Take a look at the peculiar defensive shift used by the Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs in their game Saturday with the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Railriders. Five Iron Pigs, wearing their gunmetal gray road uniforms, stand guard from first base to third, and two outfielders take their positions at left center and right center.
Here is the situation: The score is tied in the bottom of the tenth inning, with the bases loaded and nobody out. The pitcher can’t seem to find the strike zone, but he’s faced only two Railrider batters and he can’t be yanked.
Any fly ball, caught or not, will likely score the winning run. What do you do if you’re the Iron Pigs’ manager? You bring in the right fielder to strengthen the infield defense. A force out at the plate is just about your only hope.
Would it work? We'll never know. On a 3-1 count, the batter swung at a wild pitch that got away from the catcher, and the runner on third waltzed home for the win. Final: Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 6, Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs 5.
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