A lousy week for Lehigh Valley who went 2-5, and now stand at 53-79. 26.5 games behind division leading Scranton.  The 26.5 games back in the most Lehigh Valley have been back this year.  Taking a look at league leaders, Brandon Watson is 8th in at bats (462), and 4th in hits (139).  Mike Cervenak is 2nd in the league in average (.319).  Andy Tracy is 3rd in doubles (32), 2nd in RBI’s (83), 6th in walks (59), 6th in on base % (.380) and 8th in slugging % (.525).  On the pitching side, Les Walrond leads the league with 2 shutouts,  JA Happ in 5th in ERA (3.30), first in strikeouts (143) and 4th in WHIP (1.15).  The slumping Brian Mazone is 3rd in losses (11), first in starts (26), 3rd in IP (156.2) and 4th in homers allowed(20).

A two run single in the ninth inning gave the ‘Pigs a 5-4 come from behind victory over the Yankees in Scranton last Friday evening. Brian Mazone started and went 6 innings and gave up 3 runs on 7 hits.  He didnt walk a batter and struck out 8.  Stephen Randolph (3-0) picked up the win in relief, with Matt Childers earning his 20th save of the year.  Homers by Jon Knott (19) and Oscar Robles (3) sparked the Lehigh Valley offense, who also got 2 hits apiece from Jason Jaramillo and Rich Thompson.

On Saturday night, Lehigh Valley came back from a 5-0 deficit to send the game into extra innings, however Jason Anderson (3-2) got shellacked, with the Yankees scoring six runs off of him in the 10th inning on the way to a crazy 12-9 ten inning loss. JA Happ started and struggled for the first time in a long while, going 5 innings and giving up 4 runs on 4 hits, including 2 homeruns.  He walked 2 and struck out 6.  The ‘Pigs offense was led by Brandon Watson who was 3-5 with a run and 2 RBI’s, Jon Knott who was 2-5 with a run and an RBI, and Casey Smith who hit his 3rd homer of the year for Lehigh Valley.

ANother strange game on Sunday saw the ‘Pigs blow a 5-2 lead, on their way to a 9-6 loss to Scranton.  Kris Benson got the start for Lehigh Valley, and had a rough outing going 5.1 innings and giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 10 hits.  He walked 3 and struck out 4.  The collapse began with Benson on the mound and was completed with Gary Knotts (2-5) giving up 4 runs on 6 hits over 2.2 innings.  Brandon Watson led the offense with a 4-5 effort including a homer (4).  Mike Rouse was 2-4 with a homer (2), 2 runs, and 2 RBI’s, and Rich Thompson added 2 hits and a stolen base (24).  The ‘Pigs cause was hurt by 2 errors and having 3 runners caught attempting to steal.

Lehigh Valley lost their 3rd straight on Monday evening 5-1 in Buffalo.  In Fabio Castro’s first start as a ‘Pig, he had a rough outing going 4 innings and giving up 5 runs (4 earned) on 5 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 3.  Brandon Watson was the only offesnive notable with another 2 hit game.  Travis Blackley, who lost his rotation spot to Castro pitched 4 scoreless innings in relief.

Four losses in a row now for the ‘Pigs with another brutal performance against Buffalo in a 10-1 loss on Tuesday night.  Carlos Carrasco (1-2) started and was roughed up for the first time, going 5 innings and giving up 6 runs on 9 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 7, throwing 96 poutches, 63 for strikes.  The offense was again non existant, other than a 2 hit performace by Mike Cervenak.

Make it five in a row, with another blowout loss to Buffalo on Wednesday evening 10-5.  Brian Mazone (9-11) got the start was was rocked, going 3.2 innings and giving up 8 runs on 7 hits.  He walked 4 and struck out 3.  Even while scoring 3 runs in the first inning to take an early lead, Buffalo brutalized Mazone and were ahead 8-4 by the time he left the game in the 4th.  Mike Cervenak was 2-5 with 2 runs, a homer(8) and 2 RBI’s.  Other offesnive notables were Rich Thompson (2-4, run, sb, 2b), Jason Jaramillo (2-4, rbi, sb), and Jon Knott (2-3, rs, 2b, rbi).

Lehigh Valley finally got back in the win column on Thursday 7-3 on Thursday against Buffalo,  behind the effort of JA Happ (8-6).  Happ went 5 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, while walking 3 and striking out 5.  The bullpen then pitched 4 innings, giving up a lone run.  The ‘Pigs offense was led by Brandon Watson who had 3 hits, including his 5th homer.  The ever consistent Mike Cervenak was 3-5 with 2 doubles, and both Jon Knott and Oscar Robles added two hits as well for Lehigh Valley.

Transactions:  Mike Cervenak was returned to the ‘Pigs from the Phillies after Rudy Seanez came off the disabled list last Saturday.  Cervenak was 1-6 (.167) during his stint with the Phillies. His offensive punch will be welcomed back into the ‘Pigs lineup which has struggled in his absence. JD Durbin was sent down to Reading to make room on the roster.

—Les Walrond was returned to Lehigh Valley after posting an ERA over 6 for the Phillies.  Walrond had pitched exceptionally well as a starter for the ‘Pigs prior to his recall

Notes:  Andy Tracy missed 3 games after fouling a ball off of his foot last week.

—Travis Blackley made his first relief appearance of the year last Saturday after getting rocked in his last several starts.

—Joe Bisenius is starting to pick it up at long last with a 1.69 ERA in his last 7 appearances.

–The 14 game hitting streak of Mike Cervenak was snapped in his first game after returning from the Phillies.

–Lehigh Valley is 5-15 in their last 20 games.

–3B Brennan King is hitting .034 (1-29) since coming off the DL.

–The caught stealing rate for Jason Jaramillo is at 22% (22/100).

—Brandon Watson currently has a modest 7 game hitting streak.