Chiefs return to extras, lose to IronPigs
The Syracuse Chiefs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals, fell to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, 2-1, on Wednesday night at Coca-Cola Park. Leandro Castro brought home the game's winning run with an infield single in the bottom of the 10th to send the Chiefs to their second straight extra-inning loss.
Lehigh Valley (42-44) struck early on in the bottom of the first against Syracuse starter Taylor Hill, who earlier on Wednesday was named to the Triple-A All-Star game. On Hill's third pitch, Lehigh Valley leadoff hitter Grady Sizemore connected for a line-drive home run to right field. The long ball was Sizemore's first since joining the IronPigs on June 26th.
That was the only run that Hill would surrender. In six innings, the right-hander yielded seven hits, while only walking three and recording three strikeouts. In the process, Hill lowered his league-leading ERA to 1.90.
Meanwhile, right-hander Jason Marquis threw seven scoreless innings for the IronPigs. Lehigh Valley carried its 1-0 lead into the eighth, where Syracuse (51-35) finally pushed across a run in to even the score. After Emmanuel Burriss walked to lead off the frame, Jeff Kobernus reached on a bunt single in front of a Zach Walters walk to load the bases. Facing IronPigs reliever Ethan Martin, Jhonatan Solano drew a walk after an eight-pitch plate appearance, forcing home Burriss and knotting the score at one apiece.
After the Chiefs didn't score despite a pair of singles in the 10th, Syracuse reliever Daniel Stange walked both Sebastian Valle and Sizemore to begin the bottom half of the inning. A Tyler Henson single loaded the bases and brought Zach Jackson in from the bullpen to relieve Stange. Jackson's first pitch to Castro was chopped high in the infield, where Burriss attempted to force an out at the plate from shortstop, but his throw was errant, allowing Valle to score the deciding run.
The Chiefs will wrap up their two-game series with Lehigh Valley Thursday night at 7:05 before returning home. Right-hander A.J. Cole will oppose right-hander Barry Enright for Lehigh Valley.