(Portland, ME) -Game 1 Recap: Ranger Suárez was brilliant over seven innings as the Fightin Phils opened their 7-game roadtrip with a 7-1 win in game one of Tuesday night's doubleheader at Hadlock Field. The lefthander got immediate run support in the top of the first when Darick Hall smacked
(Portland, ME) -
Game 1 Recap: Ranger Suárez was brilliant over seven innings as the Fightin Phils opened their 7-game roadtrip with a 7-1 win in game one of Tuesday night's doubleheader at Hadlock Field. The lefthander got immediate run support in the top of the first when Darick Hall smacked an RBI single three batters in for a 1-0 lead. Later in the first, a wild pitch from Sea Dogs starter Mike Shawaryn made it 2-0, which was more than enough for the rest of the one hour, 54 minute affair.
The Sea Dogs scored their only run in the fifth when catcher Austin Rei led off with a single. After Suarez got the next two outs, leadoff man Danny Mars singled for his second hit in three at bats. Chad De La Guerra brought in a run with a single, and with runners at first and second, Suarez snagged a grounder off the bat of Jantzen Witte to retire the side.
Reading's big inning was the top of the seventh as they looked to pad the 2-1 lead. Cornelius Randolph opened the inning with a walk, and after Malquin Canelo moved him over with a sacrifice bunt, Austin Bossart blasted his fifth home run to extend the lead to 4-1. Singles by Drew Stankiewicz and Cord Sandberg put two runners on, and with two outs, Hall smoked a two-RBI double before Zach Green added a double of his own to finish off a 7-1 lead. Suarez (3-3) delivered a scoreless seventh for the fourth 7-inning complete game of his career.
Game 2 Recap: The second game of the twin bill didn't go as easy, but the Fightin Phils still responded in a bullpen game in which Luke Leftwich and lefthander Daniel McGrath were making their first starts of the season. The early part of the game went back-and-forth, with the Fightins getting the first run on a sacrifice fly in the first from Austin Listi in his first day at Double-A. De La Guerra tied it up in the home first with a groundout after Mars led off the inning with a triple.
Tied at two in the third, the Sea Dogs took their first lead of the day on an RBI groundout from Johnny Bladel to break a 2-2 tie. Later with the bases loaded and Leftwich out of the game, Alexis Rivero (2-0) allowed a 2-RBI single to Jordan Betts , but on the play, Heiker Meneses raced out to right field and threw a bullet to the plate to nail Luke Tendler for the finak out of the inning.
The Fightins tied the game in the fifth thanks to an infield single from Jiandido Tromp , who finished 3-for-4 for his third three-hit game of the season. Listi and Hall, the former college teammates at Dallas Baptist, backed each other up with two-out singles to drive in a run each and tie the game at five.
Green's first home run of the month led off the sixth and gave the Fightins a 6-5 lead, and that's how it would end thanks to a brilliant two-inning save from Tyler Gilbert . The lefthander retired all six Sea Dogs he faced, and added three strikeouts to give the Fightins their third straight win.
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.
