(Reading, PA) - For most of Friday night's game between the Fightin Phils and Sea Dogs, it was a case of who would blink first. Both starters, Tom Eshelman and Dedgar Jimenez , went at least six innings and allowed 7 hits for a 1-1 tie through seven-and-a-half. In the
(Reading, PA) - For most of Friday night's game between the Fightin Phils and Sea Dogs, it was a case of who would blink first. Both starters, Tom Eshelman and Dedgar Jimenez , went at least six innings and allowed 7 hits for a 1-1 tie through seven-and-a-half. In the eighth, one swing from Adam Haseley broke the tie, with his two-run homer proving to be the difference before a crowd of 7,016 at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The biggest aid to Eshelman in his best start of the season were double plays, with the first one coming in the first when Red Sox top prospect Bobby Dalbec hit into a 6-3 twin killing that was turned perfectly by Jose Gomez . Eshelman got another one a short time later after a leadoff walk to Cody Asche in the second, with Gomez getting in on the fun with Major League rehabber Scott Kingery for a 5-6-3 double play.
Luke Tendler's second home run of the season broke a scoreless tie in the top of the fourth, but Eshelman didn't budge for the rest of the night. Over a season-high six-and-two-thirds, he exhibited his usual control with just two walks and a pair of strikeouts. After back-to-back singles in the seventh, he handed the ball to Jakob Hernandez , who handled the red-hot Jeremy Rivera for the final out after the Sea Dogs shortstop started the game 3-for-3 with singles.
Reading's lineup had plenty of chances against lefthander Dedgar Jimenez, who stranded four runners over his first three innings after getting an inning-ending double play with the bases loaded in the third. The fourth inning started with a Darick Hall leadoff single back up the middle and a Luke Williams poke into right that put the tying and go-ahead runs on base. With one out, Henri Lartigue singled to left to score the tying run, but Jimenez evaded further trouble with a strikeout and a lineout from Kingery. Splitting time between third base and center field, he finished 1-for-4 with a stolen base.
Following Lartigue's RBI single, Sea Dogs pitchers combined to retire 11 in a row through the seventh inning. Righthander Durbin Feltman worked a 1-2-3 seventh, giving Adam Lau a chance in a tie ballgame in the eighth. Mickey Moniak led off the inning with a single for his third hit, and two pitches later, Haseley crushed his fourth homer to right-center to give the R-Phils their first lead. JD Hammer continued his brilliant run with a 3-1 lead in the ninth, striking out the side for his second save to get the Fightins back to a season-high four games over .500 at 20-16.
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.
