Skip to main content

New Hampshire Knocks Reading From Postseason

READING, PA- As the rain fell, so did the Reading Phillies. New Hampshire left fielder Danny Perales slugged a 2-run go ahead homerun in the 9th inning, to end the R-Phils' season and clinch a spot in the Eastern League Championship Series for the Double-A Toronto affiliate.

The Fisher Cats, the Eastern division champions, won the series 3 games to 1, over the wild card entrant Phillies, and will move on to face Richmond (Giants affiliate), in the title series. Richmond swept Harrisburg in the opening round.

The R-Phils got the scoring started in the 2nd inning, when catcher Tuffy Gosewisch hammered an offering from NH starter Joel Pino deep to left-center for a solo homerun, to give his club a 1-0 lead.

As Reading right-hander Tyson Brummett cruised, keeping the bases clear in the early going, the score stayed the same. It was with 2 outs in the 4th inning that the Fisher Cats' lineup finally got to Brummett, as Moises Sierra notched the first hit for NH. Eastern League MVP Travis d'Arnaud then drew a walk. First baseman Mike McDade got the Cats on the board when he laced a run scoring single. That was followed by a Kevin Howard double which added another run, to give NH a 2-1 lead.

Reading pulled even in the 7th inning on an RBI double by left fielder Mike Spidale that plated Tim Kennelly.

The game began with some sun peeking through overhead, but following the brief appearance of a rainbow, precipitation began to fall at a steady pace and kept coming down throughout the later innings.

However, it was the big fly by the University of Southern California product, Perales, off of one of Reading's most reliable pitchers, righty Mike Cisco, that proved to be the pivotal hit.

"It was unbelievable," said Fisher Cats manager, and former Phillie, Sal Fasano. "I couldn't have scripted it any better. When you get the opportunity to win on a homerun, when it was raining and there was lightning, that was pretty special for Danny."

Perales, who also drove in the lone run of New Hampshire's game 3 victory on Saturday, proclaimed that the Fisher Cats have been able to ride a high of success into the EL finals.

"Any time you're winning, it's more fun," Perales stated. "And going into (the postseason), we knew it wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but we're just out here to have fun and let our abilities take over and just go from there and the results have been great."

The championship series begins Tuesday evening in Manchester, where the teams will play two games, then move to Richmond for the remainder of the series. New Hampshire will chase its third ever Eastern League championship.

Fasano is proud of his team, no matter what happens in the coming days.

"I'm just happy for these kids. It's a good experience for them. They'll never forget it."


More notes...

R-Phils All-Star first baseman/DH Matt Rizzotti finished the divisional series 0-for-13.

New Hampshire players Anthony Gose and Travis d'Arnaud are looking to win their second pro championship as teammates. The duo led the offense on the Phillies Class A Lakewood club that won the South Atlantic League title in 2009.

Reading manager Mark Parent confirmed a list of players that will represent the Phillies in the Arizona Fall League. OF Tyson Gillies, LHP Jake Diekman, 3B/1B/DH Cody Overbeck, RHP Tyler Cloyd and RHP BJ Rosenberg. Each big league team sends six minor league players to participate in the AFL. Parent, who was a hitting coach in the AFL in 2010, will not return to the league this year.

Word at FirstEnergy Stadium on Sunday evening was that if Harrisburg had advanced to the championship round, that their home games would have been played in Reading. The move would have been necessary due to flooding at the Senators' home park.

Phillies GM Ruben Amaro Jr., team employee assistance professional Dickie Noles and assistant director of minor league operations Steve Noworyta were all in attendance for game 4 in Reading on Sunday...as were pitchers Phillippe Aumont and Justin De Fratus, who are currently members of the International League championship series bound Lehigh Valley IronPigs, but pitched for Reading earlier this season.

Blue Jays outfielder Colby Rasmus, rehabbing his injured right wrist with the Fisher Cats, went 0-for-7 in two games over the weekend in Reading. Rasmus stated after Sunday's contest that he is remaining with the Fisher Cats until further notice.
___________________________________________

You can follow PhoulBallz on Twitter by clicking HERE.

You can also connect with PhoulBallz on Facebook by clicking HERE

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Diekman a Late Addition to Mesa AFL Roster

On Wednesday, Phillies lefty pitching prospect Jacob Diekman made his Arizona Fall League debut. Diekman, who was drafted in the 30th round of the 2007 amateur draft, was assigned to Mesa late, in order to increase his 2010 innings total, according to Mesa hitting coach Mark Parent, who managed Diekman in Lakewood this past season. Diekman, 23, posted a 2-0 record with 1.90 ERA in 21 games with Class A Lakewood before being promoted to High-A Clearwater on June 24th. In 24 games with the Threshers, Diekman went 0-2 with a 3.66 ERA. Combined, Diekman tossed 55 2/3 innings and held opponents to a .187 batting average against at two levels in 2010. However, after not pitching in an official game since he threw a shutout inning to wrap up the Clearwater season on September 5th, Diekman was unable to record an out as all seven batters he faced reached base, six with hits, one on an error. Diekman was charged with 5 earned runs in the outing. Diekman had spent time at instructional ball from

2022 Phillies Top Prospects Countdown: #24 RHP Cristian Hernandez

Venezuelan born right-hander Cristian Hernandez has begun to earn recognition as one of the Phillies most promising pitching prospects. Signed as a 16-year-old in 2017 for a reported $120,000, Hernandez got his professional career started the following summer as a starter for the Phillies' Red Dominican Summer League club.  There, in 13 starts, Hernandez tallied a 2-3 record with 2.57 ERA, a 1.14 WHIP as well as a 7.0 K/9 mark. An injury sidelined Hernandez in 2019 and the 2020 season was cancelled due to the global pandemic. In 2021, Hernandez saw his first regular season action in the United States, starting his season in Florida Complex League.  After two appearances there, the six-foot-three 185-pounder was promoted to the Class A Clearwater Threshers.  In 20 combined outings (17 starts), Hernandez notched a 2-7 record with a 3.57 ERA, a .228 batting average against and an 11.2 K/9 mark. Projectability is something that baseball folks like about Hernandez.  His size, consistent

Who is Your Favorite Willie 'Mays' Hayes?

PhoulBallz.com is wondering which individual who has portrayed Willie "Mays" Hayes is the favorite of the public. Hayes, of course, is the character made famous in the Major League motion picture series. In Major League , Willie "Mays" Hayes was portrayed by budding Hollywood actor Wesley Snipes, who would go on to action movie superstardom. Snipes has starred in major motion pictures like the Blade trilogy, Passenger 57 , Undisputed and many more. Snipes remains an impact Hollywood actor, despite legal troubles related to income tax evasion. Snipes was replaced for the sequel, Major League II when his busy career, and possibly the film's budget, would not allow him to return, by Omar Epps. Another budding actor, Epps had previously worked with director David S. Ward, on the film The Program , and landed the role of Hayes, who had become a Hollywood action star over the off-season that occured between the two films. Epps' career portraying athletes rolle