After originally being scheduled to hit 7th and DH, Carlos Ruiz was removed from the ‘Pigs lineup.  Ruiz took batting practice and apparantly felt some discomfort in his oblique area, and was removed from the lineup minutes before the game.  He will be re-evauluated in Philly tomorrow.

In other news, Carlos Carrasco complained of both a blister as well as soreness in his elbow after his poor start yesterday.  Carrasco believes he will be able to make his next start.  Andy Tracy was also a late scratch from the lineup Monday night after developing back spasms.  He was replaced at first by Mike Cervenak.

4/24/09– The ‘Pigs opened their homestand in a big way on Friday evening with a 13-3 drubbing of the visiting Red Sox.  After the Sox took an early 2-0 lead off starter Justin Lehr (3-0), a seven run third inning put the game away early for Lehigh Valley.  Mike Cervenak started it all with a long two run homer (2), which was followed later in the inning by a two run double by John Mayberry.  Jason Donald and Paul Hoover added RBI doubles in the inning as well.  Andy Tracy added a solo homer in the fourth (3).  A second RBI Double by John Mayberry scored two in the sixth, making it 11-3, and the ‘Pigs added yet another two runs in the seventh to give them their thirteen run total.  In a game where many broke out offensively, Donald (3-5, 2 doubles, 2 runs, RBI), Mayberry (3-4, 2 doubles, run, 4 RBI’s), and Pablo Ozuna (3-5, run, double) were the most notable.  Lehr put in a workmanlike effort on the hill, getting a quality start, going 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 8 hits.  He walked 2 and struck out 2. Continue reading ‘Pigs Weekend Game Report →

Lehigh Valley went 3-3 this week, and are returning home with a record of 5-8, in 5th place in the Northern Division of the International League. Lehigh Valley actually has no one among the league leaders in any hitting category, not an easy feat.  I have a bit more to say looking at the pitching categories.  Justin Lehr is 10th in ERA (1.59) and 10th in WHIP (0.88); Gary Majewski is tied for 3rd in saves (2); Carlos Carrasco is 2nd in the  league in innings (19), is third in strikeouts (20), and is 4th in WHIP (0.79).  In a troubling category, Drew Carpenter is tied for 2nd in homers allowed (4).

Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report →

Weekend  In Review–

4/17/09–The ‘Pigs opened a series against the Red Sox in Pawtucket and picked up their first win in McCoy Stadium, 4-3 over the ‘Sox.  A 2 run homer by Andy Tracy was the decisive blow, while Rich THompson continued his role as a  spark plug  of the ‘Pig offense with an RBI double and run scored.  Andrew Carpenter (1-0) started and went six innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits.  He didnt walk a batter and struck out 7, throwing 92 pitches, 56 for strikes.  Two home run balls were problematic for Carpenter. Gary Majewski  picked up his first save of the year, pitching a scoreless ninth. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekend Report →

Lehigh Valley is 2-5 after the first full week of International League play, 5.5 games behind division leading and undefeated Scranton. The only current ‘Pig among the league batting leaders is Rich Thompson who is fifth in hits with 12.  In the pitching categories, Carlos Carrasco is tied for the league  lead with 12 innings pitched, while Kyle Kendrick is 7th in the league with 11 innings pitched.  Justin Lehr is 7th in WHIP at 0.63.  Carrasco also ranks 7th in the league with 10 strikeouts. Continue reading Lehigh Valley Weekly Report →

Lehigh Valley won their first game today, 5-1 over the Nationals affiliate the Syracuse Chiefs.   Justin Lehr started and was fantastic, going 6.1 innings, allowing 3 hits, and one run,  walking one and striking out five.  He threw 85 pitches, 49 for strikes.

Lehr, 31, last played in the majors in 2006 with the Brewers, throwing in 16 games, going 2-1 with an ERA over 8.  Last year, he was in the Reds organization with AAA Louisville and had a good year going 6-2 with a 2.10 ERA in 16 games (8 starts).

Rich Thompson got the offense kick started in the first inning with a single, and quickly stole second.  He was knocked in by JJ Furmaniak on a two run single (Cervenak had walked).  The ‘Pigs third run came on an RBI double by Paul Hoover who scored John Mayberry (who had 3 hits and a walk). Lehigh Valley scored two more in the 9th on RBI singles by Andy Tracy and Rich Thompson.

Notes: Jason Donald had a tough day going 0-5, although he made a couple of nice plays in the field at shortstop.

—Rich Thompson was 3-5  with a run, RBI and a stolen base.  Mike Cervenak and Jason Ellison added two hits apiece.

—Andy Tracy was out of the starting lineup for the 2nd straight night after fouling a ball off of his foot on Saturday.

—Gary Majewski pitched a scoreless ninth for the ‘Pigs, striking out Corey Patterson to end the game.

–A moment of silence was observed pre-game for Harry Kalas and the flag flew at half staff.

An abridged version of the weekly Lehigh Valley report with only the opener, to report on. The ‘Pigs got off to a rough start and a rougher end in their 11-3 opening night loss to Scranton.  The night began with a JJ Furmaniak error leading to two unearned runs for the Yanks in the first, before Kyle Kendrick settled down to go four innings yielding only the two unearned runs on four hits.  He walked three and struck out one.  Kendrick threw 82 pitches, 50 for strikes and was pitching out of trouble for most of his four innings.  The ‘Pigs got back into the game in the second inning on an RBI single by Furmaniak, who had three hits on the night.  Pablo Ozuna followed that up with a two run single in the fourth inning, giving the ‘Pigs a short lived 3-2 lead.  The floodgates opened in the fifth inning with Dave Borkowski (0-1) giving up two runs, and then John Ennis getting rocked in the 6th giving up five more.  Lehigh Valley was unable to put anything together after that point and dittoed their opening day loss to the Yankees last year. 

Continue reading Lehigh Valley Report →

A quick note on the probable starters for the opening series against the Scranton Wilkes Barre Yankees:  Opening night:  Kyle Kendrick, Friday: Carlos Carrasco, Saturday: Drew Carpenter, Sunday: Rodrigo Lopez.  Justin Lehr will open the ‘Pigs second series of the year Monday against Syracuse.

A couple of points to clarify the IronPigs roster in light of earlier predictions:

–Neither Joe Bisnius nor Antonio Bastardo are on the ‘Pig opening day roster.  Both are starting the year in the Reading bullpen.

Continue reading Pig Points →