IronPigs fail to pick up ground

ALLENTOWN - The Lehigh Valley IronPigs had an opportunity to regain a lead in International League's Wild Card race as Gwinnett dropped their contest against Durham, but they dropped a 4-1 decision to the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees in 14 innings at Coca-Cola Park.

Pawtucket also lost on Tuesday, falling 8-6 against Rochester, so the IronPigs remain two games behind the Pawsox in the IL North standings and stayed tied with Gwinnett for the Wild Card.

The IronPigs nursed a 1-0 lead from the sixth inning all the way into the ninth, as Nate Bump held the Yankees scoreless through five and two-thirds innings. He allowed just five hits and three walks while striking out two.

With two down in the sixth inning, Joe Savery, who pitched a scoreless inning took over, before Phillippe Aumont came on in relief with two outs in the seventh and dominated the Yankees for an inning and a third.

Aumont had a lead to work with, as the IronPigs finally broke through against David Phelps as Brandon Moss hit an RBI single to make it 1-0 in the bottom of the sixth.

That would be all the IronPigs could stir up.

Justin De Fratus came on in the ninth and ran a full count to Jorge Vazquez in the first at-bat. On two occasions, De Fratus thought he had Vazquez rung up as he threw two pitches. With Vasquez given extra life, he took full advantage and lifted the sixth pitch of the at-bat up and over the center field wall to tie the game.

De Fratus would finish off the ninth for the IronPigs, and would come out for the 10nth and allow no further hits on the four-strikeout night for the young reliever.

With the game going into the 11th inning, Mike Zagurski came on for three gutsy inning in which he allowed just one hit and one walk while striking out four, giving the IronPigs every opportunity to win that he could.

In the 14th, it came down to Juan Perez. Vazquez singled on a 2-1 pitch, followed up by a first-pitch single for Matt Lamb to put two runners on with no outs.

Brandon Laird then unleashed a three-run home run out to left field to put the Yankees up 4-1.

The IronPigs made a go of it against Andrew Brackman in the bottom of the 14th, as Erik Kratz walked and Cody Overbeck and Freddy Galvis both singled with two outs.

With Rich Thompson at the plate as the winning run, Brackman was able to chalk up the final out on a swinging strikeout against Thompson, bringing an end to the 14-inning disaster.