(Reading, PA) - Gluttony Night at FirstEnergy Stadium was the perfect backdrop for Tuesday night's doubleheader between the Fightin Phils and SeaWolves. The teams picked up their suspended game from May 30th in the top of the second, and the Fightins used more late inning heroics to win 5-4 in
(Reading, PA) - Gluttony Night at FirstEnergy Stadium was the perfect backdrop for Tuesday night's doubleheader between the Fightin Phils and SeaWolves. The teams picked up their suspended game from May 30th in the top of the second, and the Fightins used more late inning heroics to win 5-4 in 10 innings. Their comeback in game two came up short, however, and despite a game-tying three-run home run from Austin Listi , it wasn't enough as the SeaWolves scored two in the top of the seventh for a 5-3 win. With the split and the rest of the results around the Eastern League, Reading remains half a game behind Hartford for first place in the Eastern Division with just six games left in the first half.
Game One Recap:
José Taveras made his third start as the teams picked up their suspended game from May 30 in the top of the second inning, and the righthander worked quickly by going 1-2-3 on a pair of strikeouts and a caught stealing. The bats arrived in the bottom of the third against SeaWolves starter Logan Shore , who let the first two batters reach when Grenny Cumana singled and Austin Bossart drew a walk.
Jose Gomez advanced the runners with a sacrifice bunt, and Arquimedes Gamboa followed with a single for the game's first run. Gamboa would eventually steal second base, and Bossart scored when the throw from catcher Chace Numata sailed into center field. Darick Hall made it 3-0 with a base hit, and a passed ball would score the final run of the inning to put the R-Phils in front 4-0.
Erie started chipping away at the lead with runs in the fourth and sixth to cut the deficit in half and make it 4-2. They'd eventually tie it in the eighth when they capitalized on a couple of errors, with both unearned runs coming against Addison Russ , who recovered by getting the next three hitters after the first three reached in the inning.
Both teams failed to score in the ninth, sending the game into extras, where the SeaWolves had the first crack at scoring. A sacrifice bunt from Derek Hill pushed Cole Peterson to third base with just one out, and Hall saved the day when he snagged a grounder from Isaac Paredes and threw off balanced to the plate to nail Peterson for the second out. Connor Brogdon (1-1) got the final out, and the Fightins soon won it by loading the bases on a single from Listi and an intentional walk to Josh Stephen . Cumana's second hit came with the bases loaded, and ended the ballgame when he drilled a single to center field for a 5-4 win.
Game Two Recap:
The SeaWolves came away with three runs on four hits in the top of the third against Bailey Falter , who was able to snap a brief two-game losing streak despite trailing 3-0 early in a game that was scheduled for seven innings. RBIs from Paredes, Jose Azocar , and Kade Scivicque put the SeaWolves in a good spot, but help arrived for Falter, who finished his five innings by retiring seven of the last eight.
Spot starter Trent Szkutnik came out for the fourth after working nearly three perfect innings at the outset. His luck quickly changed when Mickey Moniak and Darick Hall reached on back-to-back singles, bringing up Listi, who up until the fourth had been the only baserunner with a leadoff single in the second. He eventually took a payoff pitch out over the left field wall for his sixth home run and a 3-3 tie. The third baseman finished 3-for-3 by providing a sixth inning single, but he accounted for half of Reading's hits in the ballgame.
Erie re-took the lead for good in the top of the seventh on a double from Paredes for his second run batted in, and the third straight single from Frank Schwindel , who added an insurance run with a two-out base hit. The Fightins comeback in the home half started with a double from Josh Stephen, but Drew Carlton retired the next three hitters in a row for his fourth save and a split to start the four-game series.
America's Classic Ballpark is proud to be a part of Pennsylvania's Americana Region. Season tickets for the 2019 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at the Weidenhammer Ticket Office at FirstEnergy Stadium. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter at @ReadingFightins, Instagram at @fightins, and like them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/fightins.
