(Reading, PA) - Back in Baseballtown for a busy homestand against two top teams, the Fightin Phils faced the Altoona Curve on Thursday night with a doubleheader looming on Friday. Having won four straight decisions, Harold Arauz was looking to get Reading back on track after losing both games of
(Reading, PA) - Back in Baseballtown for a busy homestand against two top teams, the Fightin Phils faced the Altoona Curve on Thursday night with a doubleheader looming on Friday. Having won four straight decisions, Harold Arauz was looking to get Reading back on track after losing both games of Wednesday's doubleheader in Hartford. Unfortunately, their only offense came on fourth inning home runs from Austin Listi and Cornelius Randolph before Altoona scored the next six on the way to an 8-2 win.
The Curve struck first with runs in the second and third on RBI singles from Christian Kelly and Bryan Reynolds . In the fourth, the Fightins finally hit back against Cam Vieaux when Listi drove the first pitch of the inning out to left for his first home run since July 1. Later in the inning with the bases empty, Randolph tagged his second of the season onto the roof in right field to tie the score at two.
Altoona's big inning was in the fifth when they sent all nine batters to the plate and came away with four runs off Arauz, who left after 4.1 innings in which he matched a career-high by surrendering 10 hits. Luke Leftwich then matched a season-high with two-and-two-thirds of relief, and had a busy inning during his final frame in the seventh. After loading the bases at the outset, the righthander responded with two strikeouts to nearly make it a scoreless appearance. However, second baseman Stephen Alemais singled for the fourth time to drive in a pair for an 8-2 lead.
Jiandido Tromp finished with two of the Fightin Phils eight hits, and Damek Tomscha singled in the eighth to extend his Double-A hitting streak to nine games. Both teams left 10 runners on base, with the Curve cashing in on more of the opportunities by finishing 7-for-17 with runners in scoring position. Lefthanders Aaron Brown and Josh Tols both threw a scoreless inning of relief as the Curve improved to 5-2 in the season series.
America's Classic Ballpark is proud to be a part of Pennsylvania's Americana Region. Season tickets for the 2018 season are available online at Fightins.com, by phone at 610-370-BALL, and in-person at FirstEnergy Stadium. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter at @ReadingFightins and like them on Facebook via www.facebook.com/fightins.
