Williamsport ousted from NYPL playoffs

On Sunday, the Phillies' Class A short-season affiliate Williamsport lost the deciding game of their best-of-three opening round series in the New York-Penn League playoffs, dropping a 4-0 decision to the West Virginia Black Bears (Pittsburgh affiliate).

With righty hurler Mitch Gueller on the mound, the Crosscutters dropped the contest in front of a home crowd following a rain out on Saturday. Gueller was tagged for the loss, alloweing one run (earned) in 5 1/3 innings of work while striking out five, walking four and surrendering two hits.

Gueller, 21, had become the team's ace in recent months, posting an 8-0 record along with a 1.74 ERA over his last nine starts. He also had an ERA of 1.17 at home entering the postseason. The Washington state native was the Phils' supplemental round (54th overall) draft selection in 2012.

The Cutters' offense only mustered three hits on the day, including a double from promising outfield prospect Jose Pujols, who went just 1-for-11 in the series. The team plated just four combined runs in the three-game set.

West Virginia advances to face Staten Island (Yankees) in the title round.

The Double-A Reading Fightins will open the Eastern League Championship Series at home on Tuesday, when they host the Bowie Baysox (Baltimore affiliate) at 7:05 PM. The EL title round is a best-of-five series.

This piece was originally published on Phillies Nation.

Comments

Biddle slated to make Reading return on Saturday

Jesse Biddle, image- Jay Floyd After a miserable stretch of starts in June, lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle was placed on Double-A Reading's temporary inactive list. On Saturday, he'll make his long awaited return to the FirstEnergy Stadium mound when he starts the first game of the Fightins' scheduled double header against Binghamton. The 22-year-old posted a 0-4 record with a 12.64 ERA in four June starts. It was clear that there was something quite wrong with Biddle, who had missed a start in late May after being pelted with hail and suffering a concussion. A mixture of feelings including confusion and anger were firmly settling in while Biddle's efforts on the mound were not. The Phils saw a need for the Philadelphia native and Germantown Friends School product to take a break. Exams discovered lasting impact on Biddle stemming from the concussion and time off was required. "For me it was an important time not only to take a mental break and to go down

Franco making case for September call up

Maikel Franco, image- Jay Floyd While the minor league season begins to wind down, Lehigh Valley third baseman Maikel Franco continues to go full throttle. As the IronPigs kicked off their final home stand of the season on Saturday with a double header against the division rival Syracuse Chiefs, Franco, who is hoping his season continues on beyond the final day on the regular season calendar, which is Labor Day, September 1st, continued to display his improved offensive efforts going 6-for-7 with two home runs combined in two games while recording a cycle in the night cap. The feat was certainly quite an achievement, but possibly more impressive because it was accomplished in just six offensive innings for the winning home club in game 2, as minor league double headers are slated as seven-inning contests. Franco, who turns 22 years old this week, struggled through the early part of his first Triple-A season, ending June with a .202 batting average and just 28 extra-base hits

Frosty Phillies Favorites: 2021 Edition w/ DJ Stewart

Season's greetings to all of you! It's that time of the year to celebrate and enjoy the holiday season. Every year at Christmas time, I survey a group of Phillies prospects about what they get excited for during the holidays. This year, we focus on just one up and coming player, corner infielder DJ Stewart. The 22-year-old righty batter had a solid season in 2021. In 94 games combined with Class A Clearwater and Class A Advanced Jersey Shore, Stewart notched a .265 batting average with 14 home runs, 42 RBI and five stolen bases. Recently, I talked with DJ to gain his feedback on all of his holiday favorites. Read ahead for that interview... -What's your favorite Christmas movie? My favorite is This Christmas. My Mother and I would watch it together every Christmas, so it just stuck with me. -What is your favorite Christmas song and which version is best? This Christmas by Chris Brown. It's the final song of my favorite Christmas movie. -What's your favorit

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog