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EL Reading Fightin Phils

Reading Fightin Phils Final 2024 Game Notes

October 30, 2024 - Eastern League (EL)
Reading Fightin Phils News Release


In total, 11 players who suited up for the Fightin Phils this season had/have played in the big leagues at some point prior to the end of 2024. Three Fightin Phils who were on the team prior to 2024 also made their big-league debuts this season (Erik Miller - 2022/SF, Oliver Dunn - 2023/MIL and Tyler Phillips -2021/'23 - PHI).

Postseason Hardware

Prior to the final home game of the 2024 season, the Fightin Phils handed out their team awards. Robert Moore and Gabriel Rincones Jr. were the Pepsi Stolen Base Award Winners, Noah Skirrow was the R-Phils Gene Shirk Community Service Award Winner, Trevor Schwecke won the Broadway Charlie Wagner Un- Sung Hero Award, Robinson Pina was the Sheetz R-Phils Strikeout Leader and won FirstEnergy R-Phils Pitcher of the Year, Otto Kemp was the R-Phils Clutch Player Award Winner, Carson Taylor won the R-Phils Big Stick Award Winner and was selected as the team's MVP. In the Eastern League, Carson Taylor (1B) and Gabriel Rincones Jr. (OF) were named Eastern League All-Star's. Finally, Justin Crawford and Eiberson Castellano were named the Phillies Paul Owens Award winners as the best hitter and pitcher in the minor league organization for the 2024 season.

Prospects in Baseballtown

Of the Phillies top-30 prospects (as of October 30, 2024), 10 of them played for the Fightin Phils in 2024. They were: Aidan Miller (1), Justin Crawford (3), Ga- briel Rincones Jr. (11), Jean Cabrera (13), Seth Johnson (15), Christian McGowan (22), Caleb Ricketts (24), Carlos De La Cruz (25), Moises Chace (26) and Otto Kemp (28). Former Fightin Phils amongst the Phillies top-30 prospects are: Andrew Painter (2), Mick Abel (6) and Griff McGarry (21). In total, 13 of the Phil- lies top-30 prospects have played for the Fightin Phils. Aidan Miller (26), Andrew Painter (32) and Justin Crawford (53) are amongst MLB's top-100 prospects.

Packing the Park

The Fightin Phils welcomed 414,262 fans to FirstEnergy Stadium in 2024, which was the second-highest total in all of Double-A baseball (30 teams). Out of the 120 total full-season minor league teams, Reading finished 16th in attendance. Additionally, the season-long attendance was the highest season-long Reading total since 2016. The average of 6,277 was the highest average attendance sine 2013. In total, the R-Phils drew 28,784 more fans to games in 2024 than 2023, and also 347 more fans per game on average from the 2023 season. Nine of the 66 openings this season saw over 8,000 fans attend game and 28 games welcomed over 7,000 fans. The highest attended game in 2024 was June 7 vs Harrisburg (8,805 fans).

Offensive Recap

The Fightin Phils finished the season with a .237 team average, which was sixth in the Eastern League. Reading's other offensive rankings were fifth in runs scored (603), 7th in doubles (205), tied for fifth in triples (25), second in home runs (133) and fifth in stolen bases (152). The Fightin Phils 152 stolen bases were their most in a season since stealing 172 in 2002. It marks just the 10th time since 1967 that a R-Phils team stole over 150 bases in a season. Reading set a new franchise record in hit by pitches this season with 100, surpassing the previous best of 99 in 2002. That mark was second in the Eastern League to Hartford.

Carson Taylor and Ethan Wilson each led the team with six sacrifice flies this season, marking the second-straight year a Reading player has been tied for the league lead in sac flies. Robert Moore led Reading with 11 times caught stealing this season, which was the first time the team leader had been caught stealing 10-or-more times since Roman Quinn (10) in 2015. Marcus Lee Sang led Reading with 61 runs scored, the fewest runs scored by the team leader in a full-season since Keith Kimberlin (56) in 1993. Lee Sang also led the team in triples with five, which was the third-straight year the team leader in triples had five. Lee Sang additionally led the team with 385 at bats, which was the first time in Reading Baseball history that the leader in at bats had less than 400 in a full-season. Moore led Reading in doubles with 20, which is the least amount of doubles by the team leader since Ron Lockett in 1993. Reading's 2023 leader in doubles was Oliver Dunn, who was traded for Moore (and Hendry Mendez) prior to the 2024 season. 2024 was the third-straight season Reading's RBI leader surpassed 70 runs driven in. Prior to 2022, the last time a R-Phil knocked in 70 runs was Dylan Cozens (125) in 2016).

Pitching Recap

The Fightin Phils finished 12th in the Eastern League with a 4.44 ERA. Their other league ranks were third in complete games (2), tied for sixth in shutouts (10), fourth fewest walks (458) and eighth in strikeouts (1,209). Reading's 10 shutouts this season were the pitching staff's most since 2022 (11). It was just the third time since 2015 with 10-or-more shutouts in a season and the sixth time sine 2000. Tommy McCollum led the team with 10 saves, marking the first time since 2022 that Reading's save leader had double-digit saves, when Brian Marconi had 18. It's the fifth time in six years that the R-Phils saves leader had 10-or-more saves. McCollum finished tied for second in the Eastern League in saves.

Pinpoint Pina

Robinson Pina turned in a stellar season as the ace of the Fightin Phils pitching staff. Pina's 12 wins marked the first time a Reading pitcher had 10-or-more wins in a season sine David Parkinson had 10 in 2019. It's the most wins by a Fightin Phils' pitcher in a season since Austin Hyatt had 12 in 2011. Pina finished second in the Eastern League in wins, trailing only Somerset's Trystan Vrieling (13). Pina threw a complete game shutout on June 8 against Harrisburg (7 IP). It was the first shutout by a Reading pitcher since Nick Pivetta in 2016 and it was tied for the league lead. Pina was not the only Reading pitcher to throw a com- plete game this season as Braeden Fausnaught also threw a six-inning complete game on August 29 at Somerset. It was the first season with multiple complete games sine the Fightin Phils had three in 2018.

Amongst the League Leaders

Carson Taylor's named was littered across the Eastern League leader boards this season. His league rankings were: 9th AVG (.277), T-8th HR (16), 3rd RBI (75), 4th OBP (.389), 5th SLG (.465), 2nd OPS (.854), T-2nd 2B (67) and 8th TB (173). Robert Moore was tied for second in the Eastern League with 11 caught stealing. Robinson Pina finished the season second in wins (12) and tied for first in shutouts (1). Tommy McCollum was tied for second in saves (10).

The Big Club

The Fightin Phils parent club, the Philadelphia Phillies, finished the 2024 season with a 95-67 record and won the National League East for the first time since 2011. Ultimately, the Phillies fell three games to one to the New York Mets in the National League Division Series. There were seven former Fightin Phils on the Phillies postseason roster (Kolby Allard, Orion Kerkering, Aaron Nola, Ranger Suarez, Bryson Stott, Alec Bohm and Johan Rojas). An additional seven also appeared in games this year (Connor Brogdon, Seranthony Dominguez, Tyler Gilbert, Seth Johnson, Max Lazar, Tyler Phillips and Ricardo Pinto). In total, 14 former Fightin Phils appeared in games for the Phillies this season, not including players who appeared with Reading on rehab assignments.

Crawford Crushed It

20-year old Justin Crawford was promoted to Double-A Reading on July 12 and never looked back. Over 40 games with the Fightin Phils this season, Crawford slashed .333/.380/.455 (.835 OPS). The center fielder added 25 runs, 11 doubles, three home runs, 26 RBI and was 15-16 in stolen bases. In total for 2024, Crawford hit .313, with 79 runs, 25 doubles, nine home runs, 61 RBI and was 42-51 in stolen bases between Reading and High-A Jersey Shore. With Reading, Crawford had six three-hit games and 18 multi-hit games over 40 contests, meaning Crawford had multiple hits in 45% of his Double-A games this season.

Regular Season Recap

2024 marked the 57th year of Reading Fightin Phils baseball as an affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies (since 1967). It was the 70th year of affiliated baseball at America's Classic Ballpark, including Reading's affiliation with the Red Sox and Indians. The Fightin Phils finished with 59 wins for the second-straight season, but had a slightly lower win percentage in 2024 compared to 2023, due to playing one more game.

Reading went 31-37 in the first half of the season, finishing fifth in the Eastern League's Northeast Division, then finished the second half with a 28-41 record, which was also fifth in the division. 2024 was the fourth-straight season the Fightin Phils were under .500 and also the fourth-year in a row that Reading did not qualify for the postseason, with the last playoff appearance coming in 2019.

Franchise Marks

As an affiliate of the Phillies (dating back to 1967), the Fightin Phils have played 7,927 games and hold a .502 winning percentage, with a record of 3,980-3,947. Reading is 20 wins away from 4,000 victories as a Phillies affiliate. Dating back to 1952, Reading baseball has a .506 winning percentage, with a record of 4,933-4,808. Reading is 67 wins away from 5,000 victories since the opening of Reading Municipal Stadium (now FirstEnergy Stadium) and the first professional games played there in 1952. Reading is 73 games shy of 8,000 as a Phillies affiliate and 10,000 games shy of 10,000 games in Reading baseball history (since 1952). The Fightin Phils are scheduled to play their 8,000th game as a Phillies affiliate on Friday, June 27, 2025, at the Richmond Flying Squirrels (barring no cancellations ahead of that date). 2025 will also mark the 75th Anniversary Season of America's Classic Ballpark.

The Skipper

Al Pedrique returned to Reading as the manager for his second season in 2024. Through two years, Pedrique holds 118 wins, which ranks 15th all-time in Reading history. There have been 26 managers in Reading Fightin Phils history. Through two seasons with Reading, eight players who played under Pedrique went on to play in the big leagues following their time in Reading (Drew Ellis, Johan Rojas, Orion Kerkering, Oliver Dunn, Tyler Phillips, Max Lazar, Seth Johnson and Sam Aldegheri.

Breaking Down the Roster

In totak, 71 players played at least one game for Reading this season (29 hitters and 42 pitchers). 17 players who played for the Fightin Phils were called up to Triple-A Lehigh Valley this season. Three players who played for Reading in 2024 made their Major League debuts this season (Max Lazar, Seth Johnson and Sam Aldegher - LAA). Nine players with prior Major League service time played for Reading this season (Brandon Marsh, Jose Rodriguez, Kolby Allard, Beau Burrows, Max Castillo, Dylan Covey, Luis F. Ortiz, Michael Rucker and Taijuan Walker). Of those eight, five were big-league rehabs (Marsh, Covey, Ortiz,

Back at the Helm

Fightin Phils Manager Al Pedrique returns for Reading for his second season, and second overall in the Phillies organization. He previously was a coach for the Marlins and manager in their Minor Leagues. Pe- drique's other notable stops include the Yankees, Astros and Diamondbacks. He picked up his 1,000th professional win last season and is closing in on 1,000 minor league victories.

Familiar Face on the Staff

Brock Stassi retruns to Baseballtown as the hitting coach for the Fightin Phils. Stassi played the majority of the 2014 and '15 seasons in Reading, and returned in 2021 for a brief stint. Following his playing career, he was hired as a coach by the Phillies last year and served as the hitting coach for the High-A Jersey Shore BlueClaws in 2023.

Rounding Out the Staff

Joining Pedrique will be two pitching coaches in Phil Cundari and Riley McCauley. Cundari was Jersey Shore's pitching coach last season and McCauley was with the FCL Phillies. Karl Ellison enters his first season coaching as the team's development coach. Ellison played in the Phillies organization in 2022. Meaghan Flaherty comes from Jersey Shore as the Athletic Trainer and Bruce Peditto returns to Reading as the Strength Coach.

Breaking Down the Roster

In total, 14 members on the inital roster played in Reading last season. Four are ranked amongst the Phillies' top-30 prospects in Gabriel Rincones Jr. (10), Carlos De La Cruz (13), Caleb Ricketts (21) and Robert Moore (26). Pitcher Beau Burrows is the lone R-Phil who has major league time. It is an older roster for Double-A, with the average age of the opening day roster being 24.7 years old.

Getting on Base

On April 5, every member of the Fightin Phils lineup got on base, whether it was via a hit or walk. The last time every member of the R-Phils lineup reached base was on August 13, 2023 at the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. Reading did strike out 16 times Friday night in the victory.

Tying Up Loose Ends

Reading's loss on April 6 was its largest margin of defeat since August 18, 2023, when the Fightin Phils lost 22-3 to the Somerset Patriots. R-Phils pitching also issued 10 walks and 15 hits in the loss. Offensively, the R-Phils were held to just two hits. The last time that happened was September 16, 2023 at the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Much like the Fightin Phils did the night after their 19-run loss to Somerset last season, they'll look to bounce back today with a victory.

Rincones Rakes

Phillies No. 10 Prospect Gabriel Rincones Jr. had an impressive start to the season in Bowie. He crushed a 452-foot home run on April 5 deep into the Maryland night. He followed that up on April 6 with a laser home run that just got over the wall in right field. After one series, Rincones is posting a .727 slugging percentage and 1.035 OPS, both marks leading the team.

Home Opener Success

In front of a packed house of 8,530 fans, Reading fought from behind to beat Portland 9-8. Carson Taylor had two home runs and Jose Rodriguez homered as well. Konoor Ash and Carlos Francisco were excellent out of the bullpen, and Max Lazar earned his second save. The attendance of 8,530 marked the most-attended weeknight Home Opener in Fightin Phils history.

Walk it Out

On April 9, Jose Rodriguez posted three walks and Gabriel Rincones Jr. reached base four times via the walk. Rincones Jr's four walks marked the first time a Fightin Phil has done that since Brock Stassi on July 29, 2021.

Taylor Rakes

Carson Taylor crushed two home runs on April 9, including the game winner in the bottom of the seventh inning. It is the second-straight game Taylor has homered and his third overall this season, in four games.

The last R-Phil with two home runs in a game was Nick Ward on Aug. 10, 2023 at New Hampshire. Last night marked the third two-home run game for Taylor, with the last coming on July 3, 2023. It is the second time in Taylor's career that he hit home runs in back-to-back games, with the other coming on July 23-24, 2021, where he also hit three homers in two games.

Its Been A While

With a win on April 10, the Fightin Phils improved to 3-2. It marks the first time Reading has been over .500 since Sept. 2, 2019, the final day of the 2019 season. The R-Phils have also won back-to-back games at home after winning consecutivrly at home only twice in 2023.

From Down Under

On April 10, Lachlan Wells earned his first affiliated win since the 2019 season. He spent the last five years in the Australian Baseball League and also missed time due to injury. He made his pro debut in 2016 with the Twins organization and advanced as high as High-A in 2019. He pitched in the ABL from 2013-16, and again from 2020-24. He collected accolades from the ABL this past winter, as he went 6-0 with a 0.94 ERA over nine starts with the Adelaide Giants, and helped them to their second-staright ABL Championship. Also apart of that Adelaide team was Kendall Simmons, former R-Phils Rixon Wingrove and Nick Ward, along with others in the Phillies organization.

Unfamiliar Territory

On April 12, Casey Martin played center field in the ninth inning. It marked the first time in Martin's professional career he played an outfield position. The usual infiedler made a nice tumbling catch on the first ball hit his way.

Getting on Base

Multiple Fightin Phils own impressive early-season on-base streaks. Marcus Lee Sang is up to an eight-game on-base streak after reaching in both games on April 13. Lee Sang did not own an on-base streak north of six games in his time with Reading last season. Jim Haley and Carson Taylor both own five-game hit streaks for the Fightin Phils.

Ducks Left Stranded

In total from April 9-14, Reading left 48 runners on base, which is eight per game. The Fightin Phils have also left the bases loaded eight times this season through the season's first nine games. The R-Phils are hitting .219 with RISP and are 0/16 with the bases loaded thus far.

Rincones Rolling

Gabriel Rincones Jr. hit his third home run of the season in April 14th's loss to Portland. It was his first long ball to the opposite field for the left-handed hitter. Against the Sea Dogs last week, Rincones Jr. slashed .300/.500/.700, with a 1.200 OPS, adding four walks, three runs and two RBI. His home run on Sunday also was Reading's first home run since Tuesday night's (4/9) win over Portland.

Max Lazar'd In

Max Lazar has had an excellent start to the 2024 season out of the Reading bullpen. He is the only R-Phils' pitcher to not allow a hit or run yet. Lazar has established himself as a late-inning releiver for Reading, having two saves and has also not issued a walk over four innings thus far.

Ranger Danger

2018 Fightin Phil Ranger Suarez was spectacular for the Phillies on April 16, pitching a complete-game shutout. It came on the six-year anniversary of Suarez's Double-A debut, where Suarez struck out 10 over eight innings at Harrisburg on Apr. 16, 2018.

Runnin' Reading

The R-Phils set a season-high with four stolen bases on April 16. Reading's season-high in stolen bases last season was six in a game. Jose Rodriguez added two swiped bags, marking a season-high for him and any Reading individual player. It was the 22nd multi-steal game in Rodriguez's career.

Extra Extra

April 18th's doubleheader saw both games go into extra innings. The last time Reading had both games of a doubleheader go into extra innings was on June 10, 2023 at home against Binghamton.

Matt Likes Mirabito

Matt Osterberg had another strong outing at Mirabito Stadium on April 18. He allowed two-earned runs and six hits over five innings, with five strikeouts. In his two career starts at Binghamton, Osterberg has gone 12 IP, 8 H, 2 ER and 11 strikeouts. His season ERA is a low 1.98.

Lee Sang's Night

Marcus Lee Sang had a strong night April 18 in the doubleheader. Between the two games, he went 2-5, with three runs scored, a triple, homer, a RBI and two walks. His homer and triple were both his first of the season for each. The triple also marked the first triple hit by a member of the R-Phils in 2024. Lee Sang has now reached base in 11-of-12 games he's played in this season.

Can't Stop Carson

Carson Taylor's hot start to the 2024 season continued on April 19. He went 3-5, with a run scored, double and three RBI. Over his last five games, Taylor is hitting .474, and is .407 in his last 10 contests. He now owns a seven-game hitting streak, three multi-hit games and three multi-RBI game as well. Taylor is also hitting .667 with runners in scoring position and .400 with two outs.

Bullpen Success

After a slow start to the season, Reading's bullpen found much success at Binghamton from April 16-21. Over the six games, the group allowed seven-earned runs over 26.2 IP, which is good for a 2.36 ERA for the week.

Who's On First, Nope Actually in Center Field

After making his first pro appearances in center field on Apr. 12 against Portland, Casey Martin made his first pro start at center on Apr. 21 at Binghamton. He also knocked his first triple of the season to end the series on a high note. Martin went 3-8, with two runs scored, two XBH (3B and HR) and two RBI over the final two games he played in last week.

Lee Sang Rolling

Marcus Lee Sang snapped out of a 2-32 slide with a two hit and four RBI performance on April 23. He had a two-run home run in the fourth that proved to be the eventual game-winner, and added a two-run double later in the game. The four RBI were both a season-best for Lee Sang and a Double-A high as well.

Closer Tandem

Max Lazar and Tommy McCollum have established themselves as the early closers for Reading this season. Lazar leads the team with three saves and McCollum picked up his second on April 24. Reading as a team is 5/6 in save oppurtunities this year. Lazar has not allowed an earned run or walk thus far in 2024.

Swiper Yes Swiping

On April 24, Reading stole a season-high five bases. Which included two from Carson Taylor, and one each from Gabriel Rincones Jr., Robert Moore and Trevor Schwecke. Reading's 24 stolen bases this season ranks third in the Eastern League. This comes after Reading finshed 10th in the league last season in stolen bases. The Fightin Phils also executed their first double steal since May 25, 2023, which was with Johan Rojas and Matt Kroon.

Robinson Rolling

Robinson Pina stayed hot on April 25 with his second-straight win. He tossed a season-high six innings, which also marked the longest start by a Fightin Phils pitcher this season. Outside of a poor start on Apr. 13 vs Portland, Pina has thrown 16 IP, and allowed 12 hits, three ER and struck out 14 batters.

First Zero of the Season

Reading pitching combined for its first shutout of the 2024 season on April 25. It marked the R-Phils first shutout since Aug. 27, 2023 at Harrisburg. Tristan Garnett was a part of both of those shutouts as well. In total, the Fightin Phils had three shutouts last season, with the first not coming until May 28 vs Harrisburg.

Caleb Catching Fire

Caleb Ricketts recent hot stretch continued with three hits, two runs and two doubles on April 25. His two doubles marked a season-high for him and the most by any R-Phil in a single game in 2024. Ricketts is on a four-game hit streak and is slashing .500/.529/.688, with a 1.217 OPS over that stretch. He also has three doubles, five runs scored, a RBI and stolen base over that span, dating back to Apr. 19.

Saturday Struggles

So far this season, Reading owns an 0-5 record in Saturday games. In all other days of the week, the Fightin Phls are 9-6. Additionally, Reading is 6-2 on Tuesday-Thursday, and just 3-9 in Friday-Sunday games.

Trifecta of Arms

The Fightin Phils were able to lean on three of its most-consistent pitchers to finish out the game on April 28 against Somerset. Tristan Garnett (7th), Max Lazar (8th) and Tommy McCollum (9th) combined to allow no runs, zero hits and strike out five hitters over the games final three frames. That trio currently own a combined 1.02 ERA, with a 33/2 strikeout to walk ratio over 26.1 innings and 20 games combined. McCollum and Lazar have also combined for six saves. Reading is 6/7 in save oppurtunities this April, after going 3/6 last season. Also the R-Phils have not blown any leads after the 6th, 7th or 8th innings in April.

News and Notes

Reading's win on April 28 gave the R-Phils their first series win of the season. The R-Phils first series win of the season in 2023 came one week later, the first week of May at Hartford. In total, Reading won seven series in 2023. A win on Tuesday will give Reading a .500 record for the month of April, after going 6-14 in the month last season. The last time Reading had a .500 or better record in April was 2019. Of note, there were no April games in 2020 or '21. Marcus Lee Sang has found much success when slotted in the bottom of the lineup. He is hitting .333 in the eight spot, which is his best by any spot in the lineup this season.

Schwecke's Week

Trevor Schwecke had a strong week against Somerset capped off with an April 28 performance that saw him go two-for-four, with a double and two RBI. In total, Schwecke slashed .357/.375/.500, with an .875 OPS.

He added a run, two doubles and three RBI. Sunday was hit first multi-hit/multi-RBI game of the season.

May Notes Schwecke's Week Trevor Schwecke had a strong week against Somerset capped off with an April 28 performance that saw him go two-for-four, with a double and two RBI. In total, Schwecke slashed .357/.375/.500, with an .875 OPS.

He added a run, two doubles and three RBI. Sunday was hit first multi-hit/multi-RBI game of the season.

Marcus Mashing

Marcus Lee Sang had his best game of the season on April 30. Lee Sang went three-for-four, with two runs, a double, two homers and three RBI. It marked his third-career multi-homer game, and first in Double-A.

It was also the third-time in his career Lee Sang had three extra-base hits. The last time he accomplished both of those feats was Aug. 6, 2022 with High-A Jersey Shore. It marked Reading's second multi-homer game this season, with the other coming Apr. 9 against Portland from Carson Taylor. Ironically, both of Reading's multi-homer games have come in the first game of a series against the Sea Dogs.

Packing the Park

The Fightin Phils welcomed 59,447 fans to FirstEnergy Stadium in April, which is an average of 5,404 per game over 11 openings last month. It marked the largest total attendance and average attendance in April in franchise history.

A Run for the Roses

Fightin Phils first baseman Carson Taylor was named the Phillies Minor League Hitter of the Month on May 3. In April, Taylor slashed .354/.426/.708, with a 1.134 OPS. He added three doubles, one triple, four home runs, 18 RBI, five walks, two stolen bases and eight runs over 13 games. Taylor continues to come up clutch for the Fightin Phils, as he is hitting .611 with runners in scoring position. Taylor also had an eight-game hit streak from Apr. 5-20.

Racing to Worcester

On May 3, Fightin Phils relief pitcher Beau Burrows became the first member of the 2024 R-Phils squad to earn a promotion to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Burrows will join the IronPigs on their road trip in Worcester, who is ironically the Red Sox Triple-A affiliate. So far this season, Burrows is 1-1, with a 4.00 ERA, while striking out 10 over seven games and nine innings pitched. He pitched in the big leagues with Detroit and Minnesota in 2020 and '21.

Bryce Galloping to Second

Bryce Ball turned in his best game of the season on May 3. Ball had three hits, two doubles and two RBI. The three hits and two doubles were season highs and the two RBI matched a season-best for him. It was the 10th two-double game of Ball's career and the three hits matched a career high, that Ball had done 16 times prior to last night's game.

News and Notes

With their win on May 4, the Fightin Phils earned their first Saturday victory this season. Reading now sits at 1-6 on Saturdays, and 10-9 on all other days of the week. Reading is now 10-1 when scoring over five runs in a game this season, and 1-14 when failing to reach the five-run mark.

One-Two Rotation Punch

Robinson Pina and Lachlan Wells are establishing themselves as the top-two pitchers in the R-Phils rotation. On May 4 at Portland, Pina struck out 11 hitters, which marks a season-high for Pina and the most struck out by a Fightin Phils picher this season. It also was the first time a Reading picher struck out 11 batters since Tyler Viza did it on August 27, 2018, at Richmond. On May 5, Wells tossed six-shutout innings, but did not factor into the decision.

Zoom Zoom

The Fightin Phils continue to rack up the stolen bases this season. They matched a season-high with five stolen bases in game one of May 4th's doubleheader win over Portland. Reading has 36 stolen bases this season in 41 attempts, which is a 88% success rate. The Fightin Phils 36 stolen bases rank tied for fourth in the Eastern League. Reading is on pace for 184 stolen bases this season, after swiping just 119 last season, which ranked 10th in the Eastern League.

Defense Heating Up

After a slow start to the season defensively, the R-Phils have been much improved in the field as of late. After commiting six errors on April 30 at Portland, the Fightin Phils have not committed an error in five- straight contests. The Fightin Phils are the only team in the Eastern League with a perfect fielding percentage dating back to last Wednesday.

Simon Says

William Simoneit's recent hot stretch rolled on as he had a triple, two RBI and a couple of runs scored on May 7. Simoneit is riding a four-game hit streak, dating back to May 1. Over that stretch, he's slashing .333/.500/.833, with a 1.333 OPS. He also had three extra-base hits and three RBI over that span. Simoneit hit his first home run of the season on May 4 at Portland, over the Maine Monster in left field at Hadlock Field.

Relievers Rolling

Reading releivers had another strong day on May 7. Over four innings, the Fightin Phils relief pitchers combined to not allow a run over four innings, with six strikeouts. Newcomer Wesley Moore, who was called up from High-A Jersey Shore Tuesday, struck out the side in the one-inning he pitched. The success has been led Tristan Garnett, Max Lazar and Tommy McCollum. McCollum lowered his season ERA to 1.80 with a scoreless ninth inning yesterday. Lazar remains the only Fightin Phils pitcher to not allow an earned run, nor walk any hitters. He also owns a 0.29 WHIP and .088 opponents batting average. Lazar is the only pitcher in the Eastern League who has pitched north of 10 innings this season to not allow a run or walk.

Walking It Off, Literally

The Fightin Phils battled from behind to tie and eventually win over Hartford on May 8, 4-3. With bases-loaded in the bottom of the ninth, Robert Moore worked a four-pitch walk to score Casey Martin and give Reading its second-straight win. It was Reading's first walk off win of the season after having five-walkoff wins last season. Reading also had a walk-off walk on July 26 of last season against Binghamton, when Jhailyn Ortiz drew the base on balls. Reading's bullpen remained hot in the win, not allowing an earned run over 4.2 IP, marking 8.2 innings of shutout ball for the releivers this week.

On the Move

Reading has seen a bunch of roster movement lately. Last weekend, Beau Burrows and Jim Haley both earned promotions to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Max Lazar joined them with a call-up prior to May 8th's game.

Other moves include Andrew Baker being transferred to High-A and Tyler McKay transferred to Reading from Triple-A Lehigh Valley. McKay saw much success with Reading last season, before a call-up to Lehigh Valley last July.

Rolling Again

After a very quiet start to the 2024 season, Carlos De La Cruz broke out in a big way on May 8 and 9. After a double off the wall on Wednesday, he broke through with his first, and second, home runs of the season on May 9. Overall, De La Cruz had two runs scored and three driven in in the win. It marked the third multi-homer game of his career. It was also the first time a R-Phils hit a home run in back-to-back at-bats since Nick Ward did it on Aug. 10, 2023 at New Hampshire. May 9 also marked the third instance this season where a Fightin Phil hit two home runs in a game.

Welcome Back Kendall

Kendall Simmons made his return from the injured list in a big way on May 9. After being activated prior to the game, Simmons had two hits, three runs, a double, home run and two RBI. His two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning broke up a no-hitter from Hartford's Jarrod Cande.

Rodriguez Rolling

Jose Rodriguez has been heating up as of late. After hitting .176 in April, Rodriguez is hitting .292 in May. He is also riding a five game hit streak, where he is slashing .350/.364/.550, with a .914 OPS, dating back to May 4. Rodriguez has also added two doubles, one triple and five RBI over that span. Rodriguez is the lone member of the Reading roster who is on the Phillies 40-man roster, after being acquired from the White Sox on Apr. 5 for cash consideration.

Trip, Trip, Triples

Reading's two triples on May 11 were the season-high for triples in a game this season. The Fightin Phils are now up to nine triples on the season, which currently ranks second in the Eastern League. In 2023, Read- ing had 21 triples and they are on pace for 39 this season.

Wilson Likes Goats

Ethan Wilson is turning in a terrific week against Hartford. This week, Wilson is slashing .467/.579/.733, with a 1.312 OPS. He's added two doubles, one triple, two RBI and scored three runs. In 2023, Wilson hit .388, with five home runs and 17 RBI against Hartford. He won Eastern League Player of the Week in early-May last after a torrid week against the Yard Goats.

News and Notes

On May 11, Reading captured its 15th win of the 2024 season. On May 12 of last season, Reading had just 11 wins. They didn't reach 15 wins until May 21st last year. With his save on May 11, Tommy McCollum improved his team-best ERA to 1.59 and opponents are hitting just .132 against him. McCollum also leads the team with four saves in as many oppurtunities. Tristan Garnett did not allow an earned run in 1.2 innings in game one to lower his ERA to 1.62

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Eastern League Stories from October 30, 2024


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