Late Inning Heroics Leads To Walk-Off Patriots Win
6/2/21 Box Score
Bridgewater, New Jersey β The Somerset Patriots (18-7) scored five unanswered runs from the seventh inning on to defeat the Reading Fightin Phils (4-22) 5-4 at TD Bank Ballpark on Wednesday night.
Trailing 4-2 in the bottom of the ninth inning, Diego Castillo tied up the game with a two-run home run (3) to force extra innings. That set the stage for Isiah Gilliamβs walk-off RBI single to center field in the tenth.
ππ‘π π¬π©π’π€π πͺ
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 3, 2021
ππ‘π ππ¨π¬π¬ π₯
ππ‘π ππ‘ππ¬π π¨@isiah_gilliam24's walk-off winner tonight sent us OFF! pic.twitter.com/bf2KePKN5i
βI saw the whole infield come in and I thought βletβs get a little elevation,ββ Gilliam said in the postgame press conference. βI think the pitcher was trying to go for a groundball pitch. He left it a little elevated. I think the pitch was middle in and it was almost like a two-strike defensive swing, even though I had one strike on me. So it worked out in my favor tonight.β
Rehabbing New York Yankees hurler Zack Britton made the start and threw 27 pitches (15 for strikes) in his inning of work. He gave up an early two-run homer to Nick Matera (4) and struck out two of the five batters he faced.
βI feel good physically. My arm is getting stronger,β Britton said after his appearance. βThe next step is continuing to sharpen my stuff and command.β
Got heeeeeeeem!
— Somerset Patriots (@SOMPatriots) June 2, 2021
Here is a look at @zbritton's first strikeout as a Patriot π₯ pic.twitter.com/wDrR2TQcj1
Reading added a run on a wild pitch and another on a sacrifice fly by Bryson Stott.
Michael Beltre got Somerset on the board with a two-run double in the seventh to cut the lead in half.
Somersetβs pitchers struck out 17 batters, including ten by Glenn Otto in his six innings of work after coming in relief of Britton. Carlos Espinal added two scoreless innings and three strikeouts before handing the ball to Greg Weissert (W, 1-1) for the last frame.
Zach Warren (L, 0-1) took the loss after he allowed an unearned run in 0.1 innings pitched.
The Patriots and Phils continue the series on Thursday night with a 7:05 pm game at TD Bank Ballpark.
About the Somerset Patriots
The Somerset Patriots are the New York Yankees Double-A Affiliate and develop todayβs top minor league talent into the pinstriped superstars of tomorrow for MLBβs winningest team. The Patriots compete in the Double-A Northeast League and play their home games at TD Bank Ballpark in Bridgewater, NJ, where fans of all ages and levels of baseball fandom get to enjoy the unique experience that is minor league baseball.
To learn more, visit:__www.somersetpatriots.com.