IronPigs shut out by Red Wings in series finale, 3-0

The IronPigs were still in a tight pitcher’s duel through three innings, then one uneven fourth flipped the game and sent Rochester to a 3-0 shutout at ESL Ballpark. Dylan Crews doubled, moved to third on a groundout, and Andrés Chaparro singled him in before a throwing error on a potential double play kept the inning alive. Andrew Pinckney followed with another RBI single, and the Red Wings never gave Lehigh Valley a path back into the game.

Chuck King gave Lehigh Valley enough to work with, but not enough to escape the one crooked frame. He allowed two runs, one earned, over four innings with four strikeouts and no walks. Luis Perales, who had already led Rochester to a 3-0 shutout over the IronPigs earlier in the series, left after 4.2 innings on Sunday when he was struck by a line drive. Andre Granillo, Cole Henry, Luke Young, Jack Sinclair and Erik Tolman finished the job for Rochester, and Tolman earned his second save with a pair of strikeouts.

Lehigh Valley’s best chance came in the eighth, when the IronPigs loaded the bases with one out and still could not break through. A ground-ball double play ended the threat and preserved the shutout, a sequence that matched the tone of the afternoon: the IronPigs put runners aboard, but Rochester kept making the last clean play. Lehigh Valley finished 0-for-3 with runners in scoring position and stranded eight runners, while Rochester committed no errors and needed only six hits to win the finale.

The loss dropped Lehigh Valley to 20-25 and sent it home after dropping five of six in the series. Rochester improved to 25-20, moved a season-high four games over .500 and finished its fourth series victory of the season. The Red Wings had entered the finale on a run of seven wins in their previous eight games, and the week featured two shutouts of the IronPigs, including Tuesday’s 3-0 opener at ESL Ballpark and Saturday’s 5-0 win behind Riley Cornelio’s 6.2 scoreless innings and Chaparro’s four-RBI night.

The IronPigs returned to Allentown with another reminder of how quickly a sharp game can tilt on one inning, one error and one missed chance. Their next game was scheduled for Tuesday, May 19, against the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders at Coca-Cola Park.