EL1 Reading Fightin Phils

Hernandez, Pujols, and Grullon all go deep to give Fightins season series against Bowie

Published on August 5, 2018 under Eastern League (EL1)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Bowie, MD) - With their bats held in check until the ninth inning to start their roadtrip in Bowie, the Reading Fightin Phils exploded over their last 18 innings at the plate to steal the series. For the second straight game, both Jan Hernandez and Jose Pujols hit huge home runs, with Pujols' fifth inning grand slam being the difference in Sunday's 11-7 win.

The Fightins went to work against lefthander Luis Ysla with two out singles from Damek Tomscha and Pujols in the first. Hernandez locked horns and battled, finally rocking the ninth pitch for his 14th home run and a quick 3-0 lead for Harold Arauz.

In his second start since coming back from the disabled list, Arauz had one rough inning in the first. The Baysox scored three batters in thanks to doubles from Ryan McKenna and Ryan Mountcastle. Two walks made matters worse, and back-to-back two-out singles from Ademar Rifaela and Martin Cervenka put Bowie in front 4-3.

Ysla came back by retiring 10 straight before Deivi Grullon hit his 17th home run to lead off the top of the fifth. In a sign of things to come, Austin Bossart's single, Heiker Meneses' walk, and another walk to Tomscha loaded the bases for Pujols. Facing reliever Matthew Grimes, the right fielder continued his monster first weekend at Double-A with a grand slam, giving him two homers and seven runs batted in over his first three games.

The Fightins tacked on a run in the sixth, loading the bases with no outs before Malquin Canelo rolled into a 4-6-3 double play to make it 9-4. Tomscha then led off the seventh with a double, and scored the first of two runs when Cornelius Randolph singled him home. Grullon brought in his second run with a hard double into right center, pushing the Fightins cushion to 11-4.

With Arauz (8-6) out after five innings, Luke Leftwich looked locked in and retired eight of the first nine batters he faced to match a season-high with two-and-two-thirds. The Baysox soon got a run back on Anderson Feliz' eighth inning home run, and three straight hits from Rifaela, Cervenka, and Erick Salcedo tacked on two more to cut the lead to 11-7. After failing to record an out in the ninth inning on Saturday night, Jeff Singer rebounded by securing the last four outs, with three strikeouts to close out the series in style.

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 August 5, 2018


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