Sea Dogs Salvage Final Game

(Portland, ME) - After playing two dominant games to build their first 3-0 start since 2012, the Fightin Phils were shut out on Sunday at Hadlock Field in the final game of the long weekend series. Red Sox 40-man member Darwinzon Hernandez tied a career-high with 10 strikeouts over five innings, and eight of the nine Sea Dogs had hits on the way to a 6-0 shutout before 6,242 at Hadlock Field.
For the first time in the series, the Sea Dogs struck first in the bottom of the second against Bailey Falter in his Double-A debut. Bobby Dalbec led off with Portland's first homer of the season, clearing the Maine Monster in left for a 1-0 advantage. Three more singles in the inning plus an error plated up two more runs, which gave the R-Phils just their second deficit of the series.
Reading's best chances against Hernandez (1-0) came when they put two runners on in the second and fifth. But the lefthander only surrendered a pair of singles over five, finishing with 10 strikeouts while walking four. Falter (0-1) became the first starter to go five-and-a-third, ending his afternoon by striking out Josh Tobias after Jantzen Witte made it 5-0 with a two-run homer to left center in the sixth.
After the Sea Dogs bullpen gave away a 4-1 lead in the eighth inning on Friday night, they didn't have the same problem this time around. Andrew Schwaab , Durbin Feltman , and Matthew Gorst worked together for the last 12 outs, allowing just one hit in the process. Third baseman Ali Castillo had two hits for the second straight game to account for two-thirds of Reading's final total. Portland's final run came across with two outs in the seventh on a single from Dalbec, who was in the middle of three straight two-out hits.
The R-Phils roadtrip continues in New Hampshire against the defending-champion Fisher Cats on Monday night. Mauricio Llovera will make his Double-A debut to start the three-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.