http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/
FROM KEITH GROLLLER
Coca-Cola Park will host the Triple-A National Championship Game on Sept. 17, but the Lehigh Valley IronPigs won't be involved.
That became a certainty with a 3-2 loss to the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Railriders on Saturday night.
As it turned out, even if the IronPigs had won on Saturday, they would have been eliminated in their quest for the International League's wild card since Rochester defeated Buffalo 6-5.
The IronPigs have two games left on Sunday and Monday afternoon at Coca-Cola Park against North Division champion Pawtucket.
As for Saturday night's game, back-to-back home runs by Ronnier Mustelier and Randy Ruiz in the top of the fourth and an unearned run in the fifth were all Scranton needed to beat Lehigh Valley for the third time in the last four nights.
The IronPigs (72-70) had eight hits, but stranded eight runners and were just 1-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
Still, first-year manager Dave Brundage said he was proud of his team and pleased with how they've battled in recent weeks as the roster has continually been impacted by injuries and struggles in Philadelphia.
"This was game No. 142 and we still had something to play for tonight,” Brundage said. “I'm so proud of our team for how hard they've played. It was a ‘never-give-up' type of deal. We've had our backs against the wall the last couple of weeks, but we've fought and battled. We just ran out of bullets.”
Brundage was asked if this was an abnormal year for him in terms of all of the roster moves the organization has had to make.
"It was abnormal with all of the turnover we had," he said. "We started out with such a young ballclub and that's a rarity at this level, especially with the position players. I think we got a lot of things accomplished and the guys in the clubhouse have done a lot of things well.
"But you look at the bullpen we started with and almost the entire bullpen is up there pitching at the big-league level. I don't believe I've ever seen that many guys go up there. Guys are gaining that experience up there and that's real good to see."
Brundage was also happy to see the fans continue to come to the ballpark through all kinds of weather this season.
The IronPigs, in their sixth season, continued to pack them in. In fact, they've had 17 straight sellouts and 11 of those 17 were capacity sellouts, which meant a crowd of 10,100 -- well above the total number of seats in the ballpark.
The IronPigs are now averaging 9,004 fans in 66 openings, which is second only to Columbus in the International League.
"This place has been everything I thought it would be and then some,” said Brundage, completing his first season as IronPigs skipper. “I've been coming here for four games a year for the last five years [with Gwinnett] ever since this place has opened, and this place is fantastic. I'm proud of that, too. The people here love their Phillies and they love their IronPigs.
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