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Scott Kingery flashes leather in IronPigs debut

The second baseman went 1 for 5 and made two dazzling plays in the field.

Phillies prospect Scott Kingery went 1 for 5 with a single and a stolen base Monday night in his debut with triple-A Lehigh Valley at Coca-Cola Park in Allentown. He also made two sensational plays at second base, robbing Pawtucket's Steve Selsky of a couple of hits.

Kingery, 23, had learned of his promotion from double-A Reading on Sunday night after hitting .313 with 18 doubles, five triples, and 18 home runs for the Fightin Phils. He was tied for the Eastern League lead with 18 home runs and his .987 OPS was the best in the league.

It was Kingery's defense, however, that shined most in Lehigh Valley's 5-4, 10-inning loss to Pawtucket.

After lining a single to center field in his first triple-A at-bat, Kingery made a diving catch in shallow right-center field to steal an RBI single from Selsky in the second inning. Kingery also ranged far to his right behind the second-base bag and threw out Selsky to end the top of the sixth.

Kingery's .989 fielding percentage was the best among Eastern League second basemen.

"It's definitely awesome to have the Phillies think enough of me to bump me up here," Kingery said. "From here, I just have to figure out what I can do here. I think there's going to be some adjustments and a learning curve everywhere."

bbrookover@phillynews.com

@brookob