Phillies MLR 5/4/17: J.P. Crawford walking his way back into our hearts

Weekend Probables:

LHV: Ricardo Pinto, Mark Appel, TBD
REA: GM1 TBD, GM2 Shane Watson, TBD, TBD
CLR: Alberto Tirado, Blake Quinn, TBD
LWD: Adonis Medina, Nick Fanti, Sixto Sanchez

Lehigh Valley 5, Scranton/WB 3

Ben Lively - 5 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 3 ER, BB, 5 K, HBP, 2 GB, 2 FB
Roman Quinn - 1 for 4, R, 2 K, SB
J.P. Crawford - 1 for 2, 2 R, RBI, 2 BB, K
Jorge Alfaro - 0 for 4, R, K
Dylan Cozens - 1 for 3, RBI, BB, K
Rhys Hoskins - 1 for 2, 2B, RBI, BB
Nick Williams - 1 for 4, RBI, 2 K, CS
Jesmuel Valentin - 0 for 2, BB, K

Ben Lively left the game trailing 3-2 and looked quite underwhelming all afternoon. He did throw 71 of his 101 pitches for strikes. It was his second start this season (out of 5) that he failed to go further than 5 innings. J.P. Crawford with a fantastic day at the plate as his season line slowly creeps back into respectability. He was hitting as low as .083 back on April 22 and is now up to .153 during this 8 game on-base streak. Roman Quinn stole his 6th base and Logan Moore blasted his 2nd HR of the season.

Portland 5, Reading 4

Tyler Viza - 4.2 IP, 7 H, 5 R, 5 ER, 2 BB, 5 K, WP, 2 HBP, 4 GB, 2 FB
Scott Kingery - 2 for 5, 2B, K
Andrew Pullin - 1 for 5, RBI
Carlos Tocci - 0 for 3, R, BB, HBP
Kyle Martin - 0 for 4, R, BB
Chace Numata - 1 for 5, K (pickoff error)
Mitch Walding - 0 for 3, RBI, 2 BB, 2 K
Aaron Brown - 1 for 3, R, 2B, RBI, K, HBP
Malquin Canelo - 2 for 4, R, RBI, K (throwing error)

Tyler Viza has been clobbered in his last two starts (8.1 IP, 15 H, 10 ER) and now has a 6.85 ERA on the year. Despite out-hitting the Sea Dogs 9-8, Reading went 1 for 10 with RISP and left 12 on base. Speaking of, the Portland lineup featured former Phillies farmhand Josh Tobias (batting .231 fyi), former super prospect Mike Olt and current super Red Sox prospect Rafael Devers.

Jupiter 3, Clearwater 2

Cole Irvin - 6 IP, 8 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 4 K, WP, HBP, 8 GB, 3 FB
Edgar Garcia - 2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 3 K
Jacob Waguespack - 1 IP, 1 H, 0 R
Herlis Rodriguez - 1 for 3, 2B, BB, SB
Cornelius Randolph - 0 for 4, BB, K (outfield assist, 2B)
Damek Tomscha - 0 for 2, R, 2 BB
Wilson Garcia - 1 for 4
Jose Pujols - 1 for 4
Deivi Grullon - 1 for 4, RBI
Jan Hernandez - 1 for 4, HR, 2 K
Drew Stankiewicz - 2 for 4, 2B
Emmanuel Marrero - 2 for 4, K

Even with the quality start, Cole Irvin was saddled with his 2nd loss of the season. He still has a very nice 1.69 ERA and 24:3 K/BB ratio in 32 innings. Herlis Rodriguez moves up to lead-off in the lineup, collecting a hit and swiping his 5th bag. The rest of the offense combined for 9 hits, but went 1 for 9 with RISP. Cornelius Randolph’s season slash is down to .184/.290/.310 in 87 at-bats. Before you get concerned, he is 19 years old in the Florida State League. Jan Hernandez belted his 6th HR in the 5th.

Lakewood 3, Charleston 2 (7 innings, completed early due to rain)

Ranger Suarez - 6.2 IP, 9 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 7 K, 2 WP, 5 GB, 4 FB
Daniel Brito - 0 for 3, K
Henri Lartigue - 0 for 3, 3 K
Mickey Moniak - 0 for 3, K
Darick Hall - 1 for 2, 2 R, HR, HBP
Luke Williams - 0 for 3, K (throwing error)
Cord Sandberg - 1 for 3, R
Edgar Cabral - 2 for 3, 2B, 2 RBI, K
David Martinelli - 0 for 3, K
Jose Antequera - 0 for 2, K

Something tells me that Ranger Suarez is not long for the South Atlantic League. He has struck out 37 batters to 7 walks in 29 innings while holding a 0.93 ERA. If Clearwater wasn’t already dealing with a 6-man rotation, I’d suspect Suarez would be packing fairly shortly. Offensive highlights came from a 2-run double by Edgar Carbal in the 2nd. The catcher has struggled for the second straight season in Lakewood. The 2-2 game was eventually broken by Darick Hall in the 6th, who hit a solo HR (his 2nd) to put the BlueClaws on top.