Escobar’s Go-Ahead Home Run Lifts Reading To Fourth Straight Win

BOX SCORE

(Altoona, PA) - The Reading Fightin Phils (4-2, 34-41) scored seven unanswered runs in a 9-4 win over the Altoona Curve (2-4, 33-42) at Peoples Natural Gas Field on Sunday. The win gave the Fightins their first road series victory of the season and four straight triumphs to wrap up the week.

Reading entered the scoring column in the third frame, as Alex Binelas’ RBI double scored Aroon Escobar with a pair of outs. Erick Brito kept the two-out rally going, swatting an RBI angle to right field to plate Binelas. This sequence lifted the Fightin Phils to an early 2-0 advantage.

Altoona retaliated in the bottom half of the inning, and it all started with chaos on the infield grass. Samuel Escudero reached on a bunt single, but a Kehden Hettiger throwing error plated Matt King for the Curve’s first run. Duve Gourson (5) then smacked a three-run home run to deep right field, plating both P.J. Hilson and Escudero to give Altoona a 4-2 lead.

The R-Phils would knot the game up in the fifth stanza. Raylin Heredia clubbed his Eastern League best 22nd double of the season to score Pedro León. Binelas then grounded out, scoring Escobar in the process to put the game in a 4-4 deadlock.

Both starting pitchers left in the middle phases of this game, each earning a no-decision. Braydon Tucker relinquished four runs in five innings with four punchouts for Reading, while Matt Ager gave up four runs in four innings while fanning three batters for Altoona.

The Fightins took the lead in a decisive seventh inning, as Aroon Escobar (6) crushed a go-ahead, two-run home run to center field to score León. Erick Brito then doubled home Heredia before a Hettiger sacrifice fly sent Binelas trotting home. Bryan Rincon’s RBI single extended his on-base streak to 24 games and built the lead to 9-4.

Neither side would score for the rest of the contest, as Reading now has matched its season-high with four straight victories.

Estibenzon Jimenez (2-0) scored his second win of the season, striking out a pair of hitters in a 1-2-3 inning.

Landon Tomkins (3-3) suffered the defeat, relinquishing two runs on three hits with a pair of strikeouts in two innings of work.

Every Fightin Phils starter recorded at least one hit in this contest., with Escobar, Binelas and Brito all logging two RBI.

The Fightins currently find themselves in a tie for the Eastern League-Northeast Division lead with both the Portland Sea Dogs and New Hampshire Fisher Cats.

The Fightin Phils return to the field on Tuesday against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays at 7 p.m. Pregame radio coverage is underway at 6:40 p.m. on the Reading Fightin Phils Radio Network. A video stream is available via MiLB TV or the Bally Live App.

The Fightin Phils return home from Tuesday, June 30, through Sunday, July 5, against the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays.

On Tuesday night, the first 1,500 adults 21 and older receive a Yuengling R-Phils T-Shirt, thanks to Yuengling. Wednesday night is a Princess Tribute, along with Military Appreciation Night, presented by Savage Auto Group. Friday night features fireworks, sponsored by PA Virtual Charter School, A Stone's Throw LLC, and Island Pizza. Friday night is a Carpenter MEGA Blast Fireworks Show, thanks to the Pennsylvania Lottery. Saturday features another Carpenter MEGA Blast Fireworks Show, sponsored by Dog Training Elite. The series ends on Sunday with a Trey Yesavage Hometown Hero Bobblehead for the first 2,000 kids, thanks to AD Moyer Lumber and Hardware.

Tickets to all games are available at rphils.com/tickets, by calling 610-370-BALL, or in-person at the Customers Bank Ticket Office.

The 2026 R-Phils season is presented by Pepsi. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter @ReadingFightins, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Instagram @Fightins.