Reading Puts the Fight in Fightins with Another Walk Off Win

BOX SCORE

(Reading, PA) - The Reading Fightin Phils walked things off again to get the win over the Harrisburg Senators 5-4. McCarthy Tatum was the man of the hour Saturday night. A single with the bases loaded gave Reading the win and their second walk off in two nights.

Reading starting pitcher David Parkinson had a bounce back performance Saturday night in his five innings of work. Parkinson struck out four Senator batters and allowed five hits.

After Parkinson got through the first three innings fairly smoothly, Harrisburg got things going in the third. JT Arruda started first with a single to center field. Blake Rutherford followed with a walk. Donavan Casey grounded into a force at first, which moved both runners. The Senators got on the board thanks to a sacrifice fly from Frankie Tostado to make it 1-0 Harrisburg. Parkinson got out of the inning after loading the bases.

Reading added a run of their own in the bottom of the inning. Lead off hitter Madison Stokes got the R-Phils going with a single. Carlos De La Cruz followed with a walk, but would be a victim of a Johan Rojas ground ball double play. Stokes would move to third on the play, and later score on a double by Matthew Kroon to tie the game at 1-1.

The Senators would not keep the score tied for long. A Leonel Velara home run in the top of the fifth got Harrisburg back out in front. Harrisburg was not done there. Onix Vega was next to strike with a single. Arruda later reached on a fielder's choice, moving Vega to third on a throwing error by McCarthy Tatum. This proved to be costly, as Rutherford would then single to score Vega to make it 3-1 Senators.

After striking out four times in Friday’s night's win, Nick Podkul found his rhythm back in the bottom of the fifth. The solo homer gave Podkul his fourth on the year, and made it 3-2 Harrisburg.

Braden Zarbnisky would come in for relief of Parkinson to start the sixth inning. After getting the first two outs of the inning, Zarbnisky allowed a single to Velara. Velara would steal second, and later score off a single from Vega to make it 4-2 Harrisburg.

The R-Phils would not go out without a fight. Back-to-back solo home runs from Stokes and De La Cruz tied things up at four in the eighth inning. It was the first back-to-back home runs for Reading this season.

Tyler McKay kept Harrisburg scoreless in the ninth to give the Fightin Phils a chance at two walk off wins in two nights. Harrisburg reliever Joel Peguero would come in to try and give the Senators another chance. Ethan Wilson reached first after a throwing error from Harrisburg third basemen Jack Dunn. Oliver Dunn followed with a double, moving Wilson to third.

The hero from Friday night, Max McDowell was hit by a pitch to load the passes for McCarthy Tatum. Tatum did not disappoint, a single over the head of the right fielder Rutherford gave the Fightins Phils the win and their second walk off in two nights.

Tyler McKay earned the win for Reading to improve to 1-2 this season, while Peguero suffered the loss to fall to 0-1 on the year. With the win, Reading improves to 17-26 on the season, while Harrisburg drops to 22-21 with the loss.

Reading and Harrisburg are back in action Sunday night at 5:15 p.m. for game six of this week's six-game series. LHP Josh Hendrickson is scheduled to start for the Fightin Phils, and he will go opposite Senators' LHP Alex Troop. Pregame coverage is underway at 5:00 p.m. at rphils.com/radio. The game can be watched on MiLB TV or the Bally Live App.

Sunday will feature an appearance from the Phillie Phanatic. Tickets to all games are available at rphils.com/tickets, by calling 610-370-BALL or in-person at the Customers Bank Ticket Office. On Tuesday, FirstEnergy Stadium will host a District Three Championship doubleheader. More details and tickets can be found HERE.

The 2023 R-Phils season is presented by Pepsi. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter @ReadingFightins, like us on Facebook or follow us on Instagram @Fightins.