Allentown, Pa. – Triple-A rehab start No. 2 for Ivan Nova did not go as well as the first. Nova (1-1) allowed five runs over five frames as his Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders fell to the Lehigh Valley IronPigs (Philadelphia Phillies) in Friday night’s series opener, 5-2. The IronPigs deadlocked the season-long IronRail series, 2-2.
Lehigh Valley (27-43) plated a pair in the first and third against Nova. Tyler Henson and Darin Ruf reached on a walk and bruise respectively in the opening frame. NEPA native Russ Canzler doubled Henson home while Cord Phelps’ groundout pushed Ruf across the plate. A double by Phelps and a groundout by Chris McGuiness in the third each resulted in an RBI for a 4-1 score.
McGuiness’ two-out single sent Ruf home in the fifth to round out the home squad’s scoring. Nova gave up seven hits, walked two and whiffed four on 84 pitches (49 strikes).
The RailRiders (39-30) posted single scores in the third and fourth against starter Jason Berken (4-4). Nick Noonan’s groundball double play got Cole Figueroa across the dish in the third while Gregorio Petit’s two-out single sent Kyle Roller home an inning later.
Reliever Nick Rumbelow fired three dominant shutout innings behind Nova. He struck out six and walked none.
Lehigh Valley’s Seth Rosin faced the minimum in the ninth for his third save.
The three-game series continues at 6:35 p.m. on Saturday evening. Right-hander Jaron Long (5-4, 4.09) will get the ball against Lehigh Valley lefty Anthony Vasquez (3-1, 2.37).
The Father’s Day Legends Game will take place at PNC Field this coming Sunday featuring names like Reggie Jackson, Don Larsen and more. Gates will open at 12:15 p.m. in advance of a 2:05 p.m. first pitch. For more information please call (570) 969-BALL (2255) or visit swbrailriders.com.
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