Pigs end slide in extras

Danny Ortiz had two of the IronPigs' three hits during Sunday's contest at Pawtucket. (Cheryl Pursell)

By Matt Sabados

August 11, 2018

Follow @IronPigsThe Pigs happily saw their four-game losing streak come to an end Saturday night, thanks to an extra-inning thriller in Louisville.

Follow @IronPigs
The Pigs happily saw their four-game losing streak come to an end Saturday night, thanks to an extra-inning thriller in Louisville.

The 7-6 win pushes the Pigs back to 10 games ahead in the IL North division, and trims the magic number for a division title to 12.

Lehigh Valley caught fire quickly, stringing together five consecutive hits to score three runs in the first inning against Justin Nicolino. The offense went quiet from that point, however, scattering only three singles through the next six innings.

The three-run lead was eventually lost by Harold Arauz in his Triple-A debut. Louisville scored one in a lengthy first inning, and chased Arauz out of the game with four-run fourth featuring home runs from Taylor Sparks and Gabriel Guerrero. Tom Windle allowed another run in relief to cap the scoring for Louisville.

Trailing by three runs in the eighth, a pinch hit double from Danny Ortiz and a timely fielding error tied the game to take Arauz off of the hook. Following a scoreless ninth inning, the two sides moved to extra frames. Ortiz delivered again with a clutch single in the tenth to bring home the eventual game-winning run.

Cole Irvin will try to salvage the road trip for the Pigs on Sunday afternoon in the series finale. First pitch in Louisville comes at 2 p.m. as the Pigs will try to win the series.

Fans can see the Pigs at Coca-Cola Park again on Monday, August 13 when the Durham Bulls visit Allentown. The Phillie Phanatic will also be visiting that night. Mondays at Coca-Cola Park are TD Bank Dog Days featuring $1 Berks hot dogs and $2 domestic drafts. Get tickets here.

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.