(Reading, PA) - After starting their first homestand with three straight losses to the SeaWolves, the Fightin Phils started to turn things around on Sunday by avoiding a four-game sweep. Then on Monday they got to Portland starter Kyle Hart in his Double-A debut, and despite Tuesday night's extra-inning setback,
(Reading, PA) - After starting their first homestand with three straight losses to the SeaWolves, the Fightin Phils started to turn things around on Sunday by avoiding a four-game sweep. Then on Monday they got to Portland starter Kyle Hart in his Double-A debut, and despite Tuesday night's extra-inning setback, they were ready in Wednesday's series finale. The offense erupted for 12 runs on 16 hits, getting two home runs from Deivi Grullon , and one each from Damek Tomscha and Kyle Martin to leave town with a 12-4 win before starting their road schedule in Richmond on Friday night.
The first turn through Reading's rotation showed that Harold Arauz had the best start of the group, firing five scoreless innings in a no decision against the SeaWolves on Friday. In the first inning, he only threw nine pitches despite a home run from Esteban Quiroz that gave Portland a 1-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, a Tomscha double and a Martin single came with two outs to tie the score.
Cole Sturgeon hit a home run with two outs in the third after Arauz had retired the previous six hitters, with four coming on strikeouts. Again, the Fightins had an immediate answer in the home half. Back-to-back hits at the top of the lineup from Zach Coppola and Brandon Bednar gave Tomscha the opportunity to re-tie the score with an infield single. Martin added a sacrifice fly for his second run batted in, and that gave the Fightins the lead for good before a big fifth inning.
Teddy Stankiewicz' final inning started with a walk to Coppola, who scored two batters later when Tomscha drilled a 1-0 pitch into the hightop tables in left field for a 5-2 lead. Martin cranked the next pitch for a double into right, and Cornelius Randolph's first Double-A RBI came on a single as he finished 2-for-4 with a walk and a run scored. Later in the inning, Jan Hernandez brought in the final run with a sacrifice fly to center field to make it 7-2.
In Arauz' (1-0) final inning in the sixth, he walked two batters and gave up a two-run homer to Quiroz that trimmed the lead to 7-4. However, he'd come back down to earth by retiring the last three batters he faced, finishing with eight strikeouts. Trevor Bettencourt followed him with two scoreless innings in the seventh and eighth while the Fightin Phils padded their lead late.
Three home runs provided the last five runs for Reading as Grullon got in on the fun with a leadoff shot in the sixth off Yankory Pimentel . In the seventh, Hernandez walked and Cord Sandberg singled to ensure that all nine in the lineup finished with a hit. Grullon then delivered a moonshot to straightaway center that was estimated at 459 feet, giving him four runs batted in and the first two home run game of his career. Martin later led off the eighth with a home run to left center off Trevor Kelly, finishing the game 3-for-4 with two extra-base hits and three runs batted in.
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.
