Lehigh Valley has lost 12 of their last 20 games, with very erratic starting pitching combined with a lack of clutch hitting leading to their slide from first place.  Currently, the ‘Pigs stand at 70-55 and in 2nd place of the Northern Division, 1 game behind division leading Pawtucket.  Lehigh Valley remains 2.5 games ahead of Gwinnett for a wild card spot with 17 games remaining in the season.

‘Pigs leaders: Hitting: Rich Thompson is 2nd in runs (71),leads the league in SB (38) and is tied for 3rd in triples (6); Delwyn Young is 8th in doubles (29); Brandon Moss is 4th in HR (20), 5th in SLG (.500); tied for 7th in RBI’s (69), and 9th in walks (55); Erik Kratz is 5th in OBP (.384).

Pitching: Michael Schwimer is tied for 3rd in wins (9) and is 10th in saves (10); Ryan Feireabend is tied for 3rd in wins (9), has the worst ERA (5.71) and is 5th in HR allowed (20); Nate Bump has the 9th worst ERA (5.37) and 4th worst WHIP (1.55); Brian Bass is tied for the lead in starts (24), 9th in walks allowed (49) and is 5th in IP (136); Mike Zagurski is 9th in saves (11)

Infield: Cody Overbeck has been hitting the ball extremely well this week, hitting .350 over his last 7 games including two homers, one being a game winner.  Over the last month, Overbeck is hitting at a .282 rate, and has played good defense.

Josh Barfield has begun seeing some time in CF, but remains the primary 2B for the ‘Pigs.  Over his last 7 games, Barfield is hitting .333 (9-27) after an 0-13 slump.  Barfield’s average continues to hover between .260 and .270 on the year.

Freddy Galvis has hit in 11 of his 14 games at AAA and has committed a lone error in his first 45 chances.  In his last 29 games, including AA, Galvis is hitting .348 (40-115).

Kevin Frandsen is hitting just .221 (23-104)since returning from his suspension on July 15th, and is down to .273 on the year.  He continues to show a good deal of versatility, playing wherever need (21G at SS, 15 at 2B, 10 at 3B and 7 at 1B).

Pete Orr has hit in 15 of his last 19 games, well over .300 during that time period.  With carlos RIvero returning to Reading, Orr should be playing every day at 3B. On the year, .268/.327/.391 in 235 AB’s with 4 HR 24 RBI and 13 SB.

Starting Pitching: Scott Mathieson continues to impress as a starter, getting better with each outing.  As a starter, Mathieson is now 1-1 with a 2.27 ERA in his 8 outings,  His primary problem remains attempting to strike out every single hitter, often going very deep into the count in order to do so, driving up his pitch count.

Brian Bass continues to be solid as the season progresses. Bass is just 2-4 over his last 12 games, however has an ERA hovering just over 3 during that time period.  Since May 13, Bass is 5-6 with a 3.20 ERA, spanning 17 starts. Ten of those 17 starts were quality starts. Bass has continuously given the ‘Pigs innings when needed.

Ryan Edell threw seven shutout innings in his last start, and gets the start tonight against Rochester.  Prior to his last outing, Edell had been inconsistent as a starter in AAA.  In his 6 starts with the ‘Pigs, Edell is 2-4 with a 5.68 ERA.

Nate Bump has struggled the last two times out after seemingly turning the corner a bit in his prior several starts.  In his last two outings, Bump has given up 9 ER in 11.2 innings, and has just 5 quality starts this year in his 21 starts. Lefties are crushing him at a .380 rate.

Dave Bush made his first start for Lehigh Valley on Tuesday evening against Rochester and went six shutout innings looking very good in keeping Rochester off-balance.  Too early to judge, lets see how Bush fares his next couple of outings.

Ryan Feireabend was put on the disabled list to make room for Dave Bush with “turf toe”.  Feireabend has struggled in just about every start over the last month.

Notes: Lehigh Valley has trailed first in 58% of their games, the highest average in minor league baseball.

–The bullpen is now a combined 34-14  with a 2.73 ERA (428IP 130ER 506K).

—Erik Kratz had a 11 game hitting streak snapped on Monday.  He was hitting .357 during the streak.

—Joe Savery is unscored upon in his last 7 games, spanning 8.1 innings.  He has struck out 13 during that time period.

Transactions: Veteran Major League Outfielder Jack Cust signed with the Phillies last weekend and was assigned to AAA Lehigh Valley.  Cust is expected to see some time in the OF, however will primarily DH.  To make room for Cust, 3B Carlos Rivero was sent back to AA Reading.

On Sunday, the Phils signed veteran Major League starting pitcher Dave Bush and assigned him to AAA Lehigh Valley. Bush31, , who pitched for the Texas Rangers and for AAA Iowa this season, is expected to join the Lehigh Valley rotation.

On Tuesday, SP RYan Feireabend was placed on the DL with “turf toe”, to make room for Dave Bush on the roster.

After the game on Tuesday, Michael Schwimer was called up to Philadelphia.  Returning to the Lehigh Valley bullpen will be Aaron Heilman, whose case of turf toe seems to have resoved itself.

Probables: Thursday: Mathieson; Friday: Bass; Saturday: Bump; Sunday: Bush