A standard 3-4 week for Lehigh Valley, who now stand at 35-52, in 5th place of the Northern Division of the IL, 16 games behind division leading Scranton.
‘Pigs leaders, hitting: John Mayberry is 7th in runs (46), Andy Tracy is 9th in runs (45), leads the league in walks (50), 7th in slg (.516) and is 3rd in OBP (.406). Pitching: Nate Bump is tied for 7th in Wins (7), and is 5th in ERA (2.55); Drew Carpenter is tied for 7th in Wins(7), and 10th in ERA (3.21); Brian Mazone is tied for the league lead in starts (18), tied for 4th in HR allowed (13)and 5th in IP (99); Scott Mathieson is 4th in saves (15); Ryan Vogelsong is 5th in walks (40); Joe Savery is 6th in walks (39). Note: Stats are thru 7/6 and include players on the current Lehigh Valley roster.
Monday–A romp over Pawtucket Monday night behind Drew Carpenter (7-6), in a game Lehigh Valley won 8-2. A grand slam by Andy Tracy (12) put the ‘Pigs in front 4-0 in the third inning and gave Carpenter a nice cushion as he pitched very well, going 6.2 scoreless innings, giving up just 2 hits. He walked 4 and struck out 8. Lehigh Valley added foru more in the 7th inning on a solo homer by Domonic Brown (4), RBi single by John Mayberry, and a two run double by Chris Aguila. Pawtucket scored two late runs making the final 8-2. Four IronPigs had two hits apiece (Duffy, Brown, Tracy, Mayberry).
Tuesday–The ‘Pigs won their third straight over Pawtucket Tuesday night behind a very strong performance by Brandon Duckworth (3-3) in the 6-3 Lehigh Valley victory. Duckworth went 7 shutout innings, giving up just 3 hits. He walked 3 and struck out a very impressive 10 batters. A Melvin Dorta solo homer (2) in the 3rd inning gave Lehigh Valley a 1-0 lead and then a five run fourth put the game away early. The big blows in the 4th were a Domonic Brown RBI single, a Neil Sellers RBI double and a two run single by Paul Hoover. The six run lead held into the 9th when Joe Savery came on in a relief and gave up three runs, before he was able to get the final outs. Neil Sellers was 3-4 with a run and an RBI, while Domonic Brown, John Mayberry, and Paul Hoover each added 2 hits.
Wednesday–Scorching night in Allentown on Wednesday as they concluded their series against Pawtucket with Brian Mazone on the mound and a 4-2 loss. An RBI single by Chris Aguila in the 2nd inning and an RBI double by Aguila in the 4th gave Lehigh Valley the early cushion. Mazone pitched well early on, however a four run Pawtucket 6th spelled the end of his night, after 5.2 innings. He gave up 4 runs on 9 hits. Mazone walked one and struck out 2. Lehigh Valley was unable to generate any more offense and went down without to much of a late inning fight. Both Melvin Dorta and Chris Duffy had 2 hits apiece for Lehigh Valley.
‘Pigs Prospects–Domonic Brown–has hit safely in his last 12 games and in 12 of 13 since his promotion to LV. Brown has been fantastic in his first 51 AAA at bats hitting .392/.418/.686 with 4 HR 10 RBI and 2 SB. Brown is striking out less then 20% of the time thus far at AAA, and he has played well in the field.
John Mayberry’s struggles continue although he has had mutli hit games in 2 of the last 3 contests. Over the last 10 games, Mayberry is hitting .156 with 0 HR and 2 RBI”s and has been dropped down in the lineup in favor of Domonic Brown. On the year, .245/.316/.407 in 290 AB’s. 10 HR 43 RBI and 9 SB. Mayberry’s average has fallen to just .225 with RISP and his struggles against right handed pitching have begun cropping up again with his average falling to just .239.
Drew Carpenter had an outsstanding outing this week, throwing 6.2 scoreless, while striking out 8. He has now thrown 14 consecutive scoreless innings and seems to have found his groove recently. In his last 13 starts, Carpenter is 6-4 with a 2.64 ERA (8 QS). Very consistent numbers for the 6’3 righty.
Scott Mathieson had an impressive two inning save on July 4th, striking out four on the way to earning his 15th save of the season. On the year, 31 games, 3-2 with a 2.21 ERA. 36.2 IP 25H 14 BB 47K, .195 opp. avg. (.226 with RISP). Continuing to throw just as hard and continuing to flummox the opposition.
Notes: Andy Tracy left the game on Tuesday night with a elbow injury after being hit by a pitch. He is expected to miss a few days.
–Starter Nate Bump who was named to the IL All Star team was ill and his turn was skipped over on Tuesday. It is unclear if Bump, who is among the league leaders in wins, innings, and ERA, will be able to make his next start or participate in the All Star Game.
–Reliever Mike Stutes recorded all four outs on strikeouts in his impressive outing on Wednesday evening.
Transactions: JA Happ was optioned from Philadelphia and will join the Lehigh Valley starting rotation. After two rehab starts in Lehigh Valley, his first official start as an IronPig in 2010 will come Friday.
–Reading All Star closer Michael Schwimer was called up to Lehigh Valley on Tuesday. In 32 games, Schwimer was 5-3 with a 3.60 ERA and 11 saves in 40 innings. Along with his 1.20 WHIP and .225 opp. avg. Schwimer has walked 14 and struck out 58 over his 40 innings of work.
Probables: Friday: Happ, Saturday: Carpenter, Sunday: Duckworth
Phuture Phillies 
On Mathieson: Is there a reason other than performance that prevents the Big Club from promoting and keeping him on the roster? It was my impression that he was performing better than Mike Zagurski and projected better. I thought perhaps he has a service time or arbitration issue that would kick in if he plays in the majors this year?
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I have heard people say that rushing hitting prospects to the majors can ruin their careers. Does anyone know examples of prospects where this happened?
I am not trying to argue that Brown should get moved up to the ML team, I just would like to know where people are coming from.
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dougEfresh: The Phillies gave him a chance, and despite his 98 mph fastball, he wasn’t locating it and he wasn’t throwing any sort of offspeed pitch.
I realize he only pitched an inning, but he’ll get his chance again. Zagurski has been recalled in favor of Madson, too.
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At this point dougE, it would mainly appear to be a numbers game. For Mathieson to come up, someone else in the pen would need to be gone. Zagurski could be sent down but he gives them a 2nd left-hander in the pen. Any other player would need to clear waivers first.
Also, with both Madson and Durbin making rehab starts, they already have a full deck of BP arms.
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Zagurski was not recalled in favor of Madson. Madson is on the DL and doing the normal rehab outings. He will be up as soon as he’s done with these outings.
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Gregg, it seems to me from afar, that Brown has brought a better attitude to the Iron Pigs in addition to a lot of talent. I was wondering if you could tell me what their record has been with him versus without him.
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Clyde, the jury is still out on Mike Stanton. But you could take a look at ALex Gordon of the Royals or Justin Upton of the Rays.
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Madson recalled from rehab assignement. Zagurski sent to LV.
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Time for the rule5 guy to get “hurt”.
Since Brown got there we can’t call it Wehigh any longer.
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Clyde this is how the Phillies deal with top prospects and it hasnt failed yet.
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I think Herndon works just as well at Mathiesson right now, and they apparently want to keep him on the roster for the entire year and not offer him back to the Angels. The thing about Herndon is he’s a groundball pitcher; and he now has a bit of experience. Mathiesson has less recent experience and I think is more of a flyball pitcher.
Typically when the send guys to the minors they tell them what to work on (i.e. Kendrick, Happ). I haven’t seen a ton of the new Mathiesson, but I understand the criticism as 1. flat fastball and 2. needs to use secondary pitch better. If he can work on those issues, then he’ll be back. If not then he’s a AAAA guy.
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Thanks, for the input…I think bringing Brown up after May 15th next year is probably the right timing. Stanton certainly looks rushed to me.
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A lot of Phillies stuff on BA today
Free content – Top 25 Prospects:
1. Domonic Brown, of, Phillies (Triple-A Lehigh Valley): The power has come through as the Phillies predicted, as Brown has started to fill out at age 22 and surpassed his career home runs total in his first 65 games at Double-A Reading. Then he went out and hit four in his first 13 games after a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He ranks 10th in the minors in OPS, and he’s doing it with big tools at upper levels. His still-raw defensive skills (his defensive tools are fine) are his only major flaw.
Just missed:
Jared Cosart, Jonathan Singleton
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