LAST TIME OUT: The ‘Pigs eight game winning streak came to a close with a 6-2 loss to the Mets on Saturday night. With only four hits (three coming from the top three spots in the order) the ‘Pigs could never find their offensive footing. Justin Crawford had an RBI single and Gabriel Rincones Jr. homered for the only runs. Mick Abel pitched solidly, allowing four runs (three earned) in five innings, striking out seven, but was dealt the loss. A three-run double for Joey Meneses in the fifth gave the Mets a four-run lead in the fifth and solo homers from Niko Goodrum and Donovan Walton put the game away late for Syracuse.
TODAY’S OPPONENT: Syracuse goes with Jose Ureña and Brandon Waddell to front the doubleheader. Ureña signed as a MiLB free agent with the Mets at the end of February. Ureña spent all of last year with the Rangers, going 5-8 with a 3.80 ERA in 109 innings. This will be his first outing of the year. Brandon Waddell goes in game two, making his third start of the year. He worked 4.2 scoreless innings his last time out on April 6 against SWB. Waddell came back stateside after spending 2024 in Korea with the Doosan Bears where he was 7-4 with a 3.12 ERA in 75 innings.
MONEY MIKE: Michael Mercado has already passed his 2024 total in saves with his second save of the year on Wednesday. Mercado’s career high in saves was six in 2023, when he had four with double-A Montogomery and two with Durham. Mercado’s lone save last year was of the two inning variety, while all six of his saves in 2023 were single inning stints.
STUBBS IN THE CLUTCH: Garrett Stubbs has ice in his veins, hitting .429 (3-for-7) with RISP/2 outs and 3-for8 with RISP overall, driving in six runs in total. Stubbs has started back-to-back games twice this season (once with both starts coming behind the plate). Stubbs only had seven starts on consecutive dates last year with the Phillies.
HOT START: With their seven-game winning streak, the ‘Pigs have gotten off to their best start since they started 10-2 in 2012. After starting 10-2 in 2012, the ‘Pigs went ice cold, losing nine of their last 12. The seven-game winning streak is the first for the ‘Pigs since July 8 - July 20, 2023. The only eight-game winning streak in franchise history was ultimately a 12-gamer, from May 7 - May 17, 2017.
OTTO VAN BIS-GONE: Tied for second in the International League in homers, Otto Kemp has gone deep in two of his past three games. He’s also fourth in the IL in total bases (21). He failed to reach base on Sunday, snapping his season long on base streak at eight games. He belted his most recent homer 429 feet which was good for the second longest homer in all of triple-A on Saturday. Of Kemp’s career homers at the triple-A level, it is easily his longest, besting his previous long by 18 feet. Two of Kemp’s three homers this year have gone at least 400 feet.
THEY’VE GOT THE POWER, THEY’VE GOT THE SPEED: The IronPigs are just one of two teams (Omaha) in the International League to have already racked up 10+ homers and 10+ stolen bases. The ‘Pigs’ five triples also leads the International League with their slugging % slotting in third (.461) as well as OPS (.825).
THE FLASH: Justin Crawford is tied for the International League lead with two triples. He registered sprint speeds of 29.3 and 28.6 ft/s as he raced around the bases last week, clocking in times of 11.58 and 11.67 seconds from home to third base. Crawford is tied for the fastest time to first (3.70 seconds) with Chandler Simpson this season.
SAINT NICHOLAS OF ZEROES: Nicholas Padilla has allowed nada thru his first four outings this season. In 4.1 innings, he’s allowed just a hit and a walk, striking out three. He’s retired the first batter he’s faced three of four times and the only inherited runner he’s had he stranded. Padilla was signed as a MiLB free agent this off-season by the Phillies after spending last season in the White Sox system.
SYRACUSE SORROWS: Last year the ‘Pigs lost 12 of 18 to Syracuse, evenly spreading out the proportion of losses at home and road (4-8 at Coca-Cola Park; 2-4 at Syracuse). It was the first losing season for the ‘Pigs against Syracuse since 2019 when Syracuse went 13-6 against the ‘Pigs. From 2021-2023, the ‘Pigs were 35-20. The all-time series is 138-133 in favor of the ‘Pigs coming into the week.
ROC ON ARROYO: Christian Arroyo braved the cold in Rochester and posted a stellar series. He posted a 1.294 OPS and nine RBI during the week, homering twice. He had four XBH hits (2 2B, 2HR), hitting .412 in all for the week.
TRIPLE TROUBLE: The ‘Pigs and Red Wings made a bit of history last Tuesday. The teams combined for five triples (3 for ROC, 2 for LHV), which is a single-game ‘Pigs record for combined triples in a single game. The prior record had been four, last done on June 1, 2013 against Gwinnett (GWI 3, LHV 1).
TURN ON THE AC: Anthony Contreras returns to the IronPigs as manager for the 4th straight season, becoming just the second IronPig manager to man the bench for four years. AC comes into the year with 224 wins, trailing only Dave Brundage (286) for most in franchise history.
FAMILY LEGACY: Justin Crawford becomes the 2nd Crawford namesake to don IronPigs threads. Justin’s second cousin is former ‘Pig J.P. Crawford who played for Lehigh Valley in 2017 & 2018. Justin is the son of former Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Carl Crawford. Justin is tabbed as the third best prospect in the Phillies system and slots in as the #64 prospect overall per MLB Pipeline. Crawford slashed .313/.360/.444, with 9HR, 61RBI, and went 42-51SB en route to winning the 2024 Paul Owens Award Winner for best Phillies MiLB position player.
‘PIGS TO THE BIGS: The ‘Pigs had 18 different players appear in a game for the 2024 Phillies. In total, 2024 IronPigs accounted for 746 plate appearances for the Phillies, resulting in 17 homers and 82 RBI plus 28 stolen bases. On the pitching side, 2024 IronPigs combined for 194 innings, striking out 165 hitters while allowing 135 runs. Some of the big moments for ‘Pigs to the Bigs in 2024 included: Weston Wilson’s cycle, Kody Clemens’ walk-off single vs. TB, Tyler Phillips’ CGSO vs. CLE, and the Cal Stevenson game vs. NYM.