Skip to main content

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

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