(Reading, PA) - With the Thunder losing their fifth straight game earlier on Thursday afternoon, the Fightin Phils finally capitalized on a chance to make up some ground in their quest for second place. In the fastest game of the season, the Fightins closed out a 4-2 homestand with a
(Reading, PA) - With the Thunder losing their fifth straight game earlier on Thursday afternoon, the Fightin Phils finally capitalized on a chance to make up some ground in their quest for second place. In the fastest game of the season, the Fightins closed out a 4-2 homestand with a 3-2 win in their final meeting against the Yard Goats. Cornelius Randolph's fifth home run was the appetizer and entree, and Adam Haseley's sacrifice fly in the eighth proved to be the game-winner.
On a night where he got much stronger as time went on, Tyler Viza avoided trouble early despite putting the first two batters on in each of his first two innings. In the third, he worked around a one out single by Sam Hilliard , which opened the door for the Fightin Phils to take their second lead of the three-game series.
With five strikeouts the first time through the lineup, it looked like lefthander Evan Grills was on his way to something special. With two outs in the third, he walked Malquin Canelo and Randolph followed by drilling an 0-1 pitch over the pool in right field for a 2-0 lead. Damek Tomscha got on next with a walk, but the Fightins wouldn't get another baserunner until the game was tied in the eighth inning.
Viza retired nine in a row before walking Roberto Ramos in the top of the sixth. Former Fightin Brandon Bednar later continued his redemption tour with an RBI double into right center, and a base hit from Scott Burcham tied the score at two.
Kyle Dohy's (1-2) impressive run stayed strong with two perfect innings of relief in the seventh and eighth that featured three strikeouts. In the bottom of the eighth, number eight hitter Heiker Meneses was the catalyst with a leadoff single against Yard Goats closer Matt Pierpont . Pinch-hitter Drew Stankiewicz laid down a sacrifice bunt on the first pitch, and the All-Star Pierpont hurt his cause with an errant pickoff throw to second that pushed Meneses to third. Manager Greg Legg then put Haseley in as a pinch-hitter in the leadoff spot, and the outfielder hit a deep sacrifice fly to right for a 3-2 lead.
In the ninth, Edgar Garcia retired the Yard Goats in order for his eighth save to close it out in two hours and 11 minutes. With Trenton's (65-56) loss, the Fightin Phils (59-62) are six games out of a playoff spot with 18 games remaining starting with a weekend series in Binghamton on Friday night.
America's Classic Ballpark is proud to be a part of Pennsylvania's Americana Region. Season tickets for the 2018 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at FirstEnergy Stadium. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter at @ReadingFightins and like them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/fightins.
