Stripers Walked Off in Lehigh Valley Despite Motter's Two Homers

ALLENTOWN, Pa. – The Gwinnett Stripers (58-61) carried a 5-2 lead into the ninth inning thanks to a pair of home runs from Taylor Motter, but the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (65-54) scored four runs in the ninth to win 6-5. Rehabbing Philadelphia Philles outfielder Bryce Harper's two-out, two-run double walked it off.

Decisive Plays:Motter belted a two-run homer (13) in the third and a solo shot (14) in the seventh as Gwinnett opened a 5-2 lead. In the ninth, Michael Tonkin (BS, 3, L, 5-2) loaded the bases before yielding RBI singles to Scott Kingery and Ali Castillo to cut the lead to 5-4. With two outs and two strikes, Harper lined a ball to left-center that fell for a double, scoring the tying and winning runs.

Key Contributors: Motter (2-for-5, 2 homers, 3 RBIs) and Hernan Perez (2-for-5, run, 2 steals) each had multi-hit games for Gwinnett, and Pat Valaika went 1-for-3 with a triple and two runs scored. For Lehigh Valley, Harper finished 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs, while Kingery went 2-for-4 with a homer and two RBIs.

Noteworthy: The Stripers are now 6-8 in games decided in walk-off fashion this season. Motter's two-homer game was his second with Gwinnett and 10th of his professional career. Perez is batting .417 (15-for-36) with six multi-hit efforts in his last nine games.

Next Game (Thursday, August 25): Gwinnett at Lehigh Valley, 7:05 p.m. at Coca-Cola Park. LHP Kyle Muller (6-6, 3.17 ERA) for the Stripers vs. LHP Kent Emanuel (2-1, 2.36 ERA) for the IronPigs. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com.

Next Home Game (Tuesday, August 30): Gwinnett vs. Jacksonville, 7:05 p.m. at Coolray Field. Radio Broadcast: 6:50 p.m. on MyCountry993.com. It’s a Family Value Tuesday at Coolray Field. Enjoy $2 hot dogs and $1 select desserts, courtesy of Coolray Heating & Cooling.