Pigs Split Series With 5-1 Win Over Chiefs

Logan Moore drilled a three-run home in the top of the sixth inning, and the IronPigs (76-62) defeated the Syracuse Chiefs (53-85) by the score of 5-1 Thursday night at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse, NY.

Andrew Pullin led off the sixth with a dusk aided double, as Chiefs right fielder Andrew Stevenson lost track of the ball as it bounced in for a two-bagger. After Angelo Mora grounded out to second, Dylan Cozens struck out looking before Herlis Rodriguez walked to put a pair of runners aboard for Moore.
Moore then saw a 2-2 pitch and sent it over the right field wall for a three-run bomb to extend the Pigs lead to 5-1.
J.P. Crawford had a pair of go-ahead RBI hits, giving the Pigs the opening lead with a one-out two-bagger to right-center field scoring Tom Eshelman from second base to give the Pigs a 1-0 lead in the second.
After the Chiefs tied it in the bottom of the third, Crawford struck again with an RBI single to right field to score Moore to give the Pigs a 2-1 lead they would not relinquish.
Pigs starter Tom Eshelman fired seven strong innings, surrendering an unearned run on five hits while striking out three. For the right-hander, it was his 10^th win of the season for the Pigs and his 13^th in the minors this season.
Casey Fien and Pat Venditte both tossed scoreless frames, with Venditte tossing the ninth inning striking out two batters.
At the time of print, the Rochester Red Wings held a 5-1 lead over Scranton in the top of the eighth inning. With a Red Wings win, their lead in the Wild Card would remain at two games and the Pigs elimination number would be three.
The Pigs now return home to Coca-Cola Park for a pivotal four-game series with the North Division Champion Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders. The Pigs will send right-hander Drew Anderson (0-0, 0.00) to make his Triple-A debut, and the RailRiders will send right-hander Brady Lail (6-5, 5.41). 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.