Category Archives: 01. Site Features

Box Score Recap – 7/12/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (40-51) beat the Pawtucket Red Sox 4-0.  Anthony Vasquez threw four-hit shutout ball for 8.0 innings.  Adam Loewen pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.  Aaron Altherr (.316) went 1-5.  Logan Moore went 2-4 with a HR (1) and 3 RBI.

Since falling to 22-42 on June 13th, the Iron Pigs are 18-9 and have won 11 of their last 14 games.

Reading (48-42) beat the Akron RubberDucks 7-2.  Hoby Milner gave up 1 run in 4.0 innings.  He threw 88 pitches, gave up 4 hits, issued 4 walks, and picked off a runner.  Joely Rodriguez got the win.  Edubray Ramos allowed an inherited runner to score.  Ryan O’Sullivan pitched a perfect ninth.  Kelly Dugan (.327) went 2-4 with a double and a walk.  Brock Stassi (.308) went 2-4 with a HR (8), 2 RBI, and a walk.  Andrew Knapp (.327) went 2-5 with a double and 2 RBI.

Clearwater (50-38) beat the Fort Myers Miracle 4-1.  Brandon Leibrandt pitched six, one-run innings – 6 hits, 0 walks, 3 Ks, and picked off a runner.  Miguel Nunez struck out 4 in 2.0 innings.  Ulises Joaquin struck out 2 while collecting his 10th save.  Carlos Tocci (.256) went 2-5 with an RBI.  Rhys Hoskins (269) went 2-5.  Chace Numata (.293) went 1-4.  Mitch Walding drew 3 walks.  Malquin Canelo and Derek Campbell each stole a base and had an RBI.  All ten of the Threshers hits were singles.

Lakewood (43-43)  beat the Hickory Crawdads 7-4.  Jerome Williams got rocked by A level hitters, so, yeah, he’s ready to go back to the Phillies.  Will Morris pitched the final 5.0 innings of shutout ball to earn the win.  Kyle Martin (.358) went 3-4 with an RBI. Cord Sandberg went 3-4 with a double and 3 RBI.  Deivi Grullon went 2-4 with a double and 2 RBI.  Herlis Rodriguez had an outfield assist.

Williamsport (17-5) beat the Connecticutt Tigers 3-2.  Luke Leftwich pitched 3.0 shutout innings.  Tyler Gilbert allowed 1 unearned run in 4.0 innings.  Juan Figueroa blew the save but got the win.  Robert Tasin picked up his 5th save.  Jan Hernandez went 1-4 with a HR (4) and 2 RBI.  Jose Pujols (.351) went 2-3 with an RBI..

GCL Phillies (13-4) no game scheduled.

DSL Phillies (21-16) no game scheduled.

VSL Phillies (20-28) no game scheduled.

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

Extra Innings –

  • Philadelphia Phillies sent RHP Jerome Williams on a rehab assignment to Lakewood BlueClaws. (And they won anyway.)

The blueprint to rebuild the Phillies

Other Stuff

Hello, its me. Since we last chatted, a lot has happened. The draft has come and gone, Andy McPhail has arrived, and the Phillies have lost a ton of baseball games. Today is the Futures Game, which means we’ll see JP Crawford (for a while) and Aaron Nola (probably not at all) and we’ll dream about what could be in the future. In the spirit of thinking about the future, I’m going to provide the blueprint for rebuilding the Phillies. I had originally intended to put this into a Powerpoint presentation which would have been part of my application for the Phillies GM job, but I just don’t think I can leave my current job. So, my loss is the Phillies gain, as I’m giving away the blueprint for free. You’re welcome, Andy. Details below the fold

Continue reading The blueprint to rebuild the Phillies →

Box Score Recap – 7/11/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (39-51) lost to the Pawtucket Red Sox 7-2.  Jason Berken gave up 3 runs on 10 hits in 6 innings and left trailing by one run.  Seth Rosin pitched the Pigs in a deeper hole and the offense could not make up the deficit.  Aaron Altherr (.324) went 2-4 with an RBI and stolen base.  Russ Canzler and Ethan Chapman each had 2 hits.  Gabriel Lino (.274) went 1-4. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/11/2015 →

Box Score Recap – 7/10/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (39-50) beat the Pawtucket Red Sox 4-2.  Aaron Nola gave up 2 runs in the first then he and the bullpen held the Sox scoreless the rest of the way.  Juan Gutierrez gets the win, Adam Loewen his 4th save.  Aaron Altherr (.313) went 2-5.  Russ Canzler had 2 hits, a HR (7), and 2 RBI.  Four different Sox stole 5 bases off Gabriel Lino. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/10/2015 →

Box Score Recap – 7/9/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (38-50) The final game of the series with the Pawtucket Red Sox was rained out.  Nola Night will be held against the Sox in Pawtucket on Friday.

Reading (46-40) lost to the Portland Sea Dogs 9-1.  Mark Leiter opened the game by hitting the lead off batter.  Over the first two innngs he gave up eight singles and six runs.  He remained in the game however, and held Portland to a single and walk over the next four innings.  Reading was unable to mount a comeback and the bullpen turned in a horrid performance.  Joely Rodriguez allowed a run in his two innings on 2 hits and 3 walks.  Ethan Stewart submitted a “Stewart Special”.  He struck out the side, but allowed 2 runs on a leadoff single and four walks.

The top of the Phils line up went a collective 0-16.  Rene Garcia and Brian Pointer each went 2-4.  Art Charles went 1-4 with a double and their lone RBI.  Brodie Greene got the only other hit.  KC Serna had to leave during the second inning with an apparent arm injury.  Pointer had two outfield assists. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/9/2015 →

Lehigh Valley Weekly Report

Other Stuff

Lehigh Valley has been playing well at long last having won 9 of their last 11 games and are 17-9 over their last 25 games.  Unfortunately, the recent hot streak is not enough to overcome an abysmal start and Lehigh Valley currently sits at 38-50 and in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 9 games behind division leading Rochester.  Lehigh Valley completes a three game series at home against Pawtucket tonight before heading to Pawtucket for three over the weekend.  The International League All Star Game is next week, creating a three day break for the ‘Pigs next Monday thru Wednesday.

News and Notes: Lehigh Valley has double digit hits in 10 of their last 11 games.

–Over the last month, INF Russ Canzler is hitting .312 with 4HR 20RBI, 16RS and 10 doubles. (34-114)

–INF Chase D’Arnaud has a team leading 24 multi hit games,  including four consecutive multi hit games this past week.  Since becoming a regular in mid May, D’Arnaud leads the league in runs scored.

—Jesse Biddle made his AAA debut last night and it was not pretty.  He last just 2.1 innings and gave up 7 runs on 5 hits, walking six and striking out a lone batter.  He threw 73 pitches, just 33 for strikes.  In 15 starts in Reading, Biddle was 7-2 with a 4.23ERA and 1.54 WHIP.  Biddle’s command and confidence remain the two major issues that must be addressed for long term success. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Box Score Recap – 7/8/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (38-50) beat the Pawtucket Red Sox 9-8.  Jesse Biddle made his long-awaited debut in AAA.  He got smacked around in 2.1 innings – 5 hits, 6 walks, and 7 runs.  Cesar Jimenez came in and allowed 2 inherited runners to score before allowing one of his own on a solo HR.  Chris Leroux, Adam Loewen, and Nefi Ogando pitched four shutout innings while the IronPigs rallied to tie then win in a walkoff.

Aaron Altherr (.306) went 1-6 with a double and 2 RBI.  Logan Moore went 2-4 with 2 RBI.  Chase d’Arnaud, Tyler Henson, Cord Phelps, and Chris McGuiness had 2 hits each.  Jordan Danks went 4-5 with 3 doubles and 3 RBI.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/8/2015 →

Box Score Recap – 7/7/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (37-50) beat the Pawtucket Red Sox 9-6.  They scored 5 runs in the first inning and tacked on runs when the Sox pulled within one at 5-4 and 6-5.  Nobody pitched particularly well, but David Buchanan started and pitched three innings.  Nineteen of his 40 pitches were balls.  Aaron Altherr (.321) went 1-3 with a walk and stolen base (3).  Logan Moore went 2-4 with 2 RBI.  Chase d’Arnaud had 2 doubles and an RBI.  Russ Canzler had 3 hits, a double, HR, and 3 RBI.  Edgar Duran had 3 hits.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/7/2015 →

Around the System–Starting Pitching, LV, REA, CW

Other Stuff

A look at starting pitching in the upper parts of the organization.

Lehigh Valley

Aaron Nola, 22, Phils 1st round pick in 2014; 16 starts between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 10-3 with a 1.97ERA; 100.1IP 83H 14BB 83K; 5HR allowed; .230 opp avg; 0.97 WHIP; 1.2BB/7.5K per 9;  For Lehigh Valley, 4 starts, 3-0 with a 2.28ERA; .264 opp avg; 1.23 WHIP; .231 vs LH, .288 vs RH.  You cant ask for much more out of Nola.  He has impressed consistently all season long.

Severino Gonzalez, 22, Signed as a free agent in 2010; 9 starts for Lehigh Valley, 1-4 with a 4.38ERA; 51.1IP 53H 12BB 27K; 5HR allowed; 2.1BB/4.7K per 9; .268 opp avg; 1.27 WHIP; 0.65 GO/AO; .282 vs LH, .257 vs RH, .250 last 30 days.  Gonzalez has bounced back and forth between Philly and Lehigh Valley and has taken a beating in the big leagues.  Just 22, he needed this full season to develop in AAA and hasn’t been given that opportunity.

Anthony Vasquez, 28, Signed as a free agent in 2015; 17 games (11 starts) between Reading and Lehigh Valley; 5-3 with a 3.95ERA; 70.2IP 63H 26BB 46K; 3.3BB/5.9K per 9; .246 opp avg; 1.26 WHIP; 0.97 GO/AO; For LV: 9 starts, 4-3 with a 4.96ERA; 45.1IP 43H 21BB 31K; .254 opp avg; 1.41 WHIP; 4.2BB/6.2K per 9; .306 vs LH, .241 vs RH, .326 last month.  After pitching very well in Reading and equally well in his first few outings in AAA, Vazquez has struggled of late.

Jason Berken, 31, Signed as a free agent in 2015; 17 games (8 starts); 5-5 with a 3.33ERA; 73.1IP 73H 21BB 48K; 2.6BB/5.9K per 9; .262 opp avg; 1.29 WHIP; 0.95 GO/AO; .262 vs LH, .261 vs RH; .222 last 30 days;  Berken is 4-2 with a 2.27ERA as a starter and has been one of the rare pitchers who have performed consistently well for the ‘Pigs this year.  No reason that Berken shouldnt get a shot with the big club this year based on his performance, the fact that he has major league experience and the further fact that the Phils desperately need someone to eat innings.

David Buchanan, 26, Phils 7th round pick in 2010; 4 starts, 2-0 with a 2.53ERA; 21.1IP 28H 4BB 14K; 1.7BB/5.9K per 9; .311 opp avg; 1.50 WHIP; 1.29 GO/AO; Buchanan just returned with a very good start after missing close to two months with a significant ankle sprain.  With three or four good starts, he will quickly be back in Philly.

Reading

Zach Eflin, 21, Acquired from Padres in 2015; 14 starts, 5-4 with a 2.88ERA; 84.1IP 77H 16BB 42K; .244 opp avg; 1.10 WHIP; 1.11 GO/AO; 1.7BB/4.5K per 9; .308 vs LHP; .189 vs RH; .286 last 30 days; 6 HR allowed; .302 with RISP.  The bottom line from Eflin looks very good. Absent one awful outing, the bottom line would be excellent.

Ben Lively, 23, Acquired from Reds in 2015; 16 starts, 7-6 with a 3.76ERA; 95.2IP 100H 31BB 66K; 8HR allowed; .279 opp avg; 1.37 WHIP; 0.91 GO/AO; 2.9BB/6.2K per 9; .291 vs LH, .269 vs RH, .296 last 30 days; .203 with RISP.  Lively’s performance with RISP accounts for his low ERA which he should be lauded for.  His peripherals otherwise are adequate but nothing spectacular. Continue reading Around the System–Starting Pitching, LV, REA, CW →

Box Score Recap – 7/6/2015

Box Score Recap

Lehigh Valley (36-50) lost to the Rochester Red Wings 10-8.  The bullpen blew leads of 4-3 and 8-6.  Adam Loewen gave up 4 runs without recording an out in the ninth inning – the crushing blow a walkoff, three-run home run.  Aaron Altherr (.321) went 1-4 with a HR (3) and 3 RBI.  Gabriel Lino (.281) went 0-3.  Chase d’Arnaud had 4 hits, a triple, and an RBI.

Continue reading Box Score Recap – 7/6/2015 →