IronPigs edge RailRiders 5-4 behind one big inning, bullpen
One fourth inning carried Lehigh Valley, and three relievers finished the job as the IronPigs outlasted Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5-4.
The Lehigh Valley IronPigs did not need a hit parade to beat Scranton/Wilkes-Barre again. They needed one burst of offense in the fourth inning, eight free passes, and a bullpen that turned a 5-4 lead into a second straight one-run win at Coca-Cola Park.
Lehigh Valley scored all five runs in the fourth after falling behind 2-0 through three innings. The inning opened with hits by Liover Peguero and Carter Kieboom, then Dylan Carlson and Dylan Moore drew back-to-back walks to force in pressure. Paul McIntosh followed with a sacrifice fly, Felix Reyes added an RBI single, and the IronPigs picked up an unearned run on a two-out error to complete the frame. It was the kind of inning that reflects patience as much as contact: the IronPigs finished with only three hits, but they kept stacking baserunners until Scranton/Wilkes-Barre cracked.
That was enough to survive a RailRiders push in the fifth. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre scored twice to cut the deficit to 5-4, and after that the game became a bullpen test. Jackson Rutledge handled the sixth and seventh without allowing a run, Lou Trivino escaped the eighth by stranding the tying run at third after a leadoff double, and Nolan Hoffman closed it with a clean ninth, striking out two for his first save.
Chuck King earned the win despite giving up four runs over five innings, while Elmer Rodriguez took the loss after allowing five runs, four earned, in three-plus innings. The result pushed Lehigh Valley to 23-27 and gave the IronPigs a 3-2 series lead heading into Sunday’s finale. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre fell to 25-23.
The shape of the victory matters as much as the score. Lehigh Valley has now won consecutive games over the RailRiders by one run, after Friday night’s 6-5, 10-inning walk-off when Christian Cairo scored on a two-out error. The IronPigs also opened the 2025 season against Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with a 5-4 win after building a 5-0 lead and hanging on late.
Taken together, the pattern is hard to ignore. Lehigh Valley is finding a way to survive tight games by compressing its damage into one decisive inning and then trusting the bullpen to finish the job, a blueprint that can travel if the walks keep coming and the relief work stays sharp.
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