For the first time in their history, the IronPigs played in Jacksonville, Florida, when they made the trip down to face the Jumbo Shrimp, the Triple-A affiliate of the Miami Marlins.

Jacksonville has only been a Triple-A city since the 2021 season, after serving as a Double-A affiliate for the Marlins since 2009.

The two teams split their six-game series in the Sunshine State, with Jacksonville having to grab the final two games to get the split. IronPigs pitching was the hero in the first two games, with Lehigh Valley allowing just two runs in the two games combined, with the Shrimp going scoreless in 14 straight innings.

Noah Skirrow started Game 1 and gave the ‘Pigs five innings, allowing two earned runs on seven hits and three walks. Jeremy Walker, Jake Jewell, Jeff Hoffman, and Jesus Cruz all threw one shutout inning without allowing a hit and only two walks.

The next night, the pitching was even better with six IronPigs pitchers giving up just two hits in the game, although they did give up seven walks. Nick Allgeyer threw four shutout innings, with Erich Uelmen, Louis Head, Trey Cobb, McKinley Moore, and Francisco Morales each throwing shutout innings in a 2-0 Lehigh Valley win.

The turnaround in pitching has been a welcome sight since the ‘Pigs have struggled on the mound. On the season, the IronPigs pitching staff has amassed a 4.69 ERA but in Jacksonville, the staff ERA was 3.78 in their six games.

While you think of Jacksonville as being warm and sunny, the IronPigs had some rain. Friday night’s game was cut short by rain, and Saturday the teams had to endure a rain delay before they could get the game underway.

Still, the warmth was there, at least more than it will be when they next take the field in Syracuse, New York. The forecast has rain for the first three days of the series, with game time temperatures around 40 degrees.

When Lehigh Valley returns home next week, fans will get to see another new opponent when the Memphis Redbirds (St. Louis Cardinals) come to town. As with Jacksonville, the ‘Birds and ‘Pigs have not played since Lehigh Valley became a part of the International League in 2008.

Since Major League Baseball took over operation of the minor league systems, there has been a better – albeit not great – effort to mix and mingle teams.

One of the concerns about doing that is the cost of travel but with the advent of six-game series, that travel is reduced. Instead of going from one town to another in the span of a week, teams are in one city for six days before moving on.

They also miss an opportunity simply by having Lehigh Valley travel from Jacksonville to Syracuse. Why not have the ‘Pigs travel from Florida to Gwinnett (Georgia), Nashville, Durham, or Charlotte? Even Norfolk would make more sense.

While players on minor league teams come and go from year to year, fans would still like to see different teams. Go to any Lehigh Valley home game, and you are likely to find at least some fans of the opponent’s parent team. Things are more interesting in the minors, but baseball could do more to make them even better.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

... When Memphis arrives, it may or may not still be at the top of the IL West. It comes into this week with a half-game lead over Iowa (Cubs) and Toledo (Detroit). The Redbirds are 18-9 on the season, with Lehigh Valley at 12-14, and seven games behind first-place Norfolk Tides (Baltimore), who have the second-best record in Triple-A at 19-7. Oklahoma City (Dodgers) is 20-7 and leads the Pacific Coast League East.

Also, the new ABS (Auto-Ball Strike) system is now up and running in the minors, so fans in the Lehigh Valley will get their first look at that. As if to make it more confusing, there are two versions of the new rule that will be used during each series. In the first three games of each series (Tuesday through Thursday) the full ABS system will be used. In other words, “Hawk-Eye” as the ABS system is known, will make all the ball and strike calls. No arguing, no challenges.

Friday through Sunday, the challenge system will be employed where the home plate umpire makes the calls, but the batter, pitcher or catcher can challenge the call, and Hawk-Eye then makes the call. Teams have just three challenges per game, and they must be made immediately after the pitch with no conferring with their dugout. If the call is overturned, the team retains their challenge.

WHO COMES TO LV?

... With Bryce Harper expected to be activated from the IL tonight, a player will have to be sent down down to Lehigh Valley. It will likely be either Kody Clemens or Jake Cave, who are both left-handed hitters. Dalton Guthrie could also be a possibility, but with a lower probability than the other two.