Lehigh Valley drops Reading in pre-season finale

Cam Perkins and Dylan Cozens paced the offense for the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs as they defeated the Double-A Reading Fightin Phils by a score of 5-3 in the Rt. 222 Showcase exhibition contest at Allentown's Coca-Cola Park on Tuesday night.

Perkins, a 26-year-old righty batting outfielder, drilled a two-run single in the 7th to give the IronPigs a lead they would not relinquish. Cozens, a 22-year-old lefty slugger, launched a solo home run deep to right field earlier in the contest off of left-hander Brandon Liebrandt to lead off the 2nd inning.

Lehigh Valley starting pitcher Mark Appel was tagged for three runs early, as he surrendered four hits, allowed a walk and hit one batter while striking out two. Harold Martinez knocked in a pair for Reading with a single in the top of the 2nd inning.

A fun subplot to the preseason finale saw childhood friends Shane Watson and J.P. Crawford facing one another for the first time since each signed with the Phillies after being the organization's top draft picks in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

"I want to break his bat, or strike him out or something. We've been talking about us facing each other tonight for a while. We have bragging rights on the line," Watson excitedly expressed before the game.

Watson prevailed, as he got Crawford to pop out the third base to end the 3rd inning. Video of the full at bat is featured in the embedded media player below.

The IronPigs' season gets underway on Thursday, as they host Pawtucket. Reading is slated to open their season the same night on the road at Portland.

Comments

Justin De Fratus Interview Excerpts- May, 2011

Armed with a 2-0 record, 3 saves and a 2.95 ERA in 15 games this season for the Double A Reading Phillies, Justin De Fratus continues to make strides toward his goal of reaching the Major Leagues. Ranked as a top 10 prospect within the Phillies system last off-season, the 23-year-old De Fratus was in camp with the Phillies during big league spring training. In 3 games with the Phils during the Grapefruit League season, De Fratus allowed 4 earned runs in 4 innings and took a loss. He did strike out an impressive 5 batters in those 4 frames, however. Drafted in the 11th round of the 2007 amateur draft, De Fratus stood out as a force in relief last year for both the High A Clearwater Threshers and the R-Phils. In 49 combined games at the two levels, De Fratus posted a 3-0 record with 21 saves and a 1.94 ERA. De Fratus continued his excellent 2011 by pitching for Team USA in the Pan-American qualifiers held in Puerto Rico, helping the Americans finish with a 9-1 record. He also posted out...

Bubby Rossman's long awaited MLB debut

Eight years after he initially signed a professional contract with the Dodgers and a five-year stretch playing away from affiliated ball, Bubby Rossman became a major leaguer on Wednesday. Added as a substitute for pitcher Kyle Gibson, who is restricted from travel to Canada for the Phillies' series in Toronto, due to his medical inability to be vaccinated from COVID-19, Rossman took the mound for the first time in the majors. Rossman, who was a 22nd round draft selection in 2014 had pitched in 200 professional games before his one-inning outing in the Phillies' 8-2 loss to the Blue Jays. In 27 appearances with Double-A Reading this year, the 30-year-old right-hander has performed well, tallying a 2-2 record with a save, a 3.32 ERA and a .200 batting average against. The embedded video below features a media session with Rossman from prior to opening day this year, in which the California native discusses his journey through independent baseball and back to affiliated ball w...

Series Preview: Braves at Phillies, August 6-8

The Braves (62-46) travel to Philadelphia to begin a three-game series with the Phillies (49-59) on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park. In the past month, the two clubs have faced each other in two separate series, with the Braves winning all six of the contests. Atlanta’s recent dominance over the Phils is the opposite of how things went last season, when the Phillies handed the Braves six losses toward the end of the 2011 season. Those defeats shut the door on Atlanta’s postseason hopes. Read ahead for notes on the pitching the match ups and additional statistical information on this series. Monday, 7:05 PM. Ben Sheets (3-1, 1.46 ERA) vs. Vance Worley (6-6, 3.63 ERA). In 9 career starts against the Phillies, Sheets has a 3-4 record with a 4.50 ERA. Ty Wigginton is 12-for-36 (.333 avg) with 2 doubles and 2 HR in his career against Sheets. The righty Sheets was the Brewers' 1st round draft pick in 1999. In his last 5 starts, Worley has a 2-1 record with a 4.06 ERA. In 9 home s...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog