(Reading, PA) - The Sea Dogs bats woke up in the ninth inning in Sunday's series finale at FirstEnergy Stadium, bringing back memories of their incredible comeback from April 17. But it wasn't in the cards, with Addison Russ striking out C.J. Chatham for his second straight save and a
(Reading, PA) - The Sea Dogs bats woke up in the ninth inning in Sunday's series finale at FirstEnergy Stadium, bringing back memories of their incredible comeback from April 17. But it wasn't in the cards, with Addison Russ striking out C.J. Chatham for his second straight save and a 5-4 win. In finishing off the long weekend sweep, the R-Phils (22-16) added to their high-water mark while matching their longest winning streak of the season. In front of another terrific crowd of 8,010, they'll enjoy Monday's off day before starting a roadtrip in Richmond on Tuesday night.
In a change of pace, the Fightins opened the scoring in the home first against Sea Dogs starter Denyi Reyes , who was searching for his first win. The red-hot duo of Mickey Moniak and Adam Haseley singled with one out to put a pair at the corners, and Darick Hall grounded out to the right side for his 19th run batted in and a 1-0 lead.
One of the highlights of the weekend was seeing Phillies 40-man member Adonis Medina deliver his best start of the season. He got his rough inning out of the way in the first when he worked around a pair of walks and a single by Chatham, ending the threat with a strikeout of Tate Matheny . Starting with that strikeout, Medina (1-2) retired 13 of the last 16 Sea Dogs he saw, finishing five scoreless innings with five strikeouts on just 66 pitches.
In the sixth, Moniak led off and reached on a dropped third strike after another single in his second at-bat. That subtle opening gave Hall another RBI chance, and he delivered with a home run to right on a 3-2 pitch off reliever Brian Ellington . With a 3-0 lead, the Sea Dogs got one back when number nine hitter Charlie Madden launched a homer to left in the seventh in his Double-A debut.
The Fightins lead grew to four after the stretch when Zach Schellenger walked Jose Gomez out of the number nine spot in a sign of things to come. Two pitches later, Luke Williams got in on the fun, blasting a two-run homer deep to left for his first longball and multi-RBI game. That home run proved to be the difference-maker, with the Sea Dogs starting their comeback in the ninth after Jeff Singer retired all four batters he faced thanks to three strikeouts.
Matheny opened the ninth with a double, and first baseman Jerry Downs singled him home to make it a 5-2 ballgame. With one out, Madden went deep again, and his two-run shot suddenly cut the lead to 5-4. With two outs, Brett Netzer doubled to put the tying run in scoring position, only to get stranded when Russ came in and struck out Chatham for the 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.
