Longest Game in Franchise History Ends in Pigs Win

ROCHESTER, NY - The longest game in Lehigh Valley franchise history ended with a 9-8 IronPigs victory over the Rochester Red Wings, in a five-hour and twenty-seven-minute, sixteen-inning affair.

The winning run came with the help of the sixth Red Wings' error of the game, when OF Leandro Castro scored from third base after 3B Maikel Franco's sharply-hit groundball went through the legs of Rochester third baseman Pedro Florimon.

With the score tied at 7-all after nine innings, the first run of extra-innings came when 1B Russ Canzler blasted his second homerun of the game, giving the Pigs an 8-7 lead in the 14th inning. The Berwick, PA native would finish his night 4-7 with two homeruns, a double and a single, tallying 11 total bases, tying a season-high for any IronPig (Tyler Henson 5/4 @ GWN). His second longball of the night seemed to be the game-winner for the Pigs, but a solo shot by OF Chris Rahl off of LHP Jeremy Horst in the bottom half of the inning would send the game into a 15th frame.

The homerun was the only run allowed by Horst, who threw very well over his 4.0 innings pitched. The 4.0 innings pitched was the longest outing for the lefty since his 4.2 innings pitched on May 23, 2011 as a member of the Louisville Bats, and the gutsy performance kept the Pigs in the game while not depleting their bullpen for the rest of this ten-game road trip.

Horst would earn a win after leaving the game with the 9-8 lead in the 16th, handing the ball off to RHP Hector Neris to record the final three outs. Just one day prior, Neris had allowed a career-high six earned runs to these Red Wings, but bounced back nicely as he retired the side in order, earning his second save as an IronPig this season.

The game entered extra innings after Lehigh Valley Closer RHP Luis Garcia blew a save for only the second time in his Triple-A career. With the Pigs ahead 7-6 entering the ninth inning, Garcia would allow a one-out double to C Chris Herrmann that stayed just inside the third base line, before DH Wilkin Ramirez tied the game with an RBI-single. The earned run was just the third allowed by Garcia in his IronPigs career (31 G, 37.2 ip).

The middle of the IronPigs batting order continued to thrive on Saturday, as Castro, Canzler and Franco combined for 10 of the teams 16 hits. Castro extended his team-high hitting streak to eight games, while Franco has now had three consecutive multi-hit games, batting .529 (9-17) with two doubles, one triple and one homerun over that span. The Lehigh Valley third baseman's homerun on Saturday was the sixth of his Triple-A career, and his 3-8 night raised his season batting average to .226, up from .209 before his three-game multi-hit streak.

RHP Sean O'Sullivan dealt six solid innings in his first start since rejoining the team after making his Phillies debut earlier in the week. Rochester tallied four runs off of the Lehigh Valley starter, but only one run was earned while O'Sullivan tied his season-high with seven strikeouts. The native of San Diego was replaced by LHP Cesar Jimenez to start the seventh inning, leaving in line for a win with a 6-4 lead.

Saturday's game saw IronPigs-game highs for combined hits (33), errors by the opposing team (6), combined errors (8), as well as innings played (16) and time of game (5:27). After the marathon game, the Pigs now head to Indianapolis to begin a four-game series with the International League West Division-leading Indians, beginning at 6:05 Sunday evening.