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Mazone, Pigs blank SWB

ALLENTOWN - If there has been an IronPig that has been consistent since the franchise began, Brian Mazone would fit that bill.

The left hander churned out a two-hit gem over six innings. Andy Tracy homered again and two relievers finished off the 2-0 shutout over the Scranton-Wilkes Barre Yankees."Dane called a heck'uva game," Mazone said of his catcher Sardinha. "It's a matter of getting ahead, changing speeds, and locating pitches, just trying to find different ways to get guys out. He did a great job with that"Only three batted balls left the infield in Mazone's six innings of work that led to his first win since May 16 against Gwinnett. Two were fly outs and one, coming in the second inning, was a one-out double by Colin Curtis."As always, I have to rely on my defense," Mazone said. "Cody (Ransom) made a play on a chopper, and (Brian) Bocock came up big as always. The defense has been stellar all year."Mazone improves to 4-6 on the year."It's a good solid outing, he's given us some other good outings. We just haven't given him the runs or we gave up his wins late in the ball game," manager Dave Huppert said.With closer Scott Mathieson called up to the Phillies, Oscar Villareal and Mike Zagurski pitched the final three shutout innings. They combined to give up one hit, strike out five, and walk none.Zagurski, who extended his scoreless streak to 11.1 innings in his last 10 games, registered his first save of the season.The IronPig woes at the plate continued as they left the bases loaded three times. In the bottom of the eighth, Willy Tavares bounced back to Yankee reliever Mark Melancon, who initiated the 1-2-3 double play."We've played .500 ball in the last (15 games)," Huppert said. "We've got to drive in runs. That is what it all comes down to. You can't have 20 one-run losses and say you are driving in runs. We're scuffling."The IronPigs' only runs came in the third inning. John Mayberry laced a one-out double off Yankee starter Zach McAllister and scored on Andy Tracy's two-run blast to right field.This is a big win for the IronPigs who have won eight of their last 15 games. The SWB Yankees have owned the Lehigh Valley franchise since its birth, winning 25 of the 34 contests between the two."A win's a win," Huppert said. "There ain't anything frustrating about a win. It's good to get a win against (the Yankees)."Tonight, the IronPigs' all-time wins leader Drew Carpenter (6-4, 3.53) will square off against Scranton's Dustin Moseley (3-4, 4.01).