The IronPigs blast 4 homers in beating Rochester for the 11th time this season.
Nick Pivetta tossed five shutout innings and the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (84-57) hit four home runs en route to a 5-1 win over the Rochester Red Wings (80-62) on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park.
Pivetta (1-2) gave up three hits while walking one and fanning a pair over his five innings of work. LHP James Russell (1.1 IP, H, BB, 3 K), RHP Dalier Hinojosa (1.2 IP, 2 H) and LHP Hoby Milner (1.0 IP, 3 H, R, ER, 2 K) tossed the final four innings for the Pigs. The win was the first of his Triple-A career for Pivetta.
Jesmuel Valentin’s solo shot off of Rochester starter Tyler Duffey in the bottom of the third opened up a 1-0 lead for the Pigs. The home run was Valentin’s fourth of the season.
Solo shots from Cody Asche (2-4, HR, RBI, R) and Cedric Hunter in the bottom of the fourth made it a 3-0 game in favor of the IronPigs. The home runs were Asche’s sixth of the season and Hunter’s 10th.
Trailing 3-0, the Red Wings brought the tying run to the plate with runners at the corners and one out in the seventh, but Hinojosa got Reynaldo Rodriguez to ground into a 6-4-3 double play.
Rochester had runners at first and second with one out in the eighth, but Hinojosa got James Beresford to fly to center and Darnell Sweeney robbed Adam Brett Walker with an over-the-shoulder catch in deep centerfield to end the inning.
J.P. Crawford’s two-run shot off of Duffey in the bottom of the eighth extended the lead for the IronPigs to 5-0. The home run was Crawford’s fourth home run of the year.
Duffey (1-1) allowed the five runs on seven hits while walking two and fanning seven in 8.0 IP.
Leonardo Reginatto’s RBI single in the top of the ninth put Rochester on the board and cut the lead to 5-1.
The series continues on Sunday at 6:35 p.m. as RHP Phil Klein (5-1, 1.52) will be on the bump for the IronPigs against Rochester RHP Omar Bencomo (3-1, 3.63).
In a roster move, C John Ryan Murphy was recalled by the Minnesota Twins and C Brian Olson was transferred from Single-A Ft. Myers to the Red Wings.