Phils' Kendrick silences Sens

Kyle Kendrick pitched a six-hitter for his fourth career complete game Wednesday as the Reading Phillies rolled to an 8-1 victory over the Harrisburg Senators.

Kendrick (4-7), who had lost his previous three starts, walked one batter and struck out five. It was his first nine-inning complete game since Aug. 9, 2005 when he was with short-season Batavia and tossed a seven-hitter against New Jersey.

The 22-year-old right-hander threw 70 of 106 pitches for strikes and improved to 3-0 with a 1.57 ERA against the Senators this season.

"It's nice to get a CG but better to get a win, to tell you the truth," Kendrick said. "My fastball command was pretty good, I think it was down most of the time. My slider in the later innings was good; also, my changeup in the later innings helped me out, too. All-around, I felt pretty good."

It was Reading's first nine-inning complete game since July 4, when Zack Segovia fired a seven-hitter against Altoona.

Greg Jacobs blasted a two-run homer, his eighth, over the right-field wall to cap a four-run sixth inning for the Phillies (28-30). Randy Ruiz hit an RBI double in the sixth and led off the eighth with his ninth homer. Juan Tejeda also drove in two runs, while Chris Coste and Michael Costanzo each had an RBI.

Harrisburg starter Collin Balester (2-4) surrendered six runs -- two earned -- on four hits, walking two and striking out three over six frames.

Brandon Larson doubled and scored on Tony Blanco's single in the sixth for Harrisburg (19-39), which has dropped five consecutive games.