EL1 Reading Fightin Phils

R-Phils Earn Split of Doubleheader Friday

Published on May 13, 2011 under Eastern League (EL1)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


(Reading, PA) -- Carlos Rivero had two key at-bats in game two of Friday's doubleheader. Those at-bats helped the R-Phils get a much-needed win over New Hampshire.

Rivero ripped two solo home runs, Tyson Brummett tossed five scoreless innings, and the R-Phils earned a split of their doubleheader with an 8-3 win in game two of Saturday's twin bill from FirstEnergy Stadium.

A native of Venezuela, Rivero, upped his average to .278 on the season, courtesy of two long balls -- his third and fourth home runs of the season. The 22-year-old, who was claimed by Philadelphia off of waivers in November, entered the 2011 season as a career .255 hitter and has never hit more than eight home runs in a season. The 6'3" 200-pound Rivero is well on his way to surpassing some of his previous season highs if he continues to hit the way he has this through the first two months of the season.

After dropping game one of the doubleheader by a score of 7-1, Reading entered game two 1.5 games back of New Hampshire in the Eastern Division. The loss was their fourth-straight to New Hampshire - all coming at FirstEnergy Stadium.

In the bottom of the second inning of game two, Rivero broke a scoreless game with his first home run of the evening - a solo shot off ‘Cats starter Yohan Pino (0-3, 5.87). Three innings later, Rivero hit another blast, a solo shot in the R-Phils four-run fifth inning. It was the first time since August 16, 2009 that Rivero had two home runs in a game. He accomplished that feat while with the Akron Aeros.

Brummett (1-1, 1.50) made just his second start of the season, but it was a good one. The Columbus, MS native allowed just two hits over five scoreless frames to earn his first win of the season. Reliever Jake Diekman allowed three runs on five hits over the final two innings.

Game one of the evening saw Fisher Cats starter Rey Gonzalez (4-1, 1.41) beat Reading for the second time this season. Gonzalez, a native of Cuba, allowed just one run on six hits over six innings to earn the victory. At the time, it was the Fisher Cats fourth-straight win in Reading against the R-Phils.

R-Phils RHP Chris Kissock (1-4, 6.81) allowed six earned runs on seven hits over just three innings and was saddled with the loss in game one. The loss was his second of the season against the Fisher Cats. Reliever B.J. Rosenberg allowed one run on two hits in four innings in relief of Kissock.

The two clubs will continue their fight for first place on Saturday evening. RHP Josh Zeid (1-2, 4.38) gets the nod for Reading in the fourth game of the series. Zeid, a native of New Haven, CT, faced the Fisher Cats on April 12 in New Hampshire and allowed two runs on seven hits over 6.2 innings, but did not factor in the decision. Zeid won his first career Double-A game on April 29, when he tossed five no-hit innings against Portland.

Taking the ball for New Hampshire will be RHP Chad Beck (3-0, 1.91). Beck, 26, is 1-0 against the Reading Phillies, as he beat the club back on May 3 in New Hampshire. In five starts this season, Beck has gone seven innings twice, and eight innings once. So far this month, theTexas native has gone 1-0 with a 1.38 ERA in two starts.

Coverage begins with the R-Phils pre-game show at 5:35 p.m. with R-Phils play-by-play broadcaster Brian Seltzer. First pitch of Saturday's game is set for 6:05 p.m.

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Eastern League Stories from May 13, 2011


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