Brewer Hicklen homered and drove in three runs Tuesday night to help the IronPigs kept their fate International League playoff hopes alive with a 10-3 victory over the Toledo Mud Hens at Coca-Cola Park.
Gabriel Rincones had three hits. Donovan Walton added two hits and drove in two runs for Lehigh Valley, which won its fifth game in a row, 11 of its last 12 to improve to 32-25 in the second half.
The IronPigs remains 7.5 games behind first-place Scranton/Wilkes-Barre with 17 games left. They gained a game on second-place Syracuse and third-place Toledo. They are 1.5 games behind fourth-place Indianapolis, 2.5 back of Toledo and three behind Syracuse.
10,000,000 fans
Cindy Jakoby from Barto, Berks County, was recognized Tuesday night as the IronPigs’ 10,000,000th fan. She received a prize pack from the IronPigs, including 2026 season tickets, and several sponsors ahead of the top of the fourth inning.
The IronPigs, in their 17th season, are believed to be the fastest modern-era Minor League Baseball franchise to draw 10 million fans. They have averaged more than 8,500 fans per game in that span. The 5,959 fans Tuesday brought the all-time total to 10,003,580.
The IronPigs lead all 120 MiLB teams this season in total attendance and average attendance (8,271). This is the 9th time they have led in either figure.
Records
Otto Kemp set a franchise record last Friday when he was hit by a pitch for the 19th time this season, one more than Dean Anna in 2018. Kemp needed only 68 games to reach that mark. Anna did so in 122.
Justin Crawford stole his 46th base in the eighth inning Tuesday to get within two of Rich Thompson’s franchise record (48) in 2011. Crawford also is chasing the International League batting title. He leads with a .335 average. No IronPig has led the league in average since the franchise’s inception in 2008.
Rodolfo Castro, who leads the team with 17 home runs, 72 RBIs and 20 errors, which is the fourth-most total in franchise history. Chase d’Arnaud (24 in 2015), Cody Ransom (23 in 2010) and Scott Kingery (21 in 2024) are the only ones with more.
Roster moves
RHP Andrew Bechtold was promoted from Double-A Reading.
RHP Walker Buehler was signed to a minor-league contract. The right-hander is expected to start Saturday’s game against Toledo. He was 7-7 with a 5.45 ERA, 1.56 WHIP and 55 walks in 112 1/3 innings in 23 games this season with the Red Sox.
INF Luis Verdugo was activated from the Development List. RHP Phil Bickford was placed on the Temporarily Inactive List. RHP Adonis Medina was put on the 7-day IL. RHP Guillo Zuñiga was released. He was 3-1 with three saves and a 5.14 ERA in 38 games with the IronPigs.
RHP Alex McFarlane and C-INF Kehden Hettiger were promoted from high-A Jersey Shore to Reading, which also activated SS Aidan Miller from the Temporarily Inactive List. Miller hit his 13th homer of the season in Tuesday’s game. C Lou Albrecht and INF Erick Brito were placed on the Development List.
How they scored
Top 4: Jace Jung singled, took second when Eduardo Valencia walked and scored on Max Anderson’s single. Valencia took third on a wild pitch and scored on Trei Cruz’s sacrifice fly. Mud Hens 2-0
Top 5: Brian Serven walked, took second on a wild pitch, third on Parker Meadows’ single and scored on Hau-Yu Lee’s sacrifice fly to center. Mud Hens 3-0
Bottom 5: Johan Rojas singled with one out, stole second, took third on Justin Crawford’s grounder and scored on Otto Kemp’s single to left. It was Kemp’s 65th RBI in 70 games with Lehigh Valley. Gabriel Rincones and Rafael Lantigua walked to load the bases. Donovan Walton followed with a two-run single to score Kemp and Rincones. Brewer Hicklen then beat out an infield single to score Lantigua. IronPigs 4-3
Bottom 6: Rodolfo Castro walked and scored on Rojas’ double. Rojas was out trying to stretch it into a triple. IronPigs 5-3
Bottom 7: Rincones singled and scored two outs later on Brewer Hicklen’s 13th home run of the season. IronPigs 7-3
Bottom 8: Justin Crawford and Kemp walked with one out. Rincones singled in Crawford. Lantigua singled in Kemp. Walton’s grounder was thrown away, allowing Rincones to score. IronPigs 10-3
Up next
RHP Andrew Painter (4-5, 5.36 ERA) vs. Toledo RHP Troy Watson (3-0, 1.45) in 6:45 p.m. start from Coca-Cola Park. Painter has pitched 103 2/3 innings in 23 starts including four at low-A Clearwater with a 106 strikeouts and a 1.46 WHIP.
Senior writer Tom Housenick can be reached at thousenick@mcall.com
Source: Berkshire mont
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