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The Class A Lakewood BlueClaws lost in controversial fashion on Sunday evening, dropping their series finale against the Hagerstown Suns (Nationals affiliate), by a score of 7-6, in front of 5,457 fans at Lakewood's FirstEnergy Park. In the bottom of the 8th inning, trailing 7-5 with the bases loaded and 1 out, Lakewood second baseman Carlos Perdomo laced a low liner toward Hagerstown shortstop Jason Martinson .  In a fashion that Phillies fans are used to seeing, when Chase Utley , on occasion, allows such hits in similar situations to drop so he can attempt to double up baserunners, Martinson did not catch the ball on the fly and immediately flipped the ball to second base for a force out on the runner from first base.  Outfielder Brian Pointer , who was on second base, retreated to the bag with the assumption the liner would be caught. A throw to third base drew the call from the umpiring crew for the second out.  The umps then ruled that the runner at second ha...

Plenty of Phillies players are staying in shape in the early going this off-season on the field and not just in the gym or in batting cages . Plenty of individuals contracted to the Phillies are playing ball down in the Caribbean winter leagues. Here's a run down of how various Philadelphia farm hands and a couple big leaguers are doing in the off-season leagues. -Right-hander Julio Rodriguez has made two relief appearances for the Gigantes de Carolina in the Puerto Rican Winter League. In his first outing, the 21-year-old threw 2 1/3 scoreless innings, while he allowed 2 earned runs in 2/3 of an inning in his second appearance. Rodriguez had an outstanding regular season for the Class A Adv anced Clearwater Threshers in 2011, going 16-7 with a 2.76 ERA and a .186 batting average against in 27 starts. -Shortstop Freddy Galvis hasn't looked too sharp lately for the Aguilas del Zulia in the Venezuelan league. In 10 games since returning from a right wrist injury, the 21...