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

Phillies look-alikes, Part 1

By
The Phillies are World Series Champions and, thus, are world wide celebrities. This recognition isn't enough, I tell you. Some of the champs could very well be confused with other major celebrities around the globe...or at least around my house. Let's dig in... Two look-alikes in particular have been widely discussed. Geoff Jenkins even made a sign on the table covering at his autograph station at last year's Phillies Phestival that he is not Brett Favre or phormer Phillie Randy Wolf. ------------------------------------------------------- Jayson Werth may be on his way to Wrestlemania. Jay-Dub is aware that he resembles Heavyweight wrestling champion Adam "Edge" Copeland. Are you? -------------------------------------------- Carlos Ruiz's fame was boosted by TBS during the playoffs, but he might be ready for his own Comedy Central sketch show, as he looks very much like Carlos Mencia. Dee dee dee! -------------------------------------------------- And whi...
4 comments
Read more

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

By
Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...
Post a Comment
Read more

PhoulBallz Interview: RHP Prospect Brody Colvin

By
Recently, right-handed pitcher Brody Colvin was promoted from Class A Advanced Clearwater to Double-A Reading. Prior to the 2012 season, Colvin, who turns 22-years-old on Tuesday, was ranked as PhilliesNation's 6th best prospect . This season, following some ups and downs, it's unclear where Colvin will rank next preseason. Earlier this year, Colvin, a Louisiana native, was removed from Clearwater's starting rotation and moved to the bullpen to relax and improve his mental approach. He did so and returned to starting after a brief time. Through his first two outings with the R-Phils, the 7th round draft choice from 2009 posted a 1-0 record while allowing five earned runs in 11 innings (4.09 ERA). In his last start on Saturday, however, Colvin allowed eight earned runs in 2 2/3 innings pitched in a loss to New Britain. In a recent interview with Brody, he spoke about the transition moving to the Eastern League, his brief bullpen stint, physical concerns from last season...
2 comments
Read more