Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Lehigh Valley mounted a late-game surge to defeat the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders 9–5 at PNC Field. After trailing 5–2 through six innings, Lehigh Valley erupted for seven runs over the final three frames, including a pivotal four-run seventh. The rally began with Oscar Mercado driving in a run to narrow the deficit. Christian Arroyo then reached on a dropped pop-up, allowing two runs to score and tie the game. Rodolfo Castro followed with a clutch RBI double to give the IronPigs a 6–5 lead. In the ninth, Lehigh Valley added three insurance runs to seal the win. Aidan Miller set the tone early with a leadoff double and scored on Mercado’s sacrifice fly. Castro’s late-game double and Mercado’s two RBI highlighted the IronPigs’ timely hitting.

On the mound, Seth Johnson earned the win, improving to 5–5 with a 5.08 ERA. Ryan Cusick started and navigated early trouble, while the bullpen held firm in the late innings. The IronPigs’ pitching staff limited Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to just one run over the final three innings, enabling the comeback.

Playoff Hunt: Lehigh Valley (38-28) is now fourth in the race for the second half championship just 1/2 game behind Toledo (39-28), 2 1/2 behind Syracuse (41-26), and 5 1/2 behind Scranton-Wilkes/Barre (44-23). The IronPigs play two more games in Scranton this weekend and then host Syracuse for six games next week to close out the regular season. The second half winner travels to Jacksonville to play the Jumbo Shrimp in a best-of-three series to decide the International League championship. That team plays a one-game Triple-A championship against the Pacific Coast League champion in Las Vegas.

Reading Fightin Phils

The Reading Fightin Phils outlasted the Somerset Patriots in a 13-inning thriller, winning 8–4 at FirstEnergy Stadium. The game was the longest by innings for Somerset this season and the second-longest in franchise history. Reading’s offense came alive in extra innings, scoring four runs in the 13th to secure the victory.

Nick Dunn delivered the decisive blow with a walk-off grand slam, his sixth home run of the season. Dunn’s blast capped a dramatic finish and highlighted Reading’s clutch hitting. Coby Morales contributed with two singles, marking his fourth multi-hit game at Double-A. The Fightins showed patience and persistence, drawing key walks and getting big hits throughout the marathon contest.

Griff McGarry started the game for Reading and threw 5.1 innings, allowing one earned run and striking out 10 batters along the way. Eiberson Castellano relieved McGarry in the sixth with a runner on second and one out and worked out of that jam and then threw a scoreless seventh. Tristan Garnett threw two shutout innings and Gunner Mayer (3-3, 5.19) threw three innings allowing just the ghost runner to score in the top of the 12th inning to get the win.

Home runs hit on Friday September 12 (season total in parenthesis):

  • Lehigh Valley – none
  • Reading – Nick Dunn (6)