About Last Night
With the Phillies off and much of the Philadelphia baseball community in Reading last night for their Baseballtown Hall of Fame inductions, the IronPigs took the opportunity to return to their winning ways and their slugging ways. It was a glorious 12-3 shellacking of the Red Sox affiliate, one of the hottest teams in minor league baseball. I only wish I was there to hear the “EVERYBODY HITS” guy go off, when, everybody hit. Well, except Buddy Kennedy, but he’ll get us there on another night. Nice outing for the local guy, Gabe Mosser. No relief meltdowns. It was a nice listen on my way home from Baseballtown last night.
Again With The Numbers
Jacksonville won again in Rochester (because of course) so the ‘Magic Number’ is moves only one spot, down to 6. There are nine games left in the first half of the season.
The gumbo shrimp have 40 wins and can get to 49 if they win out. The ‘Pigs have 44 wins and need just six to get to 50 and clinch. Worcester, by the way, has 36 wins and can get to 45, so they are not eliminated just yet. Nashville lost their third in a row to Norfolk (!) and can only get to 47 if they win out.
There are a bunch of ways to get there, of course, and here at IronPigs Today we want it so, so badly. But 50 wins would be really cool.
Injuries
OF Justin Crawford remains on the shelf despite staying off the injured list. Philadelphia is just being very careful, which you can extrapolate into assuming that they’re planning on using him later this season in the big leagues. Wanna keep extrapolating? How about Marsh here with the ‘Pigs for the playoffs? Or, do they trade him?
RHP Aaron Nola has been shut down from throwing given rib problems. Serious doubts about him rehabbing with us next week as he’ll be coming back slowly and may not return to the Majors until after the All Star Break. It’s a nice opportunity right now for Abel, who just needs to pitch, and work and adjust, without looking over his shoulder.
C Garrett Stubbs returned after taking a ball to the nether regions early in the series.
INF Christian Arroyo remains on the Injured list with back spasms, but may be eligible to come off this weekend if he’s healthy.
No word on the exact nature of the wrist injury for 1B Bryce Harper with the Phillies. So, we won’t hold our breath for the return of INF Otto Kemp. In fact, if Kemp gets any kind of time in left field, perhaps the return of INF/OF Weston Wilson might be more likely. He’s not playing well, so he doesn’t get a ton of opportunity, and that doesn’t help him play well….baseball is vicious that way.
Game Day!
First Pitch: 7:05PM
Gates: 5:30PM Club, 5:45PM Main, Center Field
Promotions:
- Malmo Oat Milkers
- OK, so this is a minor-leagues-wide promotion, throughout the whole season. Every team will play a home game as the Oat Milkers at some point. They did this last season, too. Last I heard, the jerseys–which are slightly different for each team–are to be given to VIPs, advertising partners and suite-owners. Needless to say, I don’t have one. And that’s OK. At some point (was it the “Space Savers”?) we jumped the shark with the goofy jerseys and identities.
- Faith Night: Post-game player testimonials
- Pre-game Faith-based concert, plaza
- Post-game Fireworks
Weather: 76° and cloudy at game time. Might dip below 70 before the fireworks are over. Slight chance of a passing shower near the end of the game.
Pitching:
IronPigs: RHP Nabil Crismatt (4-4, 4.32) will look to return to his winning ways following a poor outing, a stint on the Injured List, and another shaky outing.
Red Sox: RHP Cooper Criswell (2-1, 1.52)
Scouting: He’s been up and down with Boston, where he’s worked in relief. He last started at Triple-A on May 30 in Scranton where he went five scoreless innings. The start before that he went only two innings in a home game against Durham. Not looking for him to go deep into tonight’s game.
He’s a former 13th-round pick of the Angels, out of North Carolina. He’s been in the big leagues with Los Angeles, Tampa and Boston. What’s the limit now on option moves? This guy is the poster-player for the option limit as he was sent down 8 times by Tampa in 2023 and already 5 times this season by Boston. The limit is 5. So, he’s basically stuck in Worcester unless the Red Sox want to keep him in Boston or DFA him? Golly.
Oh, scouting: he’s a side-arm delivery from the right, topping out at 89mph with the sinker. There’s an arm-side run and a heavy drop. The Change is the main pitch, reportedly of MLB quality. A cutter and show-me sweeper/slider may also make an appearance. Average control.
Looking Ahead:
Might be a soggy Father’s Day weekend. Blues, Brews and BBQ downtown Allentown tomorrow. The festival moves down the street so that Moxy and Archer can be included. Sidewalk sale for Phantoms tomorrow as well. Father’s Day Sunday looks like IronPigs are mostly sold out. It might be a nice opportunity to sell your tickets on the secondary if you’re not going. Also, rain showers are in the forecast.
See you at the park,
@Kram207
Featured Image by Jack Mitroka. It has been cropped to fit the space.