Pigs Blanked by Stripers

The IronPigs dropped the middle game of their three-game series with the Gwinnett Stripers on Wednesday, 5-0. The loss snaps the four-game winning streak for the Pigs, and sets up a rubber match for the series tomorrow evening.

The Stripers roughed up Tom Eshelman early, as Luis Marté sent the second pitch of the game into the bullpen for his second home run in as many games. Following a pair of walks and an infield single, Sean Kazmar Jr drew a bases-loaded walk to collect another run in the first before Eshelman closed the inning.
u1:pEshelman was able to reset after the first inning, and hurled five scoreless frames to follow. In relief, Tom Windle walked in another run in the seventh inning to push the Gwinnett lead to three. As the Pigs hoped to maybe begin another rally, Carlos Franco smacked a two-run home run to knock the game out of reach.
u1:pTouki Toussaint, one of the top prospects in the Atlanta system, spun a gem for the Stripers. The right-hander logged eight scoreless innings with eight strikeouts and four walks. The Pigs had back to back base hits in the third inning from Eshelman and Dean Anna; those were the only two hits on the day for Lehigh Valley.
u1:pWhile Anna continued his hot streak in July, extending his hitting streak to 14 games, Dylan Cozens drew a pair of walks, but Joey Meneses went 0-for-4 on the day, snapping his season-high 15-game hit streak.
u1:pWith the series now even at one game apiece, the two squads will face off in tomorrow's rubber match to see who wins the three-game set. Cole Irvin will take the mound for Lehigh Valley as he hunts for his tenth win this season with first pitch coming at 7:05 p.m.
u1:pThe 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, visit IronPigsBaseball.com or call (610) 841-PIGS (7447).
u1:pThe 2018 IronPigs baseball season is presented by Capital BlueCross.