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To tie the Eastern League Championship Series at one game apiece, the Reading Fightins lost against the Bowie Baysox by a score of 10-3. The series will now move to Bowie's Prince George's Stadium, where Reading will need to win two out of three games. Righty hurler Ethan Martin had a poor start for Reading and took the loss, allowing five earned runs on four hits and five walks while striking out none in 2 1/3 innings. Left-hander Joely Rodriguez would follow Martin out of the bullpen, letting up three runs (two earned) in 1 1/3 innings. Ryan O'Sullivan would be charged with two additional runs in his inning of work. For a pair of bright spots among the Reading pitching staff, lefty Hoby Milber, working with a new arm angle of late, tossed 3 1/3 scoreless frames retiring all 10 batters he faced while Tom Windle threw a scoreless inning of his own. Bowie starter Nick Additon , 27, went seven innings, allowing three runs (two earned) to notch the win. Infielde...

Andrew Knapp, image- Jay Floyd A key contributor for the Double-A Reading Fightins' lineup in recent weeks has been catcher Andrew Knapp . The 23-year-old is riding a 14-game hitting streak and sports a .401/.450/.678 slash line since his promotion from Clearwater, after he was a mid-season All-Star there. Knapp, who was the Phillies' 2nd round draft choice out of Cal in 2013, will be the focus of an upcoming segment on Phillies Nation's weekly TV program, but in the meantime, he offered some thoughts on his recent offensive output and more. -He spoke about his nickname, "The California Kid"... I kind of like it. I like my California roots, but I think someone up in the front office started it and it kept rolling. I think people like it. I think it's cool to represent and entire state, but I wouldn't necessarily call myself "The California Kid". -Comments on his current hitting streak... I don't really try to think about it too mu...

Ethan Martin, image- Jay Floyd TRENTON, NJ- Phillies minor league pitcher  Ethan Martin has dealt with shoulder issues in recent seasons that have kept him sidelined at times, but lack of firm details on the ailment have left the hurler's future full of mystery and doubt. Once a promising righty pitching prospect that came in return from Los Angeles in the 2012 Shane Victorino trade, Martin was armed with a mid-90's fastball (clocked as high as 97 MPH) as well as strong off-speed pitches. Lately, he struggles to produce a fastball that gets above 90 MPH, which leaves minimal variance with velocity compared to his secondary offerings. Over the past two seasons, Martin, who was the 15th overall draft selection by the Dodgers in 2008, appeared in 17 games with the big league Phillies, tallying a 2-5 record with a 5.93 ERA, but with the dip in velocity, he hasn't been able to climb back to the upper levels and produce. "I've dealt with failure in my career...

Dusty Wathan, image- Jay Floyd Following a dominating three-game sweep over division rival Trenton on the road in which his team outscored the opposition in the series 26-3, Double-A Reading manager Dusty Wathan took some time to talk about the impact on the playoff race the match ups had. He also offered feedback on Roman Quinn 's health status, Ethan Martin 's return from the disabled list, Andrew Knapp 's outstanding offensive output as well as the demotion of a pitcher and plenty more. Read ahead for all the exclusive insight from Dusty. -You guys came to town tied with the Thunder for a playoff spot and swept them. How big is that for you guys? It's good. You come in to play a team that you're running neck and neck with right there and then you come in and kind of make a statement with a three game sweep, if there are such things as comfortable wins, with three comfortable wins, it's good for us. We get a little bit of breathing room, but obvi...

Kelly Dugan, image- Jay Floyd The Phillies have promoted outfielder Kelly Dugan to Triple-A Lehigh Valley from Double-A Reading. This season with the Fightins, Dugan tallied a .315/.391/.393 slash line in 44 games. Coaches love Dugan's offensive development in recent seasons, but the youngster has suffered repeated injury concerns throughout his career, most recently a foot fracture, which was originally diagnosed as a "stress reaction", that kept him out of action from spring training until June this year. In 2013, Dugan posted a career high 20 home runs and drove in 59 runs while batting .291 in 112 combined games with Class A Advanced Clearwater and Reading. He looked primed to bust out in 2014, but missed considerable time with an oblique strain. In 76 games with Reading last year, he sported a .296 average with five homers and 34 RBI. The 24-year-old lefty batter was the Phillies' top draft pick (2nd round) in 2009.

On this week's edition of Phillies Nation Ian Riccaboni joined hosts Rachel Micali and Corey Seidman to talk about the Phillies dealing ace hurler Cole Hamels and All-Star closer Jonathan Papelbon . Minor league insider Jay Floyd also joins the panel to talk about the organization's rising prospects like Aaron Altherr , Andrew Knapp and Roman Quinn as well as members of this year's draft class such as Cornelius Randolph and Kyle Martin . Also, Timothy Parker joins the show with a profile piece on the local youth baseball RBI program. Check out this week's episode in the media player below. Look for new episodes each Tuesday at 6PM on The Comcast Network with replays throughout the week on TCN and Comcast Sportsnet.

In his first action facing hitters since he was sidelined with a severe right ankle sprain in an outing for the Triple-A IronPigs in mid-May, right-hander David Buchanan looked good on the mound in an exhibition with the Phillies' extended spring training team on Thursday. According to Jim Peyton of PhuturePhillies.com, who was present for the outing, the 26-year-old hurler faced 14 batters, retiring 13 of them and looked good moving around on defense. Buchanan, who tallied a 0-5 record with an 8.76 ERA in five starts with the big league team and went 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three starts for Lehigh Valley this year, posted images (featured to the left) of his ankle in various stages of the injury this week on Instagram. Seeing action in that same game was righty hurler Shane Watson, who is nearing a return to full-season club action following his second shoulder surgery last year. Watson, who stands six-foot-four and is up to 240 pounds, threw five scoreless innings, notch...

Ethan Martin, image- Jay Floyd Following a year in which he experienced shoulder problems and struggled at the Triple-A level, hurler Ethan Martin has fallen off many people's radars when it comes to Phillies prospects. Despite his physical setbacks and an adjustment period after moving out of the starting rotation and into the bullpen, the righty still has an arm that could make an impact for the team. Originally selected by the Dodgers in the 1st round (15th overall) in the 2008 amateur draft out of Stephens County High School (GA), when scouts weren't sure if he would proceed as a pitcher or a third baseman in his career, Martin had not posted great numbers in the minors prior to 2012. He was acquired in the trade that sent Shane Victorino to LA. In his first three years as a pro, Martin posted a 24-29 record with a 5.42 ERA. He missed action in 2008 due to a knee injury and officially began his pro career in 2009 with Great Lakes of the Class A Midwest League. I...

Once again, we're back with another weekly rundown of how Phillies players are performing in fall and winter leagues around the globe. Read ahead for all the latest stats and updates. Venezuelan Winter League- Cesar Hernandez, image- Jay Floyd After going 17-for-37 (.459 avg) in his last nine games, infielder Cesar Hernandez is batting .356 with five doubles, 13 RBI and three stolen bases for Lara. In 66 games with the Phillies this year, the 24-year-old switch-hitter batted .237 with a homer, four RBI and a stolen base. Catcher Gabriel Lino is batting .265 with five doubles, four RBI in 19 games for Lara. The 21-year-old, who was acquired from Baltimore in the 2012 Jim Thome trade, played in 90 combined games with Class A Lakewood and Class A Advanced Clearwater this year, posting a combined .215 average with five home runs and 34 RBI. In 13 appearances (six starts) with Lara, lefty hurler Cesar Jimenez has a 2-4 record with a 3.48 ERA while striking out 29 and w...

Baseball never stops and neither does Phillies Nation. It's another weekly edition of the Phillies off-season league rundown featuring updates on players from around the globe. Read ahead for all the info with activity through Saturday. Venezuelan Winter League- Aaron Altherr, image- Jay Floyd Aaron Altherr is done with his time in Venezuela. The righty batting outfielder hit .286 with four home runs, 27 RBI and a stolen base in 31 games for Zulia. The 23-year-old played in two games with the big league Phillies this year. In 127 minor league games in 2014, the Phillies' 9th round pick in 2009 posted a .237 average with 14 HR, 59 RBI and 13 stolen bases. In 31 games with Zulia, shortstop Freddy Galvis is batting .254 with seven doubles, a triple, a homer and eight RBI. In 43 big league contests this year, the 25-year-old switch-hitter batted .176 with four home runs and 12 RBI. Elvis Araujo sports a 2-0 record with a 0.66 ERA in 11 relief outings for Zulia. Th...

It's time once again for another weekly review of Phillies players' performances and progress in off-season leagues around the globe. Dominican Winter League- Maikel Franco, image- Jay Floyd Third baseman Maikel Franco has been in a slump lately, going 3-for-27 (.111 avg) over his last seven games. One positive out of that is that two of his three hits during that time are home runs. Overall in 22 games for the Gigantes, the 22-year-old is batting .239 with six homers and 21 RBI. This year in 133 contests with Triple-A Lehigh Valley, the righty hitting Franco posted a .257 batting average with 16 home runs and 78 RBI. Right-handed reliever Hector Neris has made 11 scoreless appearances for the Toros while striking out five and walking four in 8 2/3 innings. The 25-year-old appeared in one game with the Phils this year, earning a win in his big league debut. Australian Baseball League- Power hitting outfielder Dylan Cozens has a .205 average with three homer...

This week's rundown includes details on some Phillies players making their off-season league debuts including Ethan Martin , Cesar Hernandez as well as outfield prospect Dylan Cozens along with updates on key names such as Jesse Biddle , Maikel Franco and Aaron Altherr . Read ahead for all your fall/winter league updates from around the globe. Puerto Rico/ Roberto Clemente League Lefty pitcher Jesse Biddle had an alarming outing with Mayaguez on Saturday, allowing seven earned runs on seven hits in 2 1/3 innings while striking out four and walking two. The 23-year-old sports a 15.19 ERA in two outings in Puerto Rico. Biddle, the Phils' top draft pick in 2010, posted a 5-10 record with a 4.58 ERA in 19 starts in the minors this year. Also with Mayaguez, Jesmuel Valentin , who was acquired from the Dodgers by the Phils in the Roberto Hernandez trade this year, is 2-for-7 with an RBI in five games. The 20-year-old infielder posted a .273/.341/.412 slash line in 120 min...

Recently, Mike Drago of The Reading Eagle conducted a survey of experts, made up of local writers and other media members, designed to rank the top prospects in the Phillies developmental system. The participating individuals, who are all close to the Phillies minor league system, were asked to rank their personal top 20, which were tabulated to determine the paper's published list of top 15 Phillies prospects. Individuals surveyed included Baseball America's Josh Norris, Chris Rotolo of the Asbury Park Press, Mitch Rupert of the Williamsport Sun-Gazette as well as yours truly, Jay Floyd of PhilliesNation.com. The collection of experts determined that last year's first round draft pick, J.P. Crawford , who represented the Phillies in the MLB All-Star Futures Game this year, is the top prospect in the organization. Crawford, 19, is widely expected to be the eventual successor to former National League MVP Jimmy Rollins at shortstop. Last year's Reading Eagle ran...

Ethan Martin, Image- Jay Floyd Two weeks between outings last month was not wasted by righty hurler Ethan Martin . Sitting in the Phillies' bullpen allowed the 25-year-old plenty of time to watch and learn. As the Phillies' long man for a short stretch in June, the 25-year-old appeared in two games. He then waited for a chance to take the mound and face live competition once again, working on the side and staying prepared. The Phillies' starting pitchers averaged nearly seven innings per outing over the 15 games that occured from when Martin, a right-hander, last appeared in a big league game on June 7th till when he was reassigned back to Triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 23rd. The club's bullpen mainstays, namely Jonathan Papelbon , Antonio Bastardo , Mario Hollands , Jake Diekman and Justin De Fratus , tallied a 0.62 ERA in that same time frame, covering 30 total appearances. There was nowhere for Martin, who the Phillies acquired in the 2012 Shane Victorin...