Allentown, Pennsylvania (July 9, 2026) – It was Christian Cairo’s turn to play hero this week as he ripped an RBI double in the last of the ninth against his old organization to give the Lehigh Valley Rubber Duckies (8-7, 43-47) an 8-7 walk-off win over the Columbus Clipper (8-7, 49-40) Thursday night at Coca-Cola Park.
There was plenty of offense early as Bo Naylor swatted a grand slam in the first inning for Columbus while the Duckies got three of those runs back in the bottom half on a Keaton Anthony sacrifice fly and Bryan De La Cruz two-run double.
Dylan Moore swatted his first homer of the game in the second, a solo shot, to tie things up at 4-4 for the Duckies.
The tie was short-lived with Columbus taking the lead back in the top of the third on an Angel Genao solo homer.
A Felix Reyes sacrifice fly re-tied the game in the fourth, but Columbus again took a one-run lead in the fifth when a balk plated Genao from third base.
De La Cruz’s second run scoring double of the night tied the game again the fifth. The game stayed at that 6-6 scoreline all the way until the eighth.
With an 0-2 count and two outs, Moore ripped a hanging slider deep to leftfield for his second homer of the night, giving the Duckies their first lead, 7-6.
Back-to-back doubles form Joe Lampe and Milan Tolentino tied the game for Columbus in the ninth, setting the stage for Cairo to play hero in the bottom half.
Tommy Pham singled to open frame for the ‘Pigs before Cairo stepped in and laced a double into the leftfield double, sending Pham racing around the bases with the winning run.
After being tagged for his first blown save, Seth Johnson (W, 1-1) does pick up his first win for the ‘Pigs after allowing a run in the ninth.
Trevor Stephan (L, 0-2) suffers his second walk-off loss of the week for Columbus, allowing two hits without recording an out in the bottom of the ninth.
The IronPigs and Clippers continue their series on Friday, July 10th with first pitch slated for 6:45 p.m. Andrew Painter gets the ball for the ‘Pigs against Rorik Maltrud for Columbus.
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The IronPigs are presented by Capital Blue Cross.
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