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Somerset And Reading Series Preview

May 16, 2022

Bridgewater, New Jersey - The Somerset Patriots return home this week to take on the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) in a six-game series between May 17 to May 22. After winning five of six games against the Bowie Baysox last week, the Fightin Phils currently sit in third place

Bridgewater, New Jersey - The Somerset Patriots return home this week to take on the Reading Fightin Phils (Philadelphia Phillies) in a six-game series between May 17 to May 22.

After winning five of six games against the Bowie Baysox last week, the Fightin Phils currently sit in third place in the Eastern League Northeast at 16-17.

Somerset and Reading faced each other in a three-game series at FirstEnergy Stadium to begin the season with the Patriots taking two games on the road. The Patriots’ offense dominated in the first two games, posting 6-2 and 11-2 victories on April 8 and 9 respectively. In total, Somerset recorded 30 hits, including a season-high 18 hits on April 9, and scored 20 runs over the course series.

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Reading’s roster has remained stable since the first meeting in early April with the team still hosting a trio of top-15 prospects in Logan O’Hoppe, Erik Miller, and Jhailyn Ortiz.

O’Hoppe, currently the No. 5 player in the Phillies farm system, is hitting .253 on the season with three home runs and 15 RBI. Behind the plate, the 22-year-old has caught seven runners stealing. He batted 3-for-9 with one RBI and two walks in the first three games against the Patriots. O’Hoppe also wrapped up a successful series against Bowie after he hit 6-for-15 with three walks and four RBI.

The No. 12 prospect, Ortiz, has caught fire recently as well, batting 10-for-24 in the last series against the Baysox and driving in 10 runs, including three home runs. He now leads the team in hits (31), home runs (8), RBI (21), and slugging percentage (.534). Former fourth round pick and current

No. 11 prospect, Miller, has impressed on the mound, pitching 14.0 innings in seven appearances and maintaining a 1.93 ERA with 19 strikeouts. The St. Louis native faced Somerset on April 8 and tossed 2.0 scoreless innings along with five strikeouts.

The Patriots have continued to be hot with six wins in their past ten games, including four wins in a six-game series against the Altoona Curve last week as they continue to have a firm grasp of first place in the Eastern League Northeast. The success has been led by the pitching group which has posted a 2.91 ERA, the best in the Eastern league. This past Friday, Yankees No. 16 prospect Randy Vasquez pitched a commanding, 5.2 no-hit innings with five strikeouts en route to winning the Eastern League Pitcher of the Week award.

The offense has complimented the pitching equally, scoring 166 runs on the season, the most in the league. Notably, Derek Dietrich has surged since joining the team in late April, hitting .290 with seven home runs and 18 RBI through 18 games.