(Reading, PA) - Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium marked another rain-affected gameday at America's Classic Ballpark. The saving grace was that both the Fightin Phils and Thunder were rested from the three-day All-Star break. When they finally took the field, Phillies number two pitching prospect JoJo Romero turned in another
(Reading, PA) - Thursday night at FirstEnergy Stadium marked another rain-affected gameday at America's Classic Ballpark. The saving grace was that both the Fightin Phils and Thunder were rested from the three-day All-Star break. When they finally took the field, Phillies number two pitching prospect JoJo Romero turned in another quality start, and the offense backed him with some muscle. Despite getting outhit 10-8, the R-Phils prevailed 5-3 thanks to five extra-base hits, including back-to-back homers from Alec Bohm and Darick Hall in the sixth.
The first changeup came when scheduled Thunder starter Garrett Whitlock was scratched late in place of Brady Lail . The righthander walked Cornelius Randolph to start the second, and the Fightins left fielder soon stole second base, only to come around to score when the errant throw from behind the plate also skipped through center fielder Rashad Crawford for a two-base error. Reading also got a single from Luke Williams and a double from Jose Gomez , but Whitlock wouldn't surrender another run while finishing three innings.
Romero (4-3) was locked in once again in his first start against the Thunder after splitting both decisions against them in Trenton last season. With two strikeouts in the second and third, the southpaw also got a double play off the bat off cleanup hitter Mandy Alvarez following a one-out single from Chris Gittens in the top of the fourth.
Lefthander James Reeves pitched the next three innings of long relief for the Thunder, and started strong by going three up and three down in the fourth and fifth. The game got interesting in the sixth when Trenton tied the score on a leadoff triple from Matt Lipka and a one-out single by Hoy Jun Park . In the home half, Bohm and Hall went back-to-back with long home runs, opening the lead to 3-1. Raul Rivas made it three straight hits with a double, but Reeves (3-1) added two strikeouts to finish his line.
In the seventh, Arquimedes Gamboa led off with a walk against Brooks Kriske before taking control of the team lead with his 18th stolen base. With two outs, Mickey Moniak hopped a double over the third base bag in his return from a hamstring strain that had landed him on the injured list. Bohm brought in his second run with a single back up the middle, making it 5-1 for the last three innings, with Jakob Hernandez working around two Thunder singles in the seventh and eighth.
Jeff Singer worked the ninth for the R-Phils, which he started with a strikeout of Crawford. The Thunder made things interesting when catcher Jorge Saez doubled, and Matt Lipka finished his perfect night with a two-run homer to left that completed the cycle. Back to within a pair, the Thunder couldn't get another baserunner on, with Singer ending the game with a strikeout of Park to tie Reading's season-high with their fourth consecutive win.
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.
