Three of the Phillies’ top four affiliates earned wins on Thursday, the only blemish coming in Reading where the team’s pitching collapsed in the second half of the game.
Lehigh Valley 5, Worcester 4
The IronPigs snapped a four-game losing streak on Thursday night – but just barely. After getting off to a 3-0 lead, the Red Sox came back to tie it. The IronPigs once again went in front by a score of 5-3 on an RBI hit by Carter Kieboom and a sacrifice fly by Dylan Carlson.
But the Sox didn’t go down quietly. Facing pitcher Ryan
Cusick in the ninth, they scored one run and loaded the bases with two outs before Cusick was able to strike out the final batter to secure the win.
Hartford 10, Reading 6
The ball was flying out at Reading on Thursday with seven total home runs in the game. Unfortunately, the Hartford Yard Goats hit four of the seven, and their eleven hits and ten runs was too much for the F-Phils to overcome.
Early on, it looked like it would be the Raylin Heredia show, as he hit two home runs in the first five innings to put the F-Phils up 5-2.
But the Yard Goats’ offense was relentless, scoring runs in each of the final four innings. For those hoping that Gage Wood is on the fast track to Philadelphia, it was a discouraging night, as he gave up two runs in his three innings of work.
Jersey Shore 8, Greenville 5
The Blue Claws used a big fifth inning to power themselves to victory over the Greenville Drive on Thursday. Home runs by Luke Davis and Joel Dragoo (his first as a minor leaguer) contributed to a seven-run outburst in the frame.
The Drive tried to make a game of it in the eighth inning, scoring four runs in the frame, but Joe Pena Jr. pitched a scoreless 1.2 innings to end things. Earlier in the game, starting pitcher Luke Gabrysh struck out six while giving up just one run in five innings of work.
Clearwater 11, Bradenton 7
Inverse to their counterparts at Reading, the Clearwater Threshers fell behind early and then unleashed a late scoring barrage to secure a victory.
The Threshers trailed the Marauders 7-2 after five innings but scored nine unanswered runs to close out the game. Griffin Burkholder hit his fifth home run of the season in the seventh, while Robert Phelps and Matthew Ferrara both had three hits. The Threshers’ pitching was shaky early, but Tyler Bowen and Marty Gair combined for three scoreless innings to close it out.
