Lehigh Valley finally broke their long losing streak on Tuesday, but ended the week at 1-5, after another loss Thursday night.  The ‘Pigs now stand at 15-24, in fifth place of the Northern Division of the International League, 11.5 games out of first.

5/18/09– Eight in a row in the loss column now for the ‘Pigs after their 4-3 loss to Gwinnett on Monday. The ‘Pigs jumped out early on Gwinnett with a two run double by Pablo Ozuna in the third inning, followed by an RBI single by Andy Tracy which gave Lehigh Valley the early 3-0 lead.  Jake Woods got the spot start for Lehigh Valley and did his job, going four innings, giving up a lone run on three hits.  He walked three and struck out one.  Gwinnett scored two in the sixth and one more in the seventh off of JC Romero, who took the loss.  Pablo Ozuna had a huge game for Lehigh Valley going 3-4, with a run, 2 doubles, 2 RBI’s, and a stolen base.

5/19/09– Thirty Three year old , major league veteran Rodrigo Lopez (2-2)  got the start and the win for Lehigh Valley on Tuesday and  pitched a very good game going seven strong innings, giving up just a run on five hits in the Lehigh Valley 3-1 win over Gwinnett.  He walked two and struck out six.  A two run homer by David Newhan (1) in the second inning gave the ‘Pigs an early 2-0 lead.    The ‘Pigs  added another in the fifth innng when a Sac Fly by Jason Donald scored Jason Ellison who had doubled.  Mike Koplove pitched a scoreless ninth, striking out two to earn his third save of  the year.John Mayberryhad two hits for Lehigh Valley.

5/20/09– Day Off.

 5/21/09–The ‘Pigs lost their ninth game in their last ten, this time with their defense being their undoing in a 6-2 loss to Durham. Andrew Carpenter, off of his major league starting debut, got the start for Lehigh Valley and pitched six shutout innings, walking two and striking out three.  The ‘Pigs took a 2-0 lead in the fifth on a JJ Furmaniak sacrifice fly and a Rich Thompson RBI single, but the ‘Pigs came unglued in the seventh and eighth as costly errors by Andy Tracy and Pablo Ozuna allowed four unearned runs to score. Gary Majewski (0-3) took the loss in relief. David Newhan had two hits for Lehigh Valley.

 Pigs Prospects–Lou Marson– The struggles continue for Marson after a 3-15 week (.200).  Lehigh Valley expected Marson to be a run producer for them this year and it simply is not happening as of yet.  He is hitting .077 with RISP and has been dropped generally to the seventh hole of the Lehigh Valley lineup. Additionally, Marson has thrown out 2 of 22 runners attempting to steal, which must improve, after he threw out over 36% on runners last year.  Marson’s batting line: .197/.321.255

Jason Donald– A 3-22 (.136) week for Donald with a lone RBI and 7 strikeouts, as he continues to struggle at the plate, struggling hitting for average and producing runs.  His batting line on the year is now .237/.287/.344, simply not acceptable if the majors are in his future.  His defense has remained excellent, as he has now gone 163 chances without an error at SS.  He played only SS this week.

John Mayberry–Has hit safely in 11 of the last 12 games, and over the last 28 games is batting .300 with 6 homers. On the week he was 7-22 (.314), with a homer and 2 RBI’s.  He stands at .277/.346/.540 with 8 HR and 25 RBI on the year and is hitting .306 with runners on base.  I think a weekend callup to face the Yankees is more than likely.

Drew Carpenter– Pitched well in his return from Philadelphia, going six shutout innings against Durham on Thursday. In his 7 starts this year, Carpenter is 1-0 with a 4.02 ERA, WHIP of 1.41 and the opposition is hitting .262 against him. There seems to be reason for optimism based on Carpenter’s recent Lehigh Valley performances.

Kyle Kendrick–Just one start for Kendrick this week and it was not a good one, coming last Saturday against Gwinnett.  He went 5 innings, giving up 4 runs, on 4 hits.  He walked four, struck out four, allowed two homers, and hit two batters.  Kendrick is at 2-3 on the year with a 4.17 ERA in his eight starts.  He has just two quality starts and is averaging just over 5 innings a start.

Carlos Carrasco––Another outing in which Carrasco pitched well, but his day was ruined by one big inning, this time the giving up 3 runs in one inning against Gwinnett. His cureveball and change were working great but he again, appeared to get flustered while trying to pitch out of jams.  Carrasco is now 0-5 with a 6.31 ERA in his 8 starts, his WHIP is 1.50, and the opposition is batting just under .300 against him. Most concerning is the .365 avg opponents have against him with RISP.

Antonio Bastardo–Looks to be taking Justin Lehr’s place in the rotation, but a final decision has not been made.  Stay tuned. Bastardo will most likely be starting Saturday, against the Rays prized propsect David Price.

Pig League Leaders– Jason Donald is first in at bats (160) and seventh in doubles (12); Rich Thompson is sixth in at bats (155) , seventh in stolen bases (9) and sixth in triples (2); Mike Cervenak is fifth in hits (45) and ninth in average (.326); John Mayberry is fifth in homers (8) , eighth in slugging % (.540) and fourth in strikeouts (40).  In pitching categories, Justin Lehr is tied for the league lead with five wins, and Carlos Carrasco is fourth in the league in strikeouts (44).

Transactions:  Lehigh Valley placed Mike Cervenak on the DL, with a fractured right wrist.  He is expected to miss about a month.  To replace him on the roster, the ‘Pigs activated infielder Jorge Velandia, who has been on the DL since April 28 with a shin contusion.  Velandia was hitting .100 before being placed on the DL.

Steven Register, a right handed, 26 year old reliever was signed out of the Rockies organization on Wednesday.  In 16 appearances this year, Register was 0-2 with a 4.50 ERA  and 6 saves.  His WHIP was a very high 1.93.  He did appear in 10 games with the Rockies last year, and had 37 saves for AA Tulsa in 2007.  His career hit/9 rate in the minor leagues is 10.0. 

Antonio Bastardo, 23, was recalled from Reading on Thursday, taking Jason Anderson’s spot on the pitching staff.  Anderson was sent back down to AA Reading.  Bastardo, a lefty, has pitched very well this year, first out of the bullpen and then the rotation for Reading.  Overall, he is 2-2 with a 1.89 ERA in his nine appearances.  He has very good control and is striking out about a batter an inning.  He is expected to go right into the Lehigh Valley rotation. Anderson has been steady for Lehigh Valley out of the bullpen, going 0-0 with a 3.52 ERA.

Notes: JC Romero pitched an inning on his rehab assignment on Monday for Lehigh Valley.  He gave up a run on two hits, walked one and struck out two.  He threw 24 pitches, 12 for strikes.

–Pablo Ozuna had a 13 game hitting streak snapped on Tuesday.  With Mike Cervenak out, he has been hitting 3rd in the lineup.

–Relief Pitcher Tyler Walker should return within the next week from his hamstring troubles. He had been pitching very well before his DL stint.

–During the recent 1-9 ‘Pig slide, the first two hitters in the lineup (Thompson and Donald) are a combined 10-72 (.139)

—Mike Koplove has now not allowed an earned run in his last 14 appearances.