Pigs' rally falls short against Toledo

The Lehigh Valley IronPigs' comeback came up just short Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park. A seven-run first inning by the Toledo Mud Hens was too much for the Pigs to overcome as they fell 8-7 to the No. 1 team in the International League.

The Mud Hens jumped out to an early lead against Pigs starter Tom Eshelman (1-5), tallying seven straight hits including a three-run home run by Jarrod Saltalmacchia in the top of the first. Brandon Leibrandt came on to tossed 2 2/3 scoreless innings of relief to silent the Toledo bats. Leibrandt, Tom Windle, Austin Davis and Yacksel Ríos provided 7 2/3 scoreless innings of relief and only allowed two hits while striking out seven.
The IronPigs' bats answered with three runs in bottom of the first inning against Tyler Alexander (1-0), making his Triple-A debut. Lehigh Valley started the bottom of the first with four straight hits including a pair of RBI doubles by Collin Cowgill and Danny Ortiz to plate three runs. Continuing to chip away, the Pigs added two more runs in the bottom of the second on RBIs by Cowgill and Ortiz. Matt McBride added a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth to make it a one-run game.
Cowgill finished the game with a double, a sacrifice fly and a run scored. Damek Tomscha, in his second game at the Triple-A level, went 2-for-5 with a pair of singles.
The IronPigs and Mud Hens will wrap up their three-game series tomorrow at 1:35 p.m. Ben Lively will take the ball for the Pigs. Stick around after the game for post-game Kids Run the Bases presented by Lehigh Valley Children's Hospital.
The 2018 Season is the IronPigs' 11th season at Coca-Cola Park and 11th as the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. Fans can get closer to the team than ever before with a Bacon, USA membership -- a year-round IronPigs experience pass featuring numerous amenities such as savings on parking at games and at the Majestic Clubhouse Store at Coca-Cola Park, on-field VIP access to watch batting practice, access to the annual holiday party, and more. For more information, click here or call (610) 841-PIGS (7447).
The 2018 IronPigs baseball season is presented by Capital BlueCross.