Florimon's Two-Homer Night Powers Pigs To Win

The IronPigs (61-37) doubled up the Durham Bulls (59-38) by the score of 12-6 Thursday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park.

Before Pigs starter Jake Thompson made one pitch, he was spotted a three-run lead thanks in large part to three first inning errors by the Bulls.
Back-to-back one-out singles from J.P. Crawford and Rhys Hoskins put runners at the corners early for Internatiional League home run leader Dylan Cozens. Cozens bounced a ground ball to shortstop Jake Hager who was playing on the right side of the infield in a shift. Hager misplayed it and then threw to first to try to erase Cozens, however, an errant throw on the relay from Willy Adams kept all hands safe and plated Crawford to give the Pigs a 1-0 advantage.
Florimon then dropped down an RBI bunt single, scoring Hoskins from third to up the Pigs lead to 2-0. The third error of the frame came with Andrew Pullin batting, as Florimon stole second and the throw from catcher Mike Marjama was wild allowing Cozens to score from third to give the Pigs a 3-0 cushion.
Thompson issued just one walk in his first two innings of work, pitching a 1-2-3 second inning.
The Bulls would get to the Dallas native in the third inning, as Willy Adames sent a two-out double to right field. The next batter Rickie Weeks Jr. on Major League rehab then hit a two-run home run to right-center field to bring the Bulls within a run as they trailed 3-2 after three.
Thompson finished his night tossing seven innings, issuing just the two runs on the home run by Weeks to go along with three hits while striking out four. He picked up his fourth win of the season, his first since he pitched eight scoreless innings against the Pawtucket Red Sox on July 20.
With the double from Adams nearly recorded as an out, the Pigs could have got through the inning without allowing, however the ball fell just out of the outstretched arms of Florimon.
Florimon, however would make up for it in a hurry, hitting a lead-off home run to right field to double up the Bulls 4-2.
The Pigs rallied for two four-run innings in the sixth and eighth innings to take a commanding 12-2 lead.
After Cozens walked to lead off the sixth, Florimon followed with a two-run home run to right-center field. The multi-homer game for Florimon was his sixth of his career, with his last being May 17 against the Rochester Red Wings.
Following the homer from Florimon, Andrew Pullin tripled to right-center and would come around on a wild pitch with Harold Martinez batting. Martinez then followed with a three-bagger of his own, and came around to score on a J.P. Crawford RBI single to give the Pigs an 8-2 lead after six.
Crawford then struck again in the top of the eighth with the bases loaded, as the top Phillies prospect laced a ball to right field. The ball was misplayed by Bulls right fielder Jake Bauers, and it trickled down the right field line allowing all three runners to score and Crawford pulled into third. Hoskins then bounced out to first, scoring Crawford from third to give the Pigs a 12-2 lead.
Colton Murray then came on to pitch for the Pigs in the eighth inning, surrendering four runs on four hits including a two-run home run by Johnny Field to cap off the four-run rally to make it a 12-6 Pigs lead after eight.
Yacksel Ríos came on for the final frame, as the right-hander issued just a one out walk to Jake Hager before striking out Kean Wong and forcing Adames to ground out to Crawford to end the game.
The series continues with game two of the four-game series with the Durham Bulls Friday night at Durham Bulls Athletic Park. The Pigs will send right-hander Mark Leiter Jr. Jr. (1-0, 4.74) and the Bulls will send left-hander Ryan Yarbough (9-4, 3.55). 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.