Lehigh Valley lost to the Buffalo Bisons, 5-1. Seve Gonzalez got roughed up early in his 5.0 innings. He gave up 5 ER on 10 hits and 2 HRs. Phillippe Aumont struck out 3 in 2.0 innings of relief. The ‘Pigs managed only 5 hits. Maikel Franco went 2 -4 (.323) with his 5th double. Tommy Joseph went 0-4 but threw out an attempted base stealer.
Reading – no game scheduled. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/16/2015
Lehigh Valley won 8-5 over Syracuse. Chad Billingsley threw 73 pitches (44 (strikes) in an effective start. He allowed 2 hits and 2 walks while recording 3 strike outs in 5.0 innings of shut out ball. Jason Berken got the win after blowing the save opportunity. After the Chiefs tied the game in the top of the seventh inning, the IronPigs exploded for seven runs in the bottom of the frame. Miguel Franco went 2 for 4 with a triple and 2 RBIs in the seventh. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/15/2015
Hot off the presses! The long-awaited roster for this season’s eXtended Spring Training (XST) is attached.
The weekly report will be back as a regular Wednesday/Thursday feature throughout the year. If there is anything additional that you all are looking for beyond what I am reporting, always feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts!
The first week of the ‘Pigs season has had some good, some bad and some ugly after a 3-4 week which included multiple extra inning affairs, one ending with two position players on the mound. The week ended on the upswing with consecutive victories over Syracuse, including an 8-5 win in this mornings game. A week in, Lehigh Valley is in 3rd place of the Northern Division of the International League, 2 games behind division leading Pawtucket. Lehigh Valley hits the road for the first time this year with their next four games in Buffalo followed by three in Scranton.
News and Notes: OF Jordan Danks has hit safely in his first five games to start the year.
–The average age of the Lehigh Valley opening day roster is just under 27.
–Pitchers Ethan Martin and Miguel Alfredo Gonzalez have both started the season on the DL with right shoulder inflammation
–There has been speculation about Phillippe Aumont moving into the role of a starter or long reliever after several years of mediocrity or worse out of the bullpen.
–Its scary that–Only three players on the Lehigh Valley 25 man roster were originally drafted by the Phils (Morgan, Knigge, Murray)
‘Pigs Prospects: Each week we will take a deeper dive into the details of three or four players. Those players will alternate weekly among those most likely to see time with the big club as true prospects. For this week:
Maikel Franco–The low light of the week for Franco was his one game benching after his admiration for a ball he hit off the wall on Saturday, a shot he turned into a single with his slow trot for 90 feet down the first base line, presumably thinking he had hit a HR. That said, Franco has come out of the gate stronger than in years passed and is hitting .296 with 1HR and 7RBI through the first week of the season. He has been solid at third and noticeably more patient at the plate, walking several times.
Tommy Joseph–A very slow start for Joseph, who is trying to bounce back from a lost year last year. Through 18 AB’s, Joseph is hitting .167 and albeit with a very small sample size, has struck out in 39% of his plate appearances, without walking. Joseph has thrown out 2 of the 6 runners attempting to steal on him thus far.
Colton Murray has looked very good with three scoreless outings, spanning 5.1 innings to start the season. Control has been a bit of an issue as he has yielded walks in each of his three appearances and that will catch up to him in time. Murray has yielded just 2 hits and struck out 3 while earning his first AAA save in his 3rd appearance.
Next week: Severino Gonzalez and Adam Morgan
Transactions: Sean O’Sullivan was called up to Philadelphia last Sunday. RP Cesar Jiminez was outrighted to Lehigh Valley in the corresponding roster move. On Monday, largely because of an overworked bullpen, RP Mike Nesseth was promoted to Lehigh Valley and Phllippe Aumont was (at least on paper) sent to Reading. Aumont in actuality remained in Allentown and was unavailable to pitch for several days because of an extended four inning outing. Prior to the game on Wednesday, Nesseth was returned to Reading and Aumont was “promoted” back to Lehigh Valley.
‘Pigs League Leaders: This feature will begin next week after a sufficient statistical sample from around the league is gained.
Probables: Thur: S. Gonzalez; Fri: Morgan; Sat: Clemens; Sun: Rodriguez
Lehigh Valley won 6-5, its second game of the season. Joely Rodriguez allowed 4 runs on 6 hits and 3 walks in 5.0 innings. Hector Neris blew the save but got the win. He struck out 3 in his 2.0 innings. Colton Murray got the save. Maikel Franco contributed a home run and 2 RBIs. Syracuse struck out 10 IronPig batters. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 4/14/2015
Lehigh Valley blew a ninth inning lead and lost to Syracuse, 5-4. Paul Clemens allowed 3 runs (2 earned) in 6.0 innings. Mike Nesseth pitched a scoreless inning. Cesar Jimenez blew the save in the ninth inning and took the loss. The Chiefs line up included Tony Gwynn, Steven Lerud, and Cutter Dykstra.
Reading lost 4-3 to New Hampshire. Tom Windle scattered 9 hits over 6.0 innings. He allowed one run on a home run. Elvis Araujo blew the save and took the loss when he surrendered a 3-run home run in the eighth inning. Both homers and all 4 RBIs were the work of Jake Fox, remember him? Roman Quinn went 3 for 4 with a double and a triple. Brock Stassi and Art Charles had 2 hits each. Brian Pointer pitched in with a solo home run.
Clearwater dropped an 8-1 decision to Jupiter. Colin Kleven gave up 7 of the runs on 11 hits. The Threshers managed just 6 singles. Dom Brown had 2 of them and their only RBI.
Lakewood defeated Greensboro 4-1 and raised their record to 3-2. Chris Oliver outpitched Ben Holmes over 5 innings. Yes, that Ben Holmes. Oliver struck out 5 in his 5.0 IP. Austin Davis (Hold) and Matt Hockenberry (Save) each pitched 1-hit ball in 4.0 innings of relief. Jiandido Tromp went 3 for 3. Malquin Canelo and Carlos Tocci had 2 hits each. Tocci had 3 RBIs and Damek Tomscha added one.
Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.
Here’s an open discussion thread so the minor league posts don’t get cluttered with Phillies’ talk and other topics.
Let’s see. The Phillies are 3-3 and took 2 of 3 from the Nationals. The Braves are 5-1. Young Cody Asche (.429) was been benched twice in 6 games in favor of 31-year old, journeyman Andres Blanco (.375). Eight of 12 roster players are hitting between .222 and .077. Reading’s Brock Stassi has as many home runs (2) as the entire Phillies’ roster in half as many games.
Lehigh Valley wins its first game of the season with a 16th inning walk-off against Pawtucket. And walk-off an accurate description for the game-winning at bat as Russ Canzler drew a walk to force in the winning run. In another twist, Canzler was also the winning pitcher. He moved from DH to the mound in the top of the inning as the IronPigs 6th pitcher. Adam Morgan scattered 6 hits and 3 walks in his first four innings of the season. Maikel Franco went 3 for 7 with 2 run-scoring doubles. Tommy Joseph doubled in a game-tying run in the 13th inning.
Reading beat the Portland Seadogs 10-2. Zach Eflin made his debut and did not disappoint. He scattered 4 hits over 6 shutout innings. He walked one and struck out two. Brock Stassi hit his second home run of the weekend and has 8 RBIs early in the season.
Clearwater losy 6-5 in a come from ahead loss. The Threshers collected 12 hits and forged two comebacks against the Dunedin Blue Jays. But, Miguel Nunez struggled, giving up 4 runs in 3.1 innings on 6 hits, 2 walks, 2 HBP while striking out none. Edubray Ramos blew the save and took the loss in his one inning of work. Mark Leiter pitched perfect baseball during his 3.2 innings of relief, striking out three. Dom Brown crushed a solo home run to right. Drew Stankiewicz collected 3 hits. Andrew Knapp and Dylan Cozens had 2 hits each. Cozens had 2 RBIs. Knapp had one.
Lakewood dropped an 8-0 shoutout to the Kannapolis Intimidators. Cord Sandberg and Tim Zeir each had two of the BlueClaws 5 hits. Ranfi Casimiro gave up 6 runs in 5.0 innings.
Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.
Lehigh Valley loses in 13 innings. Gonzalez pitched well in his start, Murray pitched well in relief. Franco picks up his second hit, another double.
Reading splits – Nola loses, Biddle pitches well and wins.
Clearwater gets walk-off, 2-1 win in 11th inning. Aaron Brown makes another unbelievable catch. Time to come up with an appropriate nickname? More here.
Lakewood ‘s Tyler Viza gets the win. Rhys Hoskins gets 3 hits, Grenny Cumana 2 hits, and Carlos Tocci goes hitless. All three are hitting .455. Herlis Rodriguez adds a go-ahead, 3-run home run.
Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.
The Threshers beat the Blue Jays in a game that featured a pitching duel between their respective pitching staffs. They won the game 2-1 on a 2-out, RBI single by Willians Astudillo in the eleventh inning.
The teams used a combined eight pitchers who scattered 18 hits and 3 walks while striking out 15 batters. Domonic Brown was given the night off after going 0-4 with 3 Ks in the first two games of the series. Michael Saunders started in left field and led off for the Jays and scored their only run in the first inning.
Continue reading Threshers Win on Astudillo’s Walk Off; April 11, 2015
Phuture Phillies 