Big second and third inning lift Reading to series lead over Yard Goats
The Reading Phillies scored 12 runs in the second inning and added another four in the third inning as the Phils rolled over the Hartford Yard Goats, 21-4, in game one of the Eastern League’s Northeast Division series on Tuesday night in Reading, Pa.
Game 2 in the best-of-3 series will be Thursday night at Dunkin Park in Hartford at 6:30 p.m. and the Yard Goats must win to force a decisive game three on Friday night in Hartford.
Reading, who won the second half title in the Northeast Division, had 16 hits in the game and 19 RBI.
The Yard Goats, who won the first half title in the Northeast Division, had a 3-0 lead in the second inning but the Phils scored 16 unanswered to blow the game open.
Outfielder Pedro Leon was 3-for-5 with a double and three RBI for Reading while shortstop Bryan Ricon was 2-for-5 with a double and five RBI. Outfielder Raylin Heredia was 3-for-6 with one RBI while first baseman Austin Mir was 2-for-4 with a triple and three RBI.
For Hartford, Cole Messina had two hits and drove in a run and Braylen Wimmer had an RBI double. The Yard Goats finished with six hits.
The Yard Goats took a 3-0 lead in the second inning against Phillies top prospect Gage Wood. The right-hander walked the first three batters of the inning, Braylen Wimmer, Zach Kokoska and Jacob Humphrey. Hartford scored the first two runs an infield ground ball by Roynier Hernandez, and Cole Messina made it 3-0 with an RBI single to right field.
The Fightin Phils answered by scoring 12 runs in the bottom half of the inning to take a 12-3 lead and knock Yard Goats starting pitcher Connor Staine from the game. Reading began the inning with six consecutive hits, including a two-run home run by Aron Escobar, RBI double by Pedro Leon and run-scoring single from Bryan Rincon.
Later in the inning, Leon added a two-run single and Austin Murr had a two RBI triple off reliever Bryson Hammer.
Wood went four innings before turning the big lead over to the bullpen. After getting reached for three runs in the second inning, he retired six of the final seven batters faced and finished with four strikeouts. Evan Gates pitched 1.1 innings in relief to earn the win.
The Yard Goats are looking for their first-ever playoff win since they moved to Hartford. The Goats were swept by Somerset, 2-0, in the Northeast Division finals two years ago in their first playoff appearance at Dunkin Park.
The last time that a Hartford team won an Eastern League playoff game was in 1950 when the Hartford Chiefs were beaten in six games by Wilkes-Barre, 4-2. The Chiefs, an affiliate of the Boston Braves, left Hartford at the end of the 1952 season and the Yard Goats came to the city in 2016.
The last EL playoff series won by a Hartford team came in 1946 when the Chiefs beat Albany, 4-2 to advance to the Eastern League championship series. But the Chiefs lost in the EL finals to Scranton, 4-1.
Reading 21, Hartford 4
At Reading, Pa.
Hartford 0 3 0 001 000 — 4-6-3
Reading 0(12)4 000 50x — 21-16-0
Staine, Hammer (2), Jameson (2), Juanez (5), Smith (6), Blasick (7), Mann (7) and Messina; Wood, Dallas (5), Gates (6), Harper (8), Batka (9) and Ricketts; WP: Gates (1-0); LP: Staine (0-1); 2B: Rickets (Re), Leon (Re), Rincon (Re), Winmer (H), 3B: Muir (Re); HR: Escobar (Re); Of note: Pedro Leon (Re) 3-5, 3 RBI; Bryan Ricon (Re) 2-5, 5 RBI