| 'Pigs Drop Season-High Sixth Straight Game In 4-1 Loss To Braves |
| Gwinnett Starter Tommy Hanson Tosses Seven Shutout Innings |
| Gwinnett starter Tommy Hanson (2-3, 1.70) was as good as advertised, as the 22-year-old pitching phenom held the Lehigh Valley IronPigs scoreless through seven innings, and led Gwinnett to a 4-1 victory in the opener on Saturday evening at Coca-Cola Park, in what was a rain-shortened seven inning game. With the loss, the IronPigs have now dropped a season-high six games straight. |
| Hanson who entered Saturday's game with a 1-3 record and 1.99 ERA, continued his dominance of International League batters, as he allowed just two hits, one walk, and seven strikeouts over seven marlevous innings to record his second victory of the season. Rated as the number-one prospect in the Atlanta Braves organization, Hanson has now fanned at least six in each of his eight starts on the season. |
| In the top of the second inning, Gwinnett got on the board against Lehigh Valley starter Kyle Kendrick (2-3, 4.17) when Brooks Conrad led-off the game with his fifth home run of the season. In the top of the third inning, Kendrick allowed three more runs, this time Brandon Jones and Barbaro Canizares did the damage. Jones hit a one-out RBI double to left field, and Canizares followed with a two-run single to give Gwinnett a 4-0 lead. |
| Kendrick, who was making just his eighth career Triple-A start, allowed four runs over five innings to drop his third game of the season. Kendrick, a seventh round pick by Philadelphia in the 2003 draft, allowed four hits, four walks, and fanned four over five innings to drop his second-straight game of the season. |
| Kris Medlen, who was expected to start in Saturday's game, didn't because he will be recalled by Atlanta to start on Tuesday in place of the struggling Jo-Jo Reyes. Medlen, who entered play with a 5-0 record and a 0.96 ERA, came on to pitch in the eighth inning. Medlen, allowed a leadoff single to Pablo Ozuna, and then watched as Ozuna made his way around the bases. |
| In the eighth, Ozuna extended his hit-streak to eleven games with a single off of Medlen, and then advanced to second on a balk. Ozuna, who holds the modern-day Phillies' Triple-A record for hitting streaks with twenty-seven straight games from July 27 - August 24, 2004, as a member of the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons, stole third base in the inning, which gave the IronPigs a runner just ninety feet away with nobody out. Medlen then allowed a run to score when Rich Thompson grounded out to Canizares at first base, and the IronPigs were on the scorboard and down by a score of 4-1. |
| Now, with the IronPigs on the board, mother nature decided to stop the game, as heavy rains came down at Coca-Cola Park, and delayed the game, before eventually ending it in the bottom of the eighth inning. The game, was called after a 37-minute rain delay. With the loss, the Pigs have now dropped a season-high six games straight, and are now seven games under .500 (14-21). |
| On Sunday, in game two, the IronPigs will look to snap their six-game losing skid and get back in the win column. RHP Carlos Carrasco (0-4, 6.62) takes the hill for the IronPigs. Carrasco looks to improve on his last four outings, in which the 22-year-old has struggled. In his last four games, Carrasco is 0-3 with an 11.81 ERA. |
| Taking the hill for Gwinnett in game two on Sunday will be RHP Tony Armas Jr (0-0, 0.00). Armas Jr. will be making just his second start for Gwinnett in 2009. In his last outing, Armas Jr. tossed five shutout innings, allowing just three hits, to earn a no-decision. |
| Single-game tickets, mini-plan packages and group tickets for all IronPigs home games presented by Capital BlueCross, are on sale now and can be purchased at the Coca-Cola Park Ticket Office, online at www.ironpigsbaseball.com or by calling (610) 841-PIGS. |
| Matt Provence and Jon Schaeffer will have the call beginning at 1:05 p.m. for the AT&T pre-game show on the IronPigs Radio Network, ESPN Radio 1230-1320 AM. The game will also be televised along the IronPig Television Network powered by Service Electric Cable TV & Communications. |
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