Phillies Minor League Report: Reading heads to extras again
Here's how the Phillies' minor league teams fared on Saturday, June 13:
Lehigh Valley IronPigs – Triple A (22-42)
More extra innings? More extra innings. Your standard nine was not enough for Lehigh and Norfolk, as it took an extra inning for Norfolk to finally prevail, 5-4.
Brian Bogusevic, Russ Canzler and Blake Forsythe combined for seven out of the IronPigs nine hits and three of their four RBI's on the night.
Joley Rodriguez had trouble with his command on Saturday, walking seven batters in 4.2 innings of work. For walking seven, he only gave up three earned runs on four hits.
Lehigh and Norfolk finish up their series on Sunday at 1:05 p.m.
Reading Fightin Phils – Double-A (33-27)
By now, the Reading players have to be dreaming of a game that doesn't go to extras. Once again, fans were treated to free baseball, but the Fightin Phils fell to Akron, 3-2, in 15 innings. They have played 45 innings in the last three games alone.
Aaron Nola got the start for Reading and wasn't as dominant as he usually is. He still pounded the strike zone, throwing 44 strikes in 69 pitches, but gave up two runs in five innings of work. The two runs were off five hits by Akron, but he did strike out five. The two runs came in the first inning, followed by four scoreless.
The Reading offense managed 11 hits on the night, but left 15 runners on base on base. They were just 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position. Brian Pointer and Art Charles had the only extra base hits on the night, a homer and double, respectively.
The Fightin Phils will look to play their first normal length game in some time on Sunday at 1:35 p.m.
Clearwater Threshers – Class A-Advanced (31-31)
Clearwater and Brevard County had double duty to take care of on Saturday night after Friday's game was rained out. In the first game of the day, Brevard scored two runs in the top of the sixth inning that proved to be too much to overcome in a 6-5 Clearwater loss.
Victor Arano got the start, but did not have a good one. He lasted just four innings and gave up four runs. His ERA now stands at 6.24 for the season.
Three different Threshers hit home runs on the night. Kelly Dugan, who was activated this week, Chace Numata and Mitch Walding all went deep, but it was not enough.
In the second game, Clearwater's offense came alive. They demolished Brevard County 8-2. The Threshers did not need the bottom of the seventh and still racked up 12 hits on the evening. Andrew Knapp led the way, going 1-for-2 from the plate with two RBI's and a run scored.
David Whitehead got the win thanks to giving up just two runs in his five innings of work.
Clearwater and Brevard County finish their series Sunday afternoon at 1:00 p.m.
Lakewood BlueClaws – Class A (31-28)
Lakewood jumped on Hagerstown early and often in their 9-1 win on the road. The BlueClaws scored two runs in both the second and third inning to jump out to an early lead they would never relinquish.
Elniery Garcia did his part on the mound, going six innings and giving up just one run on the night. He did give up eight hits, but scattered them and limited the damage the Suns could do. The bullpen of Scott Harris and Nick Rodesky allowed just two hits in the following three innings, giving Lakewood the win.
The big blast of the game came from Rhys Hoskins in the seventh inning. He hit a grand slam that put the game out of reach. He was 2-for-5 on the day.
Lakewood and Hagerstown continue their series at 3:05 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.