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Lehigh Valley IronPigs

Lidge to Rehab at Coca-Cola Park on 4-22

April 20, 2010 - International League (IL1)
Lehigh Valley IronPigs News Release


(Allentown, Pa.) - Phillies RHP Brad Lidge, recovering from off-season surgeries on both his right knee and elbow, is expected to continue a Major League rehab assignment when the Lehigh Valley IronPigs host the Pawtucket Red Sox at Coca-Cola Park on Thursday, April 22, at 7:05 p.m. Good Shepherd Rehabilitation Network is the exclusive sponsor of all Major League rehabilitation appearances at Coca-Cola Park.

Field Level and General Admission tickets still remain for Thursday night's home game against Pawtucket and can be purchased in-person at Coca-Cola Park, by calling (610) 841-PIGS or online at ironpigsbaseball.com. Prices for single-game tickets start as low as $6 for General Admission, granting fans access to the Capital BlueCross Lawn seating area and standing room only areas. Field Level reserved seats are just $9.

The 33-year-old right-hander began his current rehab stint with Single-A Clearwater on April 10 and made five appearances for the Threshers, allowing five runs in 4.2 innings of work.

In 2008, Lidge was a perfect 48-for-48 in save opportunities -- including the playoffs -- helping the Phillies to their first World Championship since 1980. During the perfect season, Lidge was virtually unhittable -- posting a 1.95 ERA while striking out 92 batters in 69.1 innings. His statistics were remarkable even better in the postseason, going 7-for-7 in save situations with a 0.96 ERA in nine games.

For his efforts, he finished fourth in 2008 National League Cy Young Award voting and eighth in the N.L. Most Valuable Player voting while also being named to his second All-Star team. Among the various other accolades he received in 2008, Lidge was named Major League Baseball's Comeback Player of the Year and The Sporting News Reliever of the Year, as voted by a panel of 314 Major Leaguers.

One of the top strikeout pitchers of the era, Lidge has also been one of the most dependable, appearing in more games (433) than any reliever since 2004. His all-time strikeout ratio of 12.15 per 9.0 inning pitched is second-best among relievers over the last half-century (Rob Dibble, 12.17).

While the Sacramento, Calif. native was unable to emulate his 2008 success last season, he did become just the third pitcher in Phillies history to record back-to-back 30-save seasons, joining Ricky Bottalico (1996-97) and Jose Mesa (2001-02).

The Phillies acquired Lidge along with Eric Bruntlett from Houston in exchange for Michael Bourn, Geoff Geary and Mike Costanzo on November 7, 2007. While with the Astros, Lidge logged a pair of 30+ save seasons, including a career-high 42 in 2005, guiding the club to their first-ever N.L. pennant. In 2004, he set an NL record for strikeouts by a reliever in a single-season with 157.

Lidge was originally selected by Houston in the first round with the 17th overall pick in the 1998 draft. In portions of eight seasons, he has gone 25-28 with a 3.56 ERA and 195 saves. He also has struck out 714 batters in just 529.0 career innings.

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