Cozens, Alfaro Push Pigs To 11th Straight

The IronPigs (25-13) erased an early five-run deficit with a six-run fifth inning and scored nine unanswered runs to come from behind and defeat the Rochester Red Wings (17-16)Tuesday night 9-5 at Frontier Field.

Trailing 5-1 in the top of the fifth inning, Jorge Alfaro snapped an 0-for-15 skid as he drilled a bases clearing three-run double to left field scoring Taylor Featherston, Héctor Gómez and Pedro Florimón to bring the Pigs within a run as they trailed 5-4. International League Batter of the Week Dylan Cozens continued his torrid stretch as he unloaded on a 2-2 fastball and sent it over the right-field fence for a two-run blast to give the Pigs a 6-5 lead. The home run for Cozens is his league-leading 10^th home run of the season.
The Pigs added a pair of insurance runs in the top of the eighth inning to push the Pigs to their 11^th-straight victory, the most by a Phillies Triple-A affiliate since the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons had a 10-game streak in 1989.
In the top of the eighth, Gomez singled home Rhys Hoskins to stretch the IronPigs lead to 8-5. Florimon then plated Featherston on line drive single to right to give the Pigs a 9-5 edge after eight.
For the ninth straight game, the Pigs out-hit their opponent and have not been out-hit in their last 13 games since May 3 at Scranton/Wilkes-Barre. During the 13 game stretch, Lehigh Valley is batting .274 (112-409) with 12 home runs over the offensive outburst.
Rochester jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning as Bengie González singled home Zack Granite to give the Red Wings an early lead. It was the first earned run surrendered by the IronPigs pitching staff in 33 innings.
The Red Wings added four in the third inning to take a 5-0 advantage as Gonzalez singled home another run when he plated Engelb Vielma to get the first run of the inning. With two runners on base, Daniel Palka then sent a three-run home run to left to give the Red Wings a 5-0 lead.
With the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, Rhys Hoskins sent a sacrifice fly to center field to score Cameron Perkins to put the Pigs on the board as they trailed 5-1.
Though Pigs starter Ben Lively's night did not start well, after surrendering five runs in the first three innings, he settled down and then retired the next nine batters to get through six innings of work. Lively picked up his fifth win despite surrendering five runs on six hits, the win also marks Lively's fourth-consecutive win.
Adam Morgan and Colton Murray both tossed scoreless innings with Murray picking up a pair of strikeouts in the eighth inning before giving way to Hoby Milner in the ninth inning.
Milner came on in the ninth and surrendered just one hit and finished the game to give the Pigs the 9-5 victory.
The series continues with game three of the four-game set Wednesday at Frontier Field. The Pigs will send right-hander Ricardo Pinto (3-3, 5.35) and the Red Wings will send left-hander David Hurlbut (2-2, 1.59). First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.
 The 2017 Season is the IronPigs 10^th Anniversary season at Coca-Cola Park and 10^th as the top affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies. The IronPigs are debuting the brand-new Bacon, USA, Membership Program this season -- a year-round IronPigs experience pass featuring numerous new 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 an annual holiday party, an invitation to an exclusive player and coaches photo session and more. For more information, visit ironpigsbaseball.com or call (610) 841-PIGS (7447). Memberships and group outings are on sale now.
The 2017 IronPigs baseball season is presented by Capital BlueCross.