorge Alfaro sent an RBI single to right-center, scoring Rodriguez to avoid the shutout. Dylan Cozens would walk to bring the tying run to the plate in Rhys Hoskins. Hoskins and Red Wings reliever Jake Reed would battle, however, Hoskins would strike out on a check swing to end the game as the Pigs fell 4-1.
Pigs starting pitcher Zach Eflin did not issue a hit in his first two 1/3 innings pitched, surrendering the first hit of the game on a base hit to center field by Red Wings second baseman Bengie González. Engelb Vielma would walk before being retired on a ground ball to first, as Hoskins fielded it and threw to second to get Vielma.
After Niko Goodrum reached on the fielder's choice, with Mitch Garver batting, a wild pitch by Eflin allowed Gonzalez to score from third to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead in the top of the third.
Eflin tossed a 1-2-3 fourth inning, striking out Matt Hague for his fourth strikeout on the night.
After J.B Shuck flew out to left to start the Red Wings top of the fifth, Edgar Corcino tripled to right field and later scored on a sacrifice fly to left field by Gonzalez to give the Red Wings a 2-0 advantage after five.
Eflin's night was done after six innings pitched, as the right-hander allowed the two runs on six hits while walking a pair and striking out four. He was tabbed with his second loss of the season.
Colton Murray came on to replace Eflin in the seventh inning, and Matt Hague met him with a leadoff double to right-center field. ByungHo Park then walked before J.B. Shuck bunted for a base hit to load the bases for Corcino. Corcino bounced a grounder that went past Hoskins glove and trickled down the right field line to score Hague and Park, doubling the Red Wings lead to 4-0.
With the loss, the Pigs now trail the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders by 1.5 games in the International League's North Division, however still hold a four-game lead over the Red Wings for the Wild Card.
The series continues with game three of the four-game set Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park. The Pigs will send right-hander Jake Thompson (3-10, 5.79) and the Red Wings will counter with right-hander Dillon Gee (1-0, 0.00). Postgame Saturday Night Fireworks will light up the sky at Coca-Cola Park themed to the music of Billy Joel. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m.
The 2017 Season is the IronPigs 10th Anniversary season at Coca-Cola Park and 10th as the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The IronPigs are debuting the brand-new Bacon, USA, Membership Program this season -- a year-round IronPigs experience pass featuring numerous new amenities such as savings on parking at games and at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Coca-Cola Park, on-field VIP access to watch batting practice, access to an annual holiday party, an invitation to an exclusive player and coaches photo session and more. For more information, visit ironpigsbaseball.com or call (610) 841-PIGS (7447). Memberships and group outings are on sale now.
The 2017 IronPigs baseball season is presented by Capital BlueCross.
