The ‘Pigs returned home with a 3-1 loss against Durham on Tuesday night after a successful 5-3 road trip. On the year, Lehigh Valley now sits at 41-37 and in 2nd place of the Northern Division of the International League, 7 games behind division leading Pawtucket. The ‘Pigs currently lead the wild card race by one game, and play at home through next Wednesday.

‘Pigs Prospects:Darin Ruf has had a good June, hitting .291 for the month after his 0-4 last night. I certainly did not expect anywhere near 2012 power numbers but Ruf’s 2013 numbers have been lower than I thought. 2 homers for the month of June thus far and 7HR 38RBI thru the half way mark of the IronPigs season.  Ruf is hitting .266/.346/.418 on the year with a 11%bb rate and a 26% K rate.

Mauricio Robles has pitched well for Lehigh Valley in his 11 appearances, not having allowed a run in 8 of them. Following his scoreless outing last night his ERA sits at 2.13, along with a WHIP of 1.26. His control was a bit of an issue in Reading at 4.5BB/9, and that issue has now increased with 9 walks in his 12.2 IP with Lehigh Valley.

Tyler Cloyd has simply looked very, very bad for Lehigh Valley this year, despite a modicum of success with the big club.  Over his last 3 starts for the ‘Pigs, Cloyd has thrown 13 innings and given up 20 runs on 28 hits.  Included in those 28 hits are nine homeruns. After allowing just 37 earned runs in his 22 starts in 2012, Cloyd has allowed 41 earned runs in his last 9 starts this year.  Cloyd has among the highest ERA, WHIP and HR allowed in the league.

Cesar Hernandez has struggled since returning from Philadelphia, hitting just .235 with 0HR and 3RBI over the last 12 games since his return.  Still, it is not all that unusual to see some immediate struggles coming down off the high of major league baseball. Hernandez remains hovering right around .290 and is among the league leaders in SB’s with 21. He remains solid at 2B.

Next week: Rupp, Asche, Martin

‘Pigs Leaders (thru Monday) Hitters: Cody Asche is 6th in AB’s (286), tied for 5th in triples (4), 9th in hits (78) and 6th in strikeouts (73); Cesar Hernandez leads the league in triples (7), is 6th in SB’s (21); Josh Fields is 5th in avg (.322); Darin Ruf is 5th in strikeouts (76); Jermaine Mitchell is 3rd in triples (5)

Pitchers: Ethan Martin is 3rd in wins (8), 2nd in walks (49), 6th in strikeouts (73) and 3rd in starts (15); Tyler CLoyd is tied for 8th in losses (6), and 2nd in HR allowed (14); ; Jake Diekman leads the league in games (30), and is 6th in saves (11).

News and Notes: The ‘Pigs have won 15 of their last 19 games at Coca Cola park.

—Adam Morgan has begun a throwing program and is playing catch off of flat ground.

–With Ethan Martin’s win on Monday night, he became the fastest pitcher to reach 8 wins in Lehigh Valley history.

–Lehigh Valley continues to lead the league in attendance, averaging over 8600 per game.

-Prior to Michael Martinez’s error on Tuesday, Lehigh Valley infielders had not committed an error in 138 innings.

–In the revolving door that has been the Lehigh Valley bullpen, no less than 9 relievers have earned a save, the last one being Justin Friend on Monday evening.

Transactions: Last Friday, OF Leandro Castro was placed on the DL with a dislocated finger; Last Saturday, JC Ramirez was called up to Philadelphia; last Sunday, Phillipe Aumont was called up to Philadelphia; on Monday, RP Luis Garcia was promoted to Lehigh Valley from Reading; on Monday, SS Michael Martinez cleared waivers and was assigned to Lehigh Valley. On Tuesday, RP Mike MacDougal was signed and assigned to Lehigh Valley.

Probables: Wed: Cochran; Thur: Cloyd; Fri: Zambrano; Sat: Martin