When David Buchanan and Severino Gonzalez got called up to Philadelphia, someone needed to fill a spot in the rotation for the Ironpigs. While some may have thought Zach Eflin deserved the promotion, instead the Phillies went with Jesse Biddle.
Biddle, 23, was the Phillies first round pick in 2010 and hasn't lived up to the hype. This season with Reading, Biddle was 7-2, but had an ERA of 4.24. What makes the move a little more questionable is that in his last two starts in Double-A, he gave up a combined 10 runs in 11 innings.
None the less, Biddle made his debut tonight for Lehigh Valley and it wasn't great. The left-hander out of Germantown Friends School lasted just 2 1/3 for the Ironpigs, struggling mightily with command. Biddle gave up seven runs and walked six. To start the third inning, he walked the bases loaded. When he walked in a run, that was the end of his night.
Though he has had his share of struggles as of late, Biddle excelled in June, going 3-0 with a 2.73 ERA in 29 2/3 innings despite hitters averaging .291 against him.
After Biddle left Wednesday night's game trailing, Luis Garcia took over and tossed 4 2/3 innings of one-run ball. Trailing 8-1 in the fifth inning, Lehigh Valley began to fight back. A fielding error by Pawtucket second baseman Mike Miller allowed Tyler Henson to score to make it 8-2. Chris McGuiness followed with an RBI-single to cut the lead to five. Jordan Danks hit a two-run double to make it an 8-5 game. In the sixth, a Tyler Henson RBI-single made it a two run ballgame before an Aaron Altherr two-run double tied things up at eight a piece in the same frame. The Ironpigs and the Pawsox went into extras after Lehigh Valley stranded two runners on base in the ninth.
