Late Rally Not Enough as Fightins Fall to Senators
EL Reading Fightin Phils

Late Rally Not Enough as Fightins Fall to Senators

Published on May 31, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Reading, PA) - The Reading Fightin Phils (23-28) fell on Sunday evening to the Harrisburg Senators (28-23) by a final score of 8-6. Harrisburg takes the series four games to two, after winning the final three contests.

Harrisburg came out of the gates quickly in the first. Marcus Brown walked, and Cayden Wallace followed with a double, creating an early scoring opportunity. Leandro Pineda was able to deliver and hit a sac fly to drive home Brown. Two batters later, Max Romero Jr. (6) belted a home run to dead center and gave the Senators a 3-0 lead. This is the first game in this series in which Harrisburg had scored first.

Reading mustered a response in their frame of the first. Aroon Escobar walked with two outs and was followed by an Austin Murr frozen rope down the right field line to give the Fightins runners on second and third. Raylin Heredia would bloop a single into left field to score Escobar, while Murr was gunned down in a close play at the plate to leave the score at 3-1 in favor of Harrisburg.

The R-Phils struck next in the bottom of the third. Bryan Rincon got the offense started with a single through the right side. Murr followed with a single of his own that allowed Rincon to score due to a throwing error. Heredia continued the hit train with a double to center, plating Murr and tying the game at three apiece.

The Senators' offense fought back immediately in the top of the fourth. Back-to-back home runs from Romero Jr. (7) and Kervin Pichardo (5) put Harrisburg back on top. Cortland Lawson doubled and was then driven in via a Johnathon Thomas sac fly to restore the lead to three for the visitors.

The lead grew again in the top of the fifth for Harrisburg through another Lawson double, scoring Sam Peterson and giving the Senators a 7-3 lead.

Scoring returned in the bottom of the eighth for the Fightins. Back-to-back doubles from Murr and Heredia trimmed the deficit to three. Dylan Campbell (7) followed and launched a cannon into the visitors' bullpen to bring the score to 7-6 in favor of the Senators heading into the ninth.

Harrisburg got the last scoring though as Wallace (11) homered into the bullpen to give the guests an 8-6 lead. Erick Mejia collected his sixth save of the season, closing the door on Reading.

Marquis Grissom Jr. (2-1) grabbed the win for the Senators. Grissom pitched one-third of an inning in relief of starter Issac Lyon.

Kyle Brnovich (1-4) took the loss on the day. Brnovich pitched 3.1 innings, allowing six runs on six hits while striking out two.

Colin Peluse pitched a great 1.1 scoreless innings out of the Reading bullpen. Peluse has been locked down in his last five outings, pitching 6.1 innings while only allowing one run.

Evan Gates followed Peluse out of the pen and threw two scoreless frames, only allowing one hit.

Murr, Heredia, and Campbell all had multiple hit days for the R-Phils, with Murr and Heredia each having two doubles.

The Fightin Phils return to the field on Tuesday at the Binghamton Rumble Ponies, Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets, at 6:07 p.m. RHP Braydon Tucker is set to start for Reading, and he will go against LHP Max Green for Binghamton. A video stream is available via MiLB TV or the Bally Live App.

The Fightin Phils return home for a two-week homestand from Tuesday, June 9 through Sunday, June 21, opening with a six-game series against the Portland Sea Dogs (June 9-14).

The first 2,000 adults on Tuesday will receive an R-Phils T-Shirt celebrating 60 years of Phillies affiliation, thanks to Berks County Mental Health & Developmental Disabilities Program. Wednesday features "Seinfeld" Tribute Night, highlighted by an appearance from Actor John O'Hurley. Thursday and Friday both include fireworks, sponsored by PA Virtual Charter School and Firetree LTD. (Thursday), and Silverline Trailers - Pottstown (Friday). Saturday night brings the first postgame drone show of the season, celebrating America's 250th Anniversary, presented by Penn State Health St. Joseph. The series wraps up Sunday with a Crazy Hot Dog Vendor Costume T-Shirt giveaway, thanks to Berks Packing.

Tickets to all games are available at rphils.com/tickets, by calling 610-370-BALL, or in-person at the Customers Bank Ticket Office.

The 2026 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 May 31, 2026


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