Bash Brothers Give Fightins Sixth Straight

(Manchester, NH) - Less than 24 hours after a four-game sweep at Hadlock Field against the Sea Dogs, the Fightin Phils were back at the ballpark in Manchester for a date with the first-place Fisher Cats. Coming out of an off day, New Hampshire was well-rested and their sights set on getting to 16 games over .500 for the first time all season. However, the Fightin Phils had other plans, and got two home runs from Zach Green and Darick Hall , plus a gutsy save from Jeff Singer for a 5-3 win before a loud crowd of 5,105 at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
After righthander Justin Dillon retired the side on 10 pitches in the top of the first, Franklyn Kilomé surrendered a single to Jonathan Davis to start his outing. Two batters later, Bo Bichette bashed the first pitch he saw all night deep to left for a 2-0 Fisher Cats lead. Kilome's only 1-2-3 inning came during his final inning in the sixth, but he kept the normally lethal New Hampshire offense off the board for the rest of the night.
Hall extended his hitting streak to eight straight with a single on a 3-2 pitch to open up the top of the second. Green then continued his tremendous trip with a deep drive to left for his 13^th homer to match a career-high, and two more runs batted in to tie the score at two. Cornelius Randolph and Deivi Grullon made it four straight hits with singles, but Malquin Canelo blooped a bunt into the air that was grabbed by catcher Max Pentecost. He threw down to second to double up Randolph, and the inning soon ended on a drive to the wall in right-center from Emmanuel Marrero . Right fielder Connor Panas started a relay to second baseman Jon Berti , whose throw to the plate nabbed Grullon for the final out.
With two Fightins aboard in the third thanks to a Jiandido Tromp single and a walk to Cord Sandberg , Hall laced the first pitch he got from Dillon for a three-run bomb to break the tie and put Reading ahead 5-2. That lead was enough for Kilome, who escaped tough spots in the fourth and fifth with runners at second and third.
The Fightins had similar opportunities in the seventh and ninth when Grullon and Canelo got on base to start both frames. With runners at first and second and no outs, they were unable to tack on to the 5-2 lead, leaving it up to the bullpen to protect. For the second time on the trip, Tyler Gilbert fired two scoreless innings, and handed off the ninth to Edgar Garcia for his team-leading sixth save.
Garcia loaded the bases with a walk, a single, and a hit batter to load the bases and put the tying runs aboard with no outs. New Hampshire had the heart of the lineup due up, and manager Greg Legg summoned Singer to get the last three outs. With three fastballs, he powered by Bichette for a strikeout but lost Cavan Biggio on a 3-2 pitch for a walk and an RBI to put the tying runs in scoring position and the winning run at first. Singer rebounded with a strikeout of Pentecost, and quickly got Harold Ramirez on the first pitch with a flyout to right for the Fightins sixth consecutive win and a 5-0 start to the 7-game roadtrip.
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.