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EL1 Reading Fightin Phils

Fightins Survive Long Day for Doubleheader Sweep

July 3, 2019 - Eastern League (EL1)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Reading, PA) - For the second time in a couple of weeks, the Reading Fightin Phils had a long day at FirstEnergy Stadium when rain interrupted a scheduled doubleheader. Looking to get even with the Fisher Cats after the visitors stole game one on Monday night, both teams battled the elements and finished shortly after 12:30 on Wednesday morning. A 5-1 win in the opener evened the series, and for the third time on the homestand, the R-Phils won in their final at-bat when Jose Gomez lined a game-winning two-run homer to left for a 3-2 win in extra innings in the nightcap.

Game One Recap :

Both starters in game one, Adonis Medina and Yennsy Diaz, are on their respective teams 40-man rosters. Unfortunately, neither righthander lasted very long after a near two-hour rain delay interrupted the action with the Fightins looking at first and third with no outs and a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second. New Hampshire had previously scored in the first after Logan Warmoth tripled home Santiago Espinal, who had reached on an error by second baseman Raul Rivas. The Fightins then quickly tied the score in the home half when Gomez singled home a pair after three straight one-out singles from Alec Bohm, Darick Hall, and Cornelius Randolph.

Josh Stephen made it 3-1 with a single off lefthander Jake Fishman, and a double play ball off the bat of Bohm scored Rivas, who had gone back-to-back with Austin Bossart on singles prior to the delay. Seth McGarry (1-0) spun four scoreless innings in his second appearance, and Gomez tacked on a leadoff home run off Dany Jimenez for good measure in the bottom of the sixth inning.

Game Two Recap :

Prior to Tuesday, the Fightin Phils had won three doubleheaders outright while splitting the other two. Needing an emergency starter, lefthander Jakob Hernandez answered the call for the first time in his career. He was perfect through the first two innings with three strikeouts before Riley Adams led off the third with his fourth home run to break a scoreless tie.

Fisher Cats starter Patrick Murphy remained his usual tough self against Reading, working around leadoff singles in the first and second from Stephen and Grenny Cumana. Stephen singled again with two outs in the third, but Murphy retired the last four batters he faced in order to keep the game 1-0 after four innings.

Garrett Cleavinger followed Hernandez with one of his best appearances in an R-Phils uniform, allowing just one hit over three innings while striking out six for the second time this season. Down to their last four outs, the Fightins tied the score when Cumana lined a two-out single back up the middle off Jackson McClelland in the sixth inning.

Neither team could score in the seventh or eighth, but the Fisher Cats re-took the lead when Espinal laid down a squeeze bunt against Jeff Singer to score Capra in the top of the ninth. Outside of the unearned run, Singer (5-0) was brilliant on the mound as well, tossing three hitless innings while bringing the three relievers nine-inning total to 15 strikeouts.

Needing to use a position player to further spare the bullpen in the bottom of the ninth, the Fisher Cats turned to Nash Knight, who had started the game as the first baseman. He got Cumana to fly out to deep left, only to watch Gomez line a 2-1 offering just over the left field wall for his second homer of the night. The game-winning two-run shot gave Reading a 3-2 victory as they improved to a season-high 15 games over .500 at 49-34.

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.

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