The 2024 Lehigh Valley IronPigs season can best be remembered for the moments it produced. While the team finished under .500 for the first time under Manager Anthony Contreras’s guidance, it felt like each win brought with it marquee memories, plays, and performances. While the IronPigs’ fortunes were down on the field in 2024, the list of players who made Major League debuts with the Phillies grew exponentially, with one of the major plot points of the season being how much IronPigs players contributed to the Phillies run to the 2024 NL East Title. On the business side, the IronPigs once again led all of MiLB in attendance, proving yet again that the best baseball fans in the country reside in the Lehigh Valley. Let’s take a look back at a month-by-month breakdown of the 2024 IronPigs season.
March/April
When it looked like the IronPigs season was going to start with a whimper, it ended up kicking off with the largest, most improbable bang. Trailing 4-0 going into the last of the 9th inning, the ‘Pigs staged maybe the most incredulous comeback the franchise had ever seen. Every hitter that came to the plate in the frame reached base for the ‘Pigs, capped by a walk-off homer from Rodolfo Castro to win the game. Castro’s homer appeared to be a grand slam, but after further review, the umpires ruled that in the heat of the celebration Matt Kroon passed Aramis Garcia on the basepaths around third base, thus rendering Kroon out and making Castro’s homer officially a ‘three-run Grand Slam’.
The following week, the IronPigs hit the road for the first time in the season which resulted in a franchise-record four consecutive postponements (two games were ultimately canceled) in Rochester. Amidst all the weather, Ricardo Pinto made his return to the Phillies as his contract was selected by the Phillies on April 2nd, resulting in a wild goose chase as Pinto was shuttled the four hours from Rochester to Philadelphia that day, arrived at Citizens Bank Park mid-game against the Cincinnati Reds, put on his uniform and then earned a four-inning save in the game for the Phillies.
In a less than ideal development, the ‘Pigs set multiple franchise records on April 9th as they allowed 28 runs to the Durham Bulls. Ultimately, Durham ended up setting the following franchise marks for an opponent against Lehigh Valley:
- Runs (28)
- Hits (26)
- Hits in an inning (10)
- Most consecutive hits (8)
- Doubles, tied (8)
- Homers (7)
- Margin of defeat for LHV, tied (18)
Other records tied or set in the game included:
- Combined runs, tied (38)
- Combined runs in an inning, tied (13)
- Combined hits in an inning (13)
Naturally, the ‘Pigs came back the very next day to win a much lower-scoring affair, 3-2. That win, spearheaded and earned by David Buchanan’s eight marvelous innings of two-run baseball, gave Buchanan his 25th career win with the IronPigs, establishing a new franchise mark. Buchanan, who had pitched with the ‘Pigs from 2013-‘16 rejoined the ‘Pigs in 2024 after a six-year expedition pitching overseas in Korea and Japan.
On April 27th, the IronPigs welcomed their nine millionth fan thru the gates of Coca-Cola Park.
May
The ‘Pigs finished April at 11-14, a respectable mark just a few games under .500. May proved far tougher as they went just 10-18, essentially dashing their first half league title hopes.
On May 7th, the ‘Pigs allowed 14 runs in the top of the 7th to the Syracuse Mets, the most runs allowed in a single frame in franchise history.
From May 1st thru May 12th, the ‘Pigs lost nine of 11, marking a horrid stretch to start the month. The team hit the road to Norfolk on May 15th, with a change in fortune looming. Following a postponement on the 14th, the ‘Pigs played a doubleheader on the 15th. In the first game, David Dahl posted just the third cycle in franchise history, doing it in just seven innings. Needing a triple in his final plate appearance in the seventh, Dahl smoked a ball to left-centerfield and turned on the jets for the three-bagger. Dahl finished the game 4-for-4.
He was nearly upstaged in the second game of the twin bill as Michael Mercado retired the first 13 batters he faced leaving the ‘Pigs still searching for their first no-hitter (or perfect game).
Tyler Phillips was overshadowed by Dahl on May 15th, but Phillips actually threw a complete game for the win in that contest. He followed that up by pitching another complete game on May 21st, his second straight complete game. Phillips became the second IronPig in franchise history to throw back-to-back complete games and first since Tyler Cloyd did it on August 8 and August 14, 2013.
Weston Wilson began an epic turnaround to his season after an ice cold start when he smocked a walk-off three-run homer against Rochester on May 23rd. It launched a string of 15 homers in his final 30 games with the IronPigs.
While the series ultimately ended in June, the bulk of the IronPigs trip to play the Columbus Clippers occurred in May. During this series, Weston Wilson and David Dahl each based four homers, with Dahl hitting two leadoff homers during the series. Wilson garnered the first International League award for the ‘Pigs of the season thanks to that week, as he was named POTW with a final stat line of: .417/.500/.917, 4HR, 6RBI, 10R, 4BB, 3SB.
June
June began with the IronPigs finally starting to turn things around on the field as they won five straight games to open the month and six of their first eight. After dropping a series to Syracuse, the ‘Pigs ripped off back-to-back series win, snatching five of six from Norfolk and four of six from Durham.
With the season halfway gone, the IronPigs roster went thru some major upheaval as David Dahl and Weston Wilson were called up by the Phillies and new additions Max Lazar, Buddy Kennedy, Ruben Cardenas, and Johan Rojas helped spearhead a new-look group to success.
Lazar in particular was exceptional. Lazar allowed a grand total of two unearned runs in the month across 12.1 innings, striking out 14 while walking just two. He was named Phillies Minor League pitcher of the month for June.
A memorable moment from the month occurred on June 6th as Nick Podkul ripped a walk-off homer against his former team, the Buffalo Bisons.
One of the stalwarts of the early season pitching staff, Michael Mercado, got called up for his Major League debut following his outing on June 18th. At that point, Mercado had a 1.71 ERA for the ‘Pigs in 47.1IP. Mercado made his debut on June 24th and then earned his first Major League win at Wrigley Field on July 2nd.
In total, the ‘Pigs had their best month of the season in June, going 17-9, but finished the first half at 34-39, good for 16th place in the IL.
July
The IronPigs good play continued into July. Cal Stevenson started off the month flying, as he swiped a franchise record five bases in one game against SWB on July 2nd. Buddy Kennedy had his first marquee moment as a ‘Pig, launching a walk-off two-run homer against SWB in game one of a doubleheader on July 3rd. July was a crowning month for Kennedy the bulk of his eventual franchise-record 45-game on-base streak came during the month as he slashed .360/.463/.605.
The backbone of the IronPigs pitching staff, Tyler Phillips, had a childhood dream come true as he was called up by the Phillies and made his Major League debut on July 7th. Phillips, a New Jersey native and lifelong Phillies fan, had a storybook start to his Major League career, striking out seven Atlanta Braves on July 7th and then throwing a complete game shutout against the Cleveland Guardians on July 27th.
A pivotal moment in franchise history came on July 21st. Darick Hall launched his 70th career homer as an IronPigs, surpassing legend Andy Tracy for the most with Lehigh Valley. In his fourth season with the IronPigs, Hall permanently etched his name into the record books of the IronPigs, solidifying his spot as the franchise’s preeminent slugger.
Behind the bats of Kennedy, Cardenas (who was sold to the Samsung Lions of the KBO on July 10th), Cal Stevenson, Scott Kingery, and Darick Hall, the ‘Pigs continued their stellar play, earning a win in three of the four series that month while going 14-9.
Stevenson was singled out in particular as he was named Internation League Player of the Month, as in 21 games he posted a slash line of .373/.505/.600, good for a 1.105 OPS.
August
The IronPigs entered play on August 3rd tied for the top spot in the 2nd half standings of the International League at 20-11. Thanks to a bevy of roster moves necessitated by a slumping and injured Phillies team, it all came crashing down at once for the IronPigs.
After winning the first three games of the month, the ‘Pigs dropped 13 of their next 15 games. They finished the month at 10-15.
The effects of Weston Wilson being permanently recalled by the Phillies on July 12th finally showed up as the ‘Pigs offense slumped in August. Max Lazar and Cal Stevenson earned much deserved promotions to the Majors on August 9th, but left massive holes the ‘Pigs could not replace. Kolby Allard began consistently riding the shuttle to and from Philadelphia as well. Later in the month, Tyler Gilbert had his contract selected as well after an amazing showing in the ‘Pigs bullpen.
By the end of the month, Tyler Phillips and Kody Clemens had been recalled again by the Phillies when roster expanded.
On August 11th, Darick Hall drove in his 262nd run as an IronPig, giving him the franchise mark in that category as well, once again passing Andy Tracy.
On August 16th, Scott Kingery swiped his 20th base, which combined with his 20 homers gave him the 2nd 20HR-20SB season in IronPigs history (Weston Wilson, ’23).
The month did end on a high note when Seth Johnson was named Pitcher of the Week for the final week of the month after a six-inning scoreless start where he punched out five and allowed just one hit.
September
The reverberations of so many players getting shuttled to and from Philadelphia continued to have an impact in September as the ‘Pigs went just 6-13 to close out the season.
But, with so many player riding the shuttle to Philadelphia, a bevy of ‘Pigs ended up having an outsized impact on the Phillies run to their first NL East title since 2011.
Seth Johnson made his Major League debut when he pitched for the Phillies on September 8th, starting of a week where nearly every single day an IronPig contributed to a Phillies win.
Kody Clemens hit a walk-off single on September 9th (following a Buddy Kennedy walk) and Cal Stevenson had the game-winning two-run double in the eighth inning on September 10th (which Kennedy followed with an RBI single). Aramis Garcia chipped in defensively on September 11th as he threw out the potential tying run trying to steal in the ninth after Weston Wilson drove in the winning run in the seventh. On September 14th, the Cal Stevenson game happened where Cal gave the Phillies the lead in the seventh with a two-run double and then robbed JD Martinez of a solo homer the next inning to preserve the lead. On September 15th, Weston Wilson and Buddy Kennedy had back-to-back doubles in the eighth to tie the game for the Phillies.
While the ‘Pigs limped a bit down the stretch, they managed to close the season in as nutty a way as they opened it. Once again playing the Worcester Red Sox to close out the season, the ‘Pigs trailed 4-1 with two out in the bottom of the 9th and nobody on base. Otto Kemp worked a walk and Jim Haley then reached on an error to continue the game, scoring Kemp. After a walk and Carson Taylor RBI single, Buddy Kennedy walked to load the bases, bring up Darick Hall. Hall uncorked a breathtaking, walk-off grand slam to win the game 7-4, as the IronPigs began and ended the year with game-ending blasts. There was no better way to end the season. A moment of such divine provenance, where the franchise’s all-time home run king, in his last game with the franchise ends it with one final long ball, where Scott Kingery (pinch running at first base, also in his last game for the franchise) ends up scoring the run that tied him for most runs in franchise history as well. For an imperfect season, the most perfect ending.
The win gave the ‘Pigs an identical 34-39 record in the second half, just like the first, for a 68-78 overall record. Total attendance again led all of Minor League baseball at 578,688 (8,066 AVG).
