A tough 2-5 week for Lehigh Valley who concluded a long road trip in Durham and came home on Tuesday to begin a 8 game homestand against Louisville and Indianapolis. The ‘Pigs now sit in 4th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 3.5 games behind division leading Syracuse.

‘Pigs Prospects:Kenny Giles has been unscored upon in 8 of his 10 outings for Lehigh Valley, earning 2 wins, 5 saves and a hold over that time period. In his 10 games for the ‘Pigs, Giles is 2-0 with a 2.13ERA; 1.11WHIP and .171 opp average.

Maikel Franco has been very quiet, hitting just .200 over the last 10 games with 0HR and 4RBI and missing some time with an upper respiratory issue. On the year, Franco now sits at .228/.297/.356 with 4HR and 22RBI.  Absent a solid 3-4 weeks, 2014 has been a struggle for Franco. 

Tyler Knigge joined the IronPigs after throwing 21 consecutive scoreless innings in relief for Reading, throwing primarily in a set up (7-8th inning role).  In his first outing with Lehigh Valley, Knigge allowed 2 runs on 4 hits, in 1.2 innings of work.  Knigge is a sinkerball pitcher who is more likely to entice a ground ball then a strikeout.

Cameron Perkins was hitting .342 with 3 HR 34RBI (leads all Phils minor leaguers) and had an OBP of over .400 with him from Reading.  He is likely to spend most of his time in RF, although he can also play 1B.  He left Reading with a modest 7 game hitting streak, which was extended when Perkins singled in his first game in Lehigh Valley.

Next Week: Gillies, Ruf, Rosin

‘Pigs League Leaders, Hitting: Maikel Franco is 7th in AB’s (207); Tyler Henson is 9th in runs(31), 5th in strikeouts (61) and 4th in SB’s (13); Jim Murphy is 8th in HR (8) and 10th in RBI’s (30)

Pitching: Luis Garcia is 7th in saves (6); Ken Giles is 8th in saves (5); Barry Enright is 2nd in HR allowed (10)

News and Notes: With Brad Lincoln going seven shutout innings Monday, he earned his first win as a starter since June of 2012.
–Darin Ruf left Tuesdays game after crashing into the wall going hard after a foul ball.  He suffered a sprained left wrist and a lacerated leg and is likely to be placed on the DL.

–INF Ronny Cedeno has hit safely in 22 of his last 25 games (33-88, 14 RBI’s, .375)

–In three starts with Lehigh Valley, Chris Bootcheck has allowed  5ER in 19IP.

–OF Leandro Castro is hitting .328 (21-64) over his last 17 games.

–Tyson Gillies missed the last three games with what sources are calling a hamstring issue, returned on Tuesday only to throw a temper tantrum in the tunnel after being removed from the game in a double switch.

–The Phillies farm system is now 101-141, 30th among 30 teams in the majors.

–In his last 5 starts, Barry Enright is 3-1 with a 3.63ERA.

Transactions: Going to Philly were both RP Phillippe Aumont and RP Cesar Jiminez, while being added from Philadelphia was OF/1B Darin Ruf, who was optioned to Lehigh Valley.  RP Tyler Knigge was added from Reading after the Aumont/Jiminez call up. After a horrific two outings in Philly, Aumont was quickly returned to the ‘Pigs, with Ethan Martin earning the call up to Philly to replace Aumont.  Additionally on Tuesday, P Shawn Camp was added from CLearwater and OF Cameron Perkins joins the team from Reading.