(Reading, PA) - With a seven-game winning streak on the line, the Reading Fightin Phils needed to erase a 4-0 first-inning deficit on Sunday night against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. With both lineups locked in, Reading prevailed, pounding out 12 hits and scoring eight straight runs on the way to
(Reading, PA) - With a seven-game winning streak on the line, the Reading Fightin Phils needed to erase a 4-0 first-inning deficit on Sunday night against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. With both lineups locked in, Reading prevailed, pounding out 12 hits and scoring eight straight runs on the way to an 8-5 win before a crowd of 6,476. Home runs from Austin Listi , Deivi Grullon , and Damek Tomscha were huge lifts as the Fightins (58-60) pulled to within two games of .500 before the final scheduled off day of the season on Monday.
After taking a perfect game into the seventh inning in his last start on Tuesday night in Akron, Ranfi Casimiro surrendered a two-run home run three batters into the first inning when Joey Terdoslavich took one out the opposite way to left. After allowing a single to Will Toffey and a walk to Patrick Mazeika , shortstop Andrew Ely came through out of the seven spot in the lineup with a two-RBI triple into right for a 4-0 lead.
The Fightin Phils comeback started in the second when Listi smashed a two-run homer to left center after Grullon's one-out single. In the fourth, Grullon answered with one of his own, taking Kevin McGowan deep for his second homer in as many games to get the Fightins within a run at 4-3.
During McGowan's final inning in the fifth, Adam Haseley's grounder got by first baseman Joey Terdoslavich for an error with one out. Cornelius Randolph , after a pair of singles, reached on a walk to bring up Tomscha. Two pitches later, the third baseman laid into McGowan's 1-0 offering for a go-ahead, three-run homer to give the Fightin Phils a 6-4 lead.
Luke Leftwich (2-4) and Seth McGarry combined on three innings of relief after Casimiro, and more run support arrived in the home half of the sixth. Drew Stankiewicz and Heiker Meneses opened the inning with singles off Ryder Ryan , and advanced into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt from pinch-hitter Emmanuel Marrero . Haseley knifed a single the other way into left to make it 7-4, and a wild pitch brought in the Fightins final run of the night.
Binghamton later got a leadoff home run from Mazeika in the eighth, and a walk to Jhoan Urena prompted Greg Legg to call Edgar Garcia for the two-inning save. The righthander continued his impressive stretch with two more hitless innings to preserve the 8-5 lead, picking up his first save since July 4 in New Hampshire to give the Fightin Phils their eighth straight win. Randolph, Grullon, Listi, and Stankiewicz all finished with two hits in the effort.
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.
