5/29/09–A good pitching performance by Carlos Carrasco was wasted in the 5-3 Iron Pigs loss in their return home against Rochester on Friday night. The RedWings jumped on Carrasco early with a two run homer in the first, but Lehigh Valley came back with single runs in the 3rd, 6th, and 7th to take a 3-2 lead.  That lead survived until the 9th, when Tyler Walker (0-1), blew the save, as well as gave up his first runs of the year on a three run bomb by Matt Macri, which gave Rochester the win.  Carrasco went 7 innings, giving up 2 runs on 6 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 6.  Lou Marson had a big day at the plate going 3-4 with a run and an RBI, while Miguel Cairo added two hits once again for the ‘Pigs. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekend Game Report →

A decent week for Lehigh Valley who went 4-3 this week, including their current 3 game winning streak and are now at 19-27, in 5th Place of the Northern Division on the International League, 11 games out of first.

Looking at Lehigh Valley league leaders, Jason Donald 5th in at bats (175) and 4th in strikeouts (45), Rich Thompson is 4th in at bats (175) and 7th in stolen bases (11), Andy Tracy is 6th in homers (8) and 8th in RBI’s (29), John Mayberry is 7th in homers (8) and 10th in slugging % (.540),Mike Cervenak is 7th in average (.326).  In pitching categories, Kyle Kendrick is tied for the league lead in starts (10) and 9th in innings (53.0), Mike Koplove is 5th in the league in Saves (6),  Andrew Carpenter is 7th in homers allowed (7), and Carlos Carrasco is 4th in strikeouts (52). Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

5/22/09–Lehigh Valley came up with a fairly well played 5-3 victory over Durham on Friday night before a sellout crowd at Coca Cola Park.  Kyle Kendrick (3-3) got the start and pitched well, his lone major mistake being a 3 run homer he gave up to Chris Richard in the 6th inning.  Kendrick went six innings, gave up three runs on five hits.  He walked two and struck out five. The ‘Pigs took an early lead on a Pablo Ozuna RBI double and scored three more in the third inning, the key hits being a Lou Marson RBI single and a Jeremy Slayden RBI double.  Lehigh Valley tacked on another in the fifth on Andy Tracy’s 7th homer of the year.  JC Romero pitched a scoreless seventh (Three up, Three down), and Mike Koplove came in and was dominant, striking out four of the 5 batters he faced to earn his 4th save. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekend Report →

Lehigh Valley finally broke their long losing streak on Tuesday, but ended the week at 1-5, after another loss Thursday night.  The ‘Pigs now stand at 15-24, in fifth place of the Northern Division of the International League, 11.5 games out of first.

5/18/09– Eight in a row in the loss column now for the ‘Pigs after their 4-3 loss to Gwinnett on Monday. The ‘Pigs jumped out early on Gwinnett with a two run double by Pablo Ozuna in the third inning, followed by an RBI single by Andy Tracy which gave Lehigh Valley the early 3-0 lead.  Jake Woods got the spot start for Lehigh Valley and did his job, going four innings, giving up a lone run on three hits.  He walked three and struck out one.  Gwinnett scored two in the sixth and one more in the seventh off of JC Romero, who took the loss.  Pablo Ozuna had a huge game for Lehigh Valley going 3-4, with a run, 2 doubles, 2 RBI’s, and a stolen base. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report →

5/15/09–The ‘Pigs road trip mercifully ended on Friday, with a 8-5 loss to Columbus on Friday night.  The game was over early, as starter Justin Lehr (5-2), who has been excellent thus far this year, was rocked allowing seven runs (including three homers) in five innings, as the CLippers took a 6-0 lead.. This was never much of a game, with the ‘Pigs losing their season high fifth straight, however, John Mayberry hit his 8th homer of the year, and Mayberry , Ozuna, and Donald all had two hits for Lehigh Valley.

5/16/09–The Lehigh Vallfey losing streak continued and now  stands at six, after a 4-1 loss to Gwinnett in the ‘Pigs return home on Saturday.  Kyle Kendrick (2-3)started and did not pitch well, going five innings and giving up four runs on four hits. He walked four, struck out four, hit two batters and gave up a homer. Braves prospect Tommy Hanson started for Gwinnett and the ‘Pigs simply could not figure him out as he pitched seven scoreless innings.  The lone ‘Pig run came in the 8th after Pablo Ozuna scored on a Rich Thompson ground out. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekend Game Report, Lose 7th Straight and Cervenak →

A rough road trip for Lehigh Valley which concludes  tomorrow in Columbus, after a 2-5 week.  The ‘Pigs stand at 14-19, in 5th place of the Northern Division of the International League, 9 games behind division leading Scranton. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

5/08/09– After an eight plus hour bus trip into the early hours of the morning, the ‘Pigs jumped out early on Toledo with a RBI single by Mike Cervenak in the first and a two run double in the second by Jason Ellison to take an early 3-0 lead over the Mudhens.  That is when the homerun ball came back to haunt Drew Carpenter once again, who, after leaving in the sixth had given up two more homers, accounting for a 4-3 Toledo lead. Carpenters’ line was 6IP 3H 4ER 4BB 6K. Toledo took that lead into the ninth when the ‘Pigs scored two on an RBI double by Rich Thompson and a bases loaded walk by Andy Tracy gave the ‘Pigs the 5-4 win. Mike Koplove threw two strong innings to get the win, with  Pablo Ozuna,  Rich Thompson and Jason Ellison contributing multi hit games. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekend Game Report →

Another 3-3 week for the ‘Pigs who leave for Toledo for a weekend series.  Lehigh Valley is in 5th place in the Northern Division, 8.5 games out of first.

Probable Pitchers:  Friday: Drew Carpenter; Saturday: Rodrigo Lopez; Sunday: Justin Lehr  Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

5/1/09– Carlos Carrasco was brilliant against Toledo for the first three innings, but struggled through the fourth and fifth, leaving with a 5-1 deficit, having gone 4.2 innings and yielding 5 runs (2 earned) on 5 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 8.  The ‘Pigs chipped away at the four run lead, eventually taking the lead in the bottom of the 8th on a sac fly by Mike Cervenak, who had three hits and three RBI’s on the night.  On a wet night, Jason Donald made his first start at third, committing an error on his first chance, but was unfazed at the plate, adding three hits.  Rich Thompson was clearly the spark plug of the offense, in the 6-5 victory, stealing 3 bases, scoring 3 runs, adding two hits, and generally playing heads up baseball.  Jake Woods (2-0) got the win in relief with Mike Koplove picking up his first save of the year in a 1-2-3 ninth. Continue reading ‘Pigs Weekend Game Report →

A fairly good week for the ‘Pigs having gone 4-3, and now stand at 9-11, and in 4th Place of the Northern Division of the International League. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →