(Manchester, NH) - The Fightin Phils and Fisher Cats waited under cloudy skies in the middle game of three at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. In the end, a five-run second inning for the hosts was too much for the Fightins to overcome as former first round pick Jon Harris won
(Manchester, NH) - The Fightin Phils and Fisher Cats waited under cloudy skies in the middle game of three at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium. In the end, a five-run second inning for the hosts was too much for the Fightins to overcome as former first round pick Jon Harris won his third straight start by twirling six-and-two-thirds with seven strikeouts. On a positive note, Zach Green went deep for the third straight game and the fourth time in his last five, setting up the third and deciding game of the series on Sunday afternoon.
After escaping the first inning scoreless on 31 pitches, Fightin Phils starter Jake Waguespack wasn't as lucky in the bottom of the second. Juan Kelly's double moved Connor Panas to third after he started the inning by reaching on an error. A balk brought in the Fisher Cats first run, and with a couple of runners on, leadoff man Jonathan Davis roped a double into the left field corner for a 3-0 lead. Jon Berti and Bo Bichette followed with run-scoring hits, and in the blink of an eye, the 'Cats had batted around and had a 5-0 lead.
Reading's bullpen was tremendous all night, with Ranfi Casimiro carrying the load early with two-and-a-third innings. Green and Cornelius Randolph went back-to-back with one out singles in the top of the second, yet Harris wiggled away from it and would only allow two more hits until the seventh.
A fourth inning single from Darick Hall carried his hitting streak to nine games, and Austin Listi's sixth inning double gave him his first at Double-A after he finished with 16 in Clearwater. After Casimiro, Seth McGarry worked two hitless innings, and one-offs from Josh Tols and Luke Leftwich in the eighth and ninth kept the Fisher Cats hitless for the last five innings.
Green's leadoff home run in the seventh was his 14th, and his team-leading 45th run batted in got the Fightins on the board at 5-1. A two out-single from Malquin Canelo ended Harris' (6-3) night, and relievers Kirby Snead and Andrew Case combined on the last seven outs without a single baserunner to even the series at a game apiece and end the Fightins winning streak at six.
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.
