Brown leads Phillies to GCL crown

CLEARWATER, Fla. -- Tim Brown tossed 7 2/3 strong innings, and Brian Gump drove in four runs as the Phillies beat the Rays, 10-4, to take Game 3 and win the Gulf Coast League championship on Thursday afternoon.

Brown (1-0), who retired the first 12 batters he faced, allowed a run on two hits and a walk while fanning nine in his longest outing of the year. He threw six innings in an Aug. 16 relief appearance and five frames in an Aug. 21 start.

The Phillies staked Brown to an early lead. Matthew Payton led off the bottom of the first with a single off Rays starter Pedro Silvestre (0-1). With one out, Payton stole second and went to third on a throwing error by catcher Lucas Bailey. Designated hitter Patrick Murray brought Payton home with a ground out.

The Phillies added a pair of runs in the second, thanks to shoddy defense by the Rays. Maikel Franco walked to open the frame. Francisco Diaz then hit a ground ball to first baseman Ryan McCrann, who threw wildly while trying to force Franco at second. Nerio Rios then laid down a sacrifice bunt that Silvestre errantly tossed to first, allowing Franco to score and Diaz to advance to third. Two batters later, Brian Gump doubled down the left-field line to score Diaz for a 2-0 lead.

After Brown caught Ryan Brett looking to end the top of the fourth and set down his 12th straight batter, the Phillies padded their lead. Diaz opened the bottom half with a single and moved to second on a wild pitch. Rios then tripled into the right-field corner to score Diaz, making it 4-0 and ending Silvestre's day.

The Rays finally got their first base runner in the fifth when Tanner Biagini blooped a flare into shallow left-center, just out of the reach of shortstop Rios. Brown retired the next three men in order, then set the Rays down 1-2-3 in the next two innings.

The Phillies plated three insurance runs in the sixth, highlighted by Gump's two-run single. They tacked on another two in the seventh on RBIs from Payton and Gump.

The Rays got on the board in the eighth. Deshun Dixon drew a one-out walk, then scored on a double by Joel Caminero. They added three more in the ninth, but it was too little, too late.

Gump and first baseman Christopher Duffy led the Phillies' 14-hit attack with three apiece. Payton, Rios, Diaz and Geancarlo Mendez all had two hits.

Silvestre allowed five hits and four runs -- two earned -- in three innings for the loss.