Pigs blast their way past Bisons

The IronPigs homered three times Saturday on their way to a 5-3 victory against the visiting Buffalo Bisons at Coca-Cola Park. The win lifts Lehigh Valley to a season-high 17 games above .500.

Ryan Goins put the Pigs up 1-0 when he homered on the second pitch he saw against Buffalo's Thomas Pannone (0-1). In the third, Mitch Walding hit a two-run shot to right-center field increase the lead to 3-0. One inning later, Nick Rickles left the yard for the second straight night with a two-run home run into the bullpen to put the Pigs up 5-0 against. The IronPigs lead the IL with 94 home runs on the year. 
Drew Anderson (6-3) kept the Bisons off balance in his eleventh start of the season. Anderson struck out four and allowed six hits over six-plus innings. Anderson worked into the seventh but left the game after loading the bases with no outs. All three runners would come around to score to close the line on Anderson and make it a 5-3 game.
Yacksel Ríos, Héctor Neris and Pedro Beato (23) combined to toss three scoreless innings to back up Anderson's stellar start. The relievers limited the Bisons to just three baserunners in their time on the mound.
The IronPigs and Bisons wrap up their four-game set Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. It is Fornite Day at Coca-Cola Park. Gates will open at 9 a.m. as guests will be able to watch IronPigs players and professional gamers play the popular video game on the Coca-Cola Park videoboard. Ranger Suárez makes his first start at Coca-Cola Park as the Pigs seek their third win in four contests since the All-Star Break.
The 2018 Season is the IronPigs' 11th season at Coca-Cola Park and 11th as the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Fans can get closer to the team than ever before with a Bacon, USA membership -- a year-round IronPigs experience pass featuring numerous 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 the annual holiday party, and more. For more information, visit IronPigsBaseball.com or call (610) 841-PIGS (7447).
The 2018 IronPigs baseball season is presented by Capital BlueCross.