Phillies Minor League Report: Tom Cochran rocked in brief outing for Lehigh Valley

Here's how the Phillies' minor-league teams fared on Saturday, July 13:

Lehigh Valley IronPigs – Triple A

A horrid pitching performance combined with very little run support contributed the IronPigs dropping a series-opening game to the Syracuse Chiefs, 8-3, at NBT Bank Stadium in Syracuse, N.Y.

Things went downhill quickly for the IronPigs Saturday.

Starting pitcher Tom Cochran began his brief outing by giving up two consecutive doubles and run.

Before Cochran knew it, he had given up four more runs and didn't even finish the inning before being pulled out of the game.

Cochran pitched only 2/3 of an inning. He gave five runs on six hits and walked a batter. He took the loss, which dropped his record to 3-5.

Hoby Milner took his place on the mound and things did not improve for the IronPigs. Milner gave up two more runs in 3 1/3 innings and by the end of the fourth, the IronPigs trailed the Chiefs 7-0.

After Milner was taken out, Cesar Jimenez took the mound and gave up five more hits, but managed to keep the Chiefs off the scoreboard during his three innings of work.

Phillippe Aumont followed Jimenez and gave up the Chiefs' final run in the bottom of the eighth.

The Chiefs racked up 17 hits in all against the Lehigh Valley pitching staff and went 6-for-18 with runners in scoring position.

Conversely, the IronPigs had plenty of trouble creating offense.

The IronPigs didn't plate a run until the top of the eighth and recorded a mere five hits.

Lehigh Valley began the top of the eighth with consecutive walks from Steve Susdorf and center fielder Cesar Hernandez. After a pitching change, shortstop Freddie Galvis hit a double to right field that scored Susdorf and moved Hernandez to third base.

A wild pitch from Syracuse pitcher Cole Kimball allowed Hernandez to score during the next at-bat.

After a third baseman Cody Asche walk, first baseman Cody Overbeck grounded in to a double play, but Galvis was still able to score for the final run.

Four of the IronPigs' five hits came from Galvis and right fielder Leandro Castro as they both went 2-for-4.

The only other hit came from left fielder Tyson Gillies, who went 1-for-4. Lerud took three walks Saturday, but did not cross the plate.

The IronPigs will the final game before the All-Star break at 2 p.m. Sunday against the Chiefs. Greg Smith (4-1, 2.39 ERA) will take the hill for the IronPigs.

Reading Fightin Phils – Double A

Three runs over the course of the last three innings lifted the New Hampshire Fisher Cats to a 6-3 victory over the Fightin Phils Saturday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading.

The Fightin Phils and the Fisher Cats were tied, 3-3, heading into the seventh inning. The Fisher Cats then scored three unanswered runs off of three different Reading pitchers to give them a three-run lead.

The Fightin Phils were unable to cut into the Fisher Cats' advantage and went down in order in the bottom of the ninth.

The game was scoreless until the top of the third when New Hampshire plated three runs.

The Fightin Phils responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning.

After a Kelly Dugan strikeout, second baseman Albert Cartwright was able to reach first base after a bunt. Right fielder Anthony Hewitt cut the deficit to one run with one swing of the bat as he hit a two-run homer over the left-field wall.

Later in the inning, center fielder Derrick Mitchell tied the game up with an RBI-single that scored Tyler Henson.

Starting pitcher Brody Colvin posted a rocky outing against the Fisher Cats. Colvin allowed three earned runs on four hits, but walked six batters in five innings on the mound.

Hector Neris (3-4) replaced Colvin and eventually took the loss. Neris, Tyler Knigge and Mike Nesseth all gave up one run apiece during the seventh, eighth and ninth innings.

Hewitt and Cartwright led the Fightin Phils in the hitting department as they both went 2-for-4 from the plate. Hewitt's homer was his 21st of the season.

Mitchell and Jim Murphy (both 1-for-4) were the only other Fightin Phils to record hits as they only recorded six overall.

The Fightin Phils and the Fisher Cats will square off one more time at 1:35 p.m. Sunday. David Buchanan (5-9, 4.40 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Fightin Phils.

Clearwater Threshers – Class A-Advanced

Ten unanswered runs propelled the Threshers to a 10-4 win over the Charlotte Stone Crabs Saturday at Bright House Field in Clearwater, Fla.

The Stone Crabs started the game hot offensively as they scored three runs in second inning and one run during the third.

The Stone Crabs did all of their damage to Clearwater starter Nick Hernandez, who gave up those four runs (three earned) on seven hits. He also recorded four strikeouts and walked one batter.

Daniel Carela (1-0) and Steven Inch followed Hernandez and prevented the Stone Crabs from plating another run.

Inch recorded a three-inning save Saturday, which marked his first save with Clearwater.

The Threshers' offensive explosion began during the fourth inning when they put five runs on the scoreboard.

Left fielder Aaron Altherr led off the inning by taking a walk. He then stole second during the next at-bat. Designated hitter Chris Serritella then hit a single to right field to put runners on the corners.

Right fielder Cameron Perkins took the second walk of the inning to load the bases. Second baseman Carlos Alonso followed Perkins by reaching first base due to an error from Charlotte third baseman Richie Shaffer.

The error resulted in Altherr crossing the plate for Clearwater's first run.

Shortstop Miguel Abreu then grounded into a double play that still scored Serritella. First baseman Brock Stassi cut the deficit to one run after a RBI-single that plated Perkins. Stassi made it all the way to second base due to a throwing error from Charlotte center fielder Kes Carter.

After a Bob Stumpo walk, center fielder Jiwan James hit a triple to center field that score both Stassi and Stumpo to put the Threshers in front.

The Threshers scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth when Serritella hit a two-run homer to make the score 7-4. The homer was Serritella's eighth of the year.

The Threshers tacked on three insurance runs in the bottom of the seventh to put the Stone Crabs away.

Serritella finished the game 3-for-4 from the plate with three RBI and a homer. Third baseman Matt Tolbert went 3-for-5 on the day despite not crossing the plate.

Alonso (2-for-4) and Stumpo (2-for-3) recorded two hits apiece for the Threshers.

The Threshers will look to clinch a series victory over the Stone Crabs at 1 p.m. Sunday in the third game of the four-game set. Perci Garner (6-1, 3.70 ERA) will start for Clearwater.

Lakewood BlueClaws – Class A

The BlueClaws' six-game winning streak came to end Saturday after a 5-1 loss to the Hickory Crawdads at FirstEnergy Park in Lakewood Township, N.J.

For the second straight game, but BlueClaws failed to score five runs. The BlueClaws won Friday's game over the Crawdads thanks to a stellar performance from Severino Gonzalez.

The BlueClaws did not receive as good a performance Saturday. Starter Jonathan Musser gave up four runs on four hits and walked three batters, but gave up two home runs to Hickory catcher Nick Vickerson.

Vickerson's performance lifted the Crawdads to a 5-0 lead heading into the bottom of the seventh.

Lakewood's only run of the game occurred during this inning when right fielder Brian Pointer hit a solo home run over the right-field wall. That was the only offense the BlueClaws could mount as they recorded only four hits Saturday.

Point (2-for-3) and left fielder Larry Greene (2-for-4) were the only BlueClaws to record hits.

The BlueClaws will play the rubber match in the four-game series at 5:05 p.m. Sunday. Miguel Nunez (6-7, 4.68 ERA) will get the ball for the BlueClaws.

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