Rafaela Homers in Portland's 4-3 Loss 

Reading, Pennsylvania – Shane Drohan tossed five innings in his Double-A debut and the Portland Sea Dogs (56-57, 26-18) scored three unanswered runs, but couldn’t complete the comeback, falling to the Reading Fightin Phils (51-62, 22-22) at FirstEngergy Stadium on Saturday.

Four runs came around to score in the bottom of the second inning for the Fightin Phils against Drohan. With two outs in the innings, Carlos De La Cruz and Herbert Iser hit consecutive singles, putting runners on the corners. Vito Friscia cleared the bases with a three-run homer to left. Madison Stokes made it back-to-back homers with a solo shot, giving Reading a 4-0 lead.

Portland started to chip away in the top of the third inning with Reading starter Mick Abel on the mound. With one out, Izzy Wilson launched a solo home run to right field. It was his eighth of the season and cut into Reading’s lead 4-1.

The Sea Dogs continued to claw away at the lead, scoring another run against Abel in the top of the sixth inning. With one out, Ceddanne Rafaela homer to left. It was his 10th long ball of the year and made it a 4-2 game.

The third unanswered run came in to score the Portland in the top of the eight against Reading reliever Andrew Schultz. David Hamilton led off with a double and stole third base. Rafaela followed with a double of his own, driving in Hamilton, bringing the Sea Dogs with one run, 4-3. Portland would put the tying run on base in the top of the ninth inning, but couldn’t bring him around to score, falling to the Fightin Phils 4-3.

Abel (1-0, 3.00 ERA) pitched 6.0 innings, allowing two runs on four hits, walking one, and striking out eight in his first win of the season. Drohan (0-1, 7.20 ERA) worked through 5.0 innings, surrendering four runs on five hits while striking out four in his first loss of the year.

The Sea Dogs and Fightin Phils play the finale of a six-game series on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium with a 5:15 PM first pitch. Portland sends RHP Thaddeus Ward (0-1, 1.38 ERA) to the mound against Reading’s pitcher to be announced