Prior to their rain out yesterday, Lehigh Valley had won four of their last six games and return home for a quick two game home stand against Scranton before hitting the road for three games against Pawtucket. At 76-52, Lehigh Valley sits in 2nd place of the Northern Division, four games behind division leading Scranton, however hold a 5.5 game lead in the wild card race with 15 games remaining in the season.
News and Notes: Darin Ruf has hit safely in his last 7 games, during which he is hitting .400 with 3HR and 8RBI. Over the last month, Ruf leads the IL in slugging %.
—Cody Asche has hit in all 9 games since being optioned from Philadelphia.
—Anthony Vasquez continues pitching well wherever he is throwing. Over his last 8 starts for Lehigh Valley, Vasquez is 3-0 with a 2.23ERA and 5 quality starts.
–P Phil Klein has been added to the rotation and is throwing very well, going 2-0 with a 1.40ERA in his last 3 starts.
–Over his last 12 games, RP Colton Murray has a 1.53ERA; and has struck out 16 in 17.2IP.
—JP Crawford was out on the lineup for an 8 game stint between 8/10 and 8/17. Since returning to the lineup, Crawford is 3-14 (.214) and his average has fallen to .255 since joining Lehigh Valley.
—Andy Knapp continues to progress defensively and has now thrown out over 36% of would be base stealers this season.
–Over the last 2 months, 1B Brock Stassi is hitting .287 with 10HR 37RBI and 14 go ahead RBI. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report