EL1 Reading Fightin Phils

Brooms Stay in the Closet

Published on July 25, 2018 under Eastern League (EL1)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Reading, PA) - Wednesday afternoon's finale between the Fightin Phils and Fisher Cats was well played and well pitched, with the teams remaining tied until the top of the eighth. That's when the visitors sent all nine to the plate, and came away with three runs to go ahead for good and leave Baseballtown with a 5-2 win before a camp day crowd of 6,327.

Red hot since returning from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, Fightin Phils third baseman Damek Tomscha hit a solo home run with two outs in the first off Fisher Cats starter Taylor Saucedo. The home run was his third of the series, giving him four in his last six games as the Fightins went ahead 1-0 briefly.

Making his second start on the homestand, Reading's Ranfi Casimiro was impressive once again after beating the Curve to start the four-game winning streak on Friday night. In the top of the third, "Cats center fielder Andrew Guillotte reached on a throwing error from Tomscha, which turned out to be a big moment in the ballgame. With two outs, Cavan Biggio got a flyball up into the wind, carrying it over the center field wall for his team-leading 21st home run and a 2-1 lead.

The score held until the bottom of the fifth when Jan Hernandez led off with his third home run of the month to tie the score at two. After that, Austin Bossart and Malquin Canelo got on with singles, but the Fightins were unable to capitalize when Heiker Meneses bunted to first baseman Juan Kelly, who threw across to third for the first out of the inning. Jiandido Tromp then lined a shot to third, where Biggio snagged the line drive and threw back to second for an inning-ending double play.

With both starters out after six innings, the bullpens took over for the rest of the afternoon. After going 1-2-3 with a pair of strikeouts in the seventh, Luke Leftwich wasn't as fortunate in the top of the eighth. A leadoff walk to Eduard Pinto opened the door a crack, and eventually the Fisher Cats sent all nine to the plate. They'd score three times to break the 2-2 tie on a passed ball, a Harold Ramirez single, and a bases loaded walk to Santiago Espinal.

Facing Fisher Cats closer Travis Bergen in the bottom of the ninth, the Fightins showed resilience when they got back-to-back two out singles from Austin Listi and Cornelius Randolph to bring the tying run to the plate. But that's where the rally stalled, and the homestand ended with a 4-3 mark as they hit the road to open a four-game series in Richmond on Thursday night.

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.

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Eastern League Stories from July 25, 2018


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