Hendry Mendez Hits for Cycle as Reading Falls on Friday Night
EL Reading Fightin Phils

Hendry Mendez Hits for Cycle as Reading Falls on Friday Night

Published on June 20, 2025 under Eastern League (EL)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Reading, PA) - The Reading Fightin Phils (24-41) fell to the Hartford Yard Goats (35-32) 8-5 Friday to fall behind 1-3 in the series. As Hendry Mendez stepped to the plate in the eighth inning, he was just a double away from history. On a 3-1 pitch, the left-handed hitter slapped a ball into the right-field gap, scoring two and stopping at second base. The hit was his fourth of the game and marked the first cycle in Reading history since at least 2005.

Reading starter Mitch Neunborn (L, 2-2) moved into a starting role at the beginning of June and has excelled since. In his three starts, Neunborn allowed just one earned run in 11.0 innings, and moved his batting average against to .201. Neunborn needed only eight pitches to work out of the first, striking out a pair.

Mendez tripled with two outs in the bottom of the first, his third of the season to take the team lead, but was stranded at third as Blake Adams (W, 3-5) forced a groundball to shortstop. Adams came into the game with a 7.42 ERA in 11 starts but slowed Reading's offense.

Meanwhile, Neunborn's success ran dry in the third. Hartford pieced together two doubles with a perfectly placed bunt to third base in between, taking a 1-0 lead on Braiden Ward's double. Neunborn escaped after allowing one. Neunborn couldn't hold down the Yard Goats for long as Jose Cordova hammered a two-run shot to build a 3-0 lead.

Alex Binelas, who tallied two home runs Thursday, put the Fightin Phils on the board with a sacrifice fly to score Mendez following his second hit of the day. Hartford then came back with vengeance, knocking Neunborn out of the game. With Neunborn's runners on and Andrew Bechtold now in the game, the Yard Goats added two runs on a single and an error. After five innings, Reading trailed 5-1.

Despite Adams' past poor performances, he held the Fightin Phils to just three hits in 5.0 innings, handing the ball over to Mason Green out of the bullpen. Mendez recorded his third hit of the day, this time a crushing home run into right field. The Phillies' No. 25 prospect is up to .295 this season and recorded his fifth three-hit game of the season, coming just a double short of a cycle with another at-bat to come.

Just as Mendez cut into the deficit, Hartford got a run back on a wild pitch. It led Reading 6-2 following the added cushion and scored another on a sacrifice fly in the eighth to make it a five-run game. When Mendez came to hit again in the eighth, he cut the deficit to 7-4 on his double-clinching cycle. His fourth hit of the day also notched his first four-hit day with the Fightin Phils, and fifth of his professional career.

Reading didn't stop there. Seth Beer scored Mendez on a double that slammed off the high wall in centerfield, and all of a sudden, the Fightin Phils were within striking distance. The comeback threat was too good to be true.

The Yard Goats added another run on a solo shot in the top of the ninth and Reading rallied in the ninth but came up short as Mendez was left in the on-deck circle as the tying run.

The Fightin Phils return to the field on Saturday at 6:45 p.m. against the Hartford Yard Goats. RHP Chuck King will start for Reading, and RHP Jack Mahoney will be on the mound for Hartford. Pregame radio coverage is underway at 6:30 p.m. on the Reading Fightin Phils Radio Network. A video stream is available via MiLB TV or the Bally Live App.

The Fightin Phils remain home through Sunday, against the Hartford Yard Goats, Double-A affiliate of the Colorado Rockies. Saturday is a Tribute to Star Wars and Carpenter MEGA Blast fireworks, the largest fireworks show in stadium history. The series ends Sunday with a Reading Hot Dogs Basketball Jersey for the first 2,000 kids, sponsored by Berks Packing. Tickets are available at rphils.com/tickets, by calling 610-370-BALL or at the Customers Bank Ticket Office.

The 2025 R-Phils season is presented by Pepsi. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter @ReadingFightins, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Instagram @Fightins.

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Eastern League Stories from June 20, 2025


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