Skip to main content

IronPigs season ends with playoff loss to familiar foe

By
For the third straight season, the Triple-A affiliate of the Phillies, the Lehigh Valley IronPigs, came out on the losing end to the Yankees affiliate, the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders.

Following a dramatic walk-off win on Friday night in which catcher Nick Rickles got the game-winning hit in the bottom of the 13th inning to force a game 4 in the best-of-five series, the IronPigs were just one out away from pushing the series to the maximum.

Closer Pedro Beato was on the mound facing Railriders center fielder Shane Robinson.  Former Phillies prospect Quintin Berry pinch ran at second base.  With Berry in motion, Robinson stroked Beato's pitch up the middle.  Pigs' shortstop Dean Anna fielded the ball, threw to first base too late to make the out.  An aggressive Berry made the most of the moment, darting toward home and scoring to tie the game at 2 runs apiece.

The IronPigs failed to mount any offense in the bottom of the 9th.

Moving into extra innings for the second straight night, the Pigs turned to reliever Ranfi Casimiro, who allowed the first three runners to reach base.  A run scoring ground out gave the Railriders a 3-2 lead, but they weren't through.  Lefty Tom Windle entered the game to try to limit the damage for Lehigh Valley, but second baseman Bruce Caldwell launched a grand slam to put the visitors ahead by a score of 7-2

In the bottom of the frame, the IronPigs went down in order to lock that score in as a final.

The new free runner on second base rule to open every extra inning that was used throughout the minor leagues during the 2018 regular season was not in use during the postseason.

Left-hander Ranger Suarez got  the start for Lehigh Valley.  The 23-year-old went 5 2/3 innings allowing one earned run on three hits while striking out five and walking two.

The IronPigs offense was paced on Saturday by left fielder Danny Ortiz, who notched three hits including a solo homer.  Second baseman Jesmuel Valentin collected two hits while driving in a run.

This year marked the IronPigs' 11th season as the top minor league affiliate for the Phillies.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

PhoulBallz Interview: First round pick Bryson Stott

By
Bryson Stott, image- Jay Floyd Shortstop Bryson Stott , the Phillies' first round draft selection this year, has enjoyed a successful initial pro campaign.  En route to being recognized as an All-Star for the Class A short-season Williamsport Crosscutters the 21-year-old UNLV product has tallied a .295 average with six home runs and 25 RBI in 45 minor league contests. Last week I spoke with the lefty hitting Stott to discuss his transition to professional baseball, joining the Phillies organization and plenty more.  Read ahead for that interview.  -Obviously, your performance and the production on the field is going well, but how do you feel you have adapted to the pro life? It feels good.  You hear about the everyday grind, but you don't really believe it till you feel it. I would say that's the difference between college and the pros, is you're not practicing, you're playing games every day.  I would say that's the biggest difference.  But I...
Post a Comment
Read more

Sunday School: Phillies History Lesson 73

By
Danny Ozark was the Phillies' manager from 1973-1979. During his tenure as the team's general, Ozark led Philadelphia to three straight division titles. In his playing days, Ozark was a first baseman, who was a career minor leaguer in the Dodgers system. When Ozark took over the team in 1973, the Phillies were fresh off 5 consecutive losing seasons and 3 straight last place finishes. During his first season in charge, the Phillies would again finish in last place, 20 games under .500, but as his core of young talent, like Mike Schmidt and Larry Bowa, developed, the Phillies' win totals rose. Within 2 years, the Phillies were above .500 and in the playoff hunt until late in the season and the most successful era of Phillies history was about to begin. By 1976, the Phillies were headed to the post-season for the first time since 1950. The Phils would enjoy a 10-game lead over their nearest division rival at the midway point of the season. Despite a lul, which saw their lead d...
2 comments
Read more

Patreon Exclusive: Logan O'Hoppe answers Nine Silly-ass Questions

By
Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Phillies catching prospect Logan O'Hoppe was the subject of a recent player feature I posted here three days early.  When I talked with Logan, he was kind enough to not only chat about some serious baseball related topics, he also had some fun with me and answered Nine Silly-Ass Questions! In this interview, the 20-year-old, who was an All-Star with Class A short-season Williamsport last year, offered his thoughts on his experiences playing in Australia last off-season, super powers, some surprising movies he's never seen, teammate Albertus Barber and plenty more.  Read ahead for some excerpts from this Silly-ass interview... -You can 4-for-4 and your team loses, or you can get hit in the groin and your team wins...which do you choose? I mean, if we win, then the whole team has a good night, so I have to go with that one.  That really benefits everybody. -Tell me, if you can, four words to describe Albertus Barber . One,...
Post a Comment
Read more