Skip to content
Phillies
Link copied to clipboard

Phillies Minor League Report: Crosscutters finally lose consecutive games

Here's how the Phillies' minor league teams fared on Sunday, July 5:

Lehigh Valley IronPigs (36-49) – Triple A

A near complete game from Josh Berken and a balanced offensive effort helped the IronPigs top the Rochester Red Wings for the second night in a row, 4-2, at Frontier Field in Rochester, N.Y.

Berken allowed only two runs on five hits in 8 2/3 innings en route to landing his fifth victory of the season. Dustin McGowan needed to get only one out and did just that for his fifth save.

Offensively, the IronPigs received a hit from all but one member of the lineup for a total of 11. Leading the way was Chase d'Arnaud, who went 3 for 5 with a seventh-inning solo homer.

Russ Canzler also drove in a run, as he finished 2 for 4.

The IronPigs will wrap up their long series of games with the Red Wings at 7:05 p.m. Monday. Anthony Vasquez (4-3, 4.96 ERA) is scheduled to start for Lehigh Valley.

Reading Fightin Phils (43-39) – Double-A

A rough start for Colin Kleven led to the Fightin Phils receiving a 14-2 beating at the hands of the Trenton Thunder at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading.

Kleven retired the first 11 batters he faced, but ran into a whole heap of trouble with two outs in the fourth. Between the fourth and sixth innings, Kleven allowed 10 runs, and that ended both his night on the mound and the competitive phase of the game.

Kleven walked away with his first loss with the Fightin Phils after he yielded 10 runs and nine hits.

While the Thunder were busy racking up 18 hits, the Fightin Phils mustered only three, two of which came from Art Charles. Charles drove in a run for his 35th RBI of the season. Drew Heid accounted for the other Reading hit.

The Fightin Phils will try to avoid being swept by the Thunder at 9:35 a.m. Monday. Ben Lively (6-6, 3.61 ERA) will take the mound for Reading.

Clearwater Threshers (45-36) – Class A-Advanced

Despite winning the hitting battle by 13-8, the Threshers fell short of the Brevard County Manatees, 5-4, at Space Coast Stadium in Melbourne, Fla.

Leading the way for Clearwater was Chace Numata, who was 3 for 5 with an RBI. Mitch Walding, Rhys Hoskins and Andrew Pullin recorded two hits apiece. But none of that was quite enough as the Threshers went 3 for 13 with runners in scoring position and stranded 11 runners.

Meanwhile, starting pitcher David Whitehead posted a less-than-stellar outing by yielding five runs on eight hits in only five innings. Whitehead (5-7) took the loss.

The rubber match between the Threshers and Manatees will take place at 6:35 p.m. Monday. Victor Arano (2-7, 4.91 ERA) is slated to start for Clearwater.

Lakewood BlueClaws (38-41) – Class A

A slew of mistakes cost the BlueClaws during a 7-5 loss to the Hagerstown Suns at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood Township, N.J.

Starting pitcher Shane Watson had the unusual stat line of allowing seven runs on seven hits with seven strikeouts in only 3 2/3 innings, but only one of the seven runs were earned. That's because the BlueClaws committed three errors. The BlueClaws had a throwing error and fielding error and muffed a catch. All that led to Watson being handed his first loss of 2015.

Drew Stankiewicz and Kyle Martin each led the BlueClaws with two hits. Herlis Rodriguez recorded two RBIs despite not getting a hit.

The BlueClaws will look to bounce back when they play the Suns again at 7:05 p.m. Monday. Lakewood's starter had not been announced as of this writing.

Williamsport Crosscutters (13-3) – Class A-Short Season

The Crosscutters have suffered consecutive losses for the first time this season after falling to the Brooklyn Cyclones, 9-2, at MCU Park in Brooklyn, N.Y. Starting pitcher Mitch Gueller and reliever Lewis Alezones each gave up four runs. Gueller suffered his first loss of the season.

Only one Crosscutter recorded multiple hits: Brendon Hayden, who went 2 for 4.

The Crosscutters will try to salvage a victory against the Cyclones at 7 p.m. Monday. Tyler Gilbert is scheduled to start for Williamsport.

<< Click here for yesterday's report