'Dogs Win 4-3 in Front of 10th-Largest Crowd in Stadium History

(Reading, PA) - It was a night to remember at America's Classic Ballpark as the Reading Fightin Phils hosted the Portland Sea Dogs for their second-to-last home game of the season. With motorcycles buzzing around the ballpark and a season-high crowd of 9,787 in attendance, the Sea Dogs got a three-run home run from Esteban Quiroz three batters in for a 4-3 win.
Connor Seabold had one stumble in the first inning as he looked to continue his brilliant month on the mound. Jeremy Rivera opened the ballgame with a double two pitches in, and after a walk to Jantzen Witte , Quiroz launched a home run to right for a quick 3-0 lead.
A leadoff walk to Quiroz started the third, and it almost got to 5-0 when Bobby Dalbec had a home run taken away by Fightins right fielder Jose Pujols on a leaping grab at the wall. Luke Tendler's single kept the inning going for Chris Madera , and a fielder's choice groundout got the Sea Dogs a 4-0 lead.
Sea Dogs starter Dedgar Jimenez didn't allow his first run until the fourth when back-to-back walks to Jose Pujols and Austin Listi started things out. After a Darick Hall groundout, Deivi Grullon's fielder's choice got the Fightins on the board at 4-1.
Jimenez (9-7) came out after six innings and just three hits allowed, ceding control to Red Sox #10 prospect Darwinzon Hernandez for the seventh. Seabold (1-4) also went six, and ended his night by retiring the last seven batters he faced. Drew Stankiewicz stroked an RBI double to cut the deficit to 4-2, but Hernandez got the last two outs with the bases loaded to prevent the Fightins from taking the lead.
Josh Tols and Seth McGarry combined on three perfect innings of relief, extending the run to 16 straight Sea Dogs set down to send the game to the bottom of the ninth. The Fightin Phils battled back against Adam Lau , getting three straight singles from Pedro Florimón , Jose Pujols, and Austin Listi with two outs to make it 4-3. But with the tying and winning runs on base, the Fightin Phils couldn't score again and the Sea Dogs evened up the series at a game apiece with the final home game of the season coming up on Sunday afternoon.
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.