Allentown, PA — On a cold and rainy night, it didn’t take long for Justin Crawford to record his first hit of his Triple-A career. A groundball through the right side of the infield in his second at-bat checked that box off on his list of firsts at the highest level in the minors in a 5-4 win for the IronPigs Friday night in their season opener.
“It felt really good. Got that first one out of the way; now let’s go play baseball,” Crawford said. “It was cool and was a good feeling. It felt good to go out there and play some meaningful baseball, and great the team got the win.”
Crawford, the son of 15-year MLB veteran Carl, is looking to take advantage of the aggressive assignment from the Phillies and get to the majors in the same amount of time his father did, who spent four years in the minors before getting his coveted call to join Tampa Bay in 2002.
Fast forward two-plus decades, Justin, the third-ranked prospect in the Phillies’ system and #63 in all of baseball per MLBPipeline.com put together a solid Triple-A debut. His bat-to-ball skills were on display, putting the ball in play all four at-bats, finishing 2-for-4, and drawing a walk. He also stole his first two bases as an IronPig after being thrown out on his first attempt in the game.
“I got thrown out on that first attempt, and I said, I kind of gotta go again,” Crawford said with a smile. “I know that’s just baseball, and I’m going to get thrown out again, but I don’t let that affect me. Just keep running, trust my ability, and [trust] the hard work I put in at practice, and it will translate in the games.”
IronPigs Win
The RailRiders jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the third on a Jorbit Vivas sacrifice fly and T.J. Rumfield RBI double. In the fourth, the RailRiders added another run on a Ronaldo Hernandez RBI groundout to make it 3-0.
Catcher Payton Henry, who has had a cup of coffee in the bigs, smacked the first homer of the season for the IronPigs in the fourth before demolishing a pitch to dead centerfield an inning later, to tie the game up at 3-3 in the fifth.
Third baseman Otto Kemp also checked off a first, roping his first-career AAA homer, a two-run blast, to give Lehigh Valley a 5-3 lead in the sixth inning they would not surrender.
“I’m feeling good. It all came from the guys in front of me, seeing where and what the pitcher was throwing,” Kemp said. “Really credit to the guys before me and the scouting report because it gave me the insight on what to look for. I knew I got it right when I hit it. It was good to get the first one out of the way.”
It was his second hit of the night. His first was a rocket to left field for a single that jumped off his bat at 105.4 m.p.h. in the third inning.
Defensively, the 23rd-ranked prospect started the game with a beautiful headfirst diving stop towards the third base line before propping to his feet to throw out Yankees prospect Everson Pereira for the first out of the game, a moment Kemp says got him ready for the rest of the game.
“It’s like a here we go moment. You just let the instincts take over. It’s not something you can think about,” Kemp said on his diving snag. “Those are the ones you just go. Luckily, I was able to come up with it, and I knew I had time with the throw with how hard it was.”
IronPigs Manager Anthony Contreras
“It’s the first game; you don’t know what their nerves and everything were like, obviously coming into their first year playing at this level, but they handled themselves well,” Manager Anthony Contreras said of the pair of prospects.
“Justin put what he’s known for on display with putting the ball in play and obviously stealing a couple of bags tonight. For Otto, on that play to start the game, he was playing the bunt there, and he gets that hot shot hit to him; it puts a good taste in your mouth to get us started. He’s a great player and is working hard throughout spring training to make sure he’s ready at any position.”
Kemp, who turned heads in Clearwater, was glad to get the first game that counts under his belt.
“It feels really good. Now we just keep trusting all the work we put in over the last off-season and spring training and let it play out.”
Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
