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The highs and lows of professional baseball are no better evidenced by Darin Ruf 's day on Sunday. Shortly after grounding into a double play to end the Reading Phillies' season, the slugger learned that he would be joining the big league Phillies. Pained by the loss, just moments after the Trenton Thunder eliminated the R-Phils from the Double-A Eastern League playoffs, Ruf reflected only on the disappointment of his team falling short of a championship, not what could lie ahead. It was Ruf's first time in the playoffs as a professional and, more than anything, the EL most valuable player and Phillies Paul Owens Award winner wanted to lock down a title for his team. Despite outhitting the opposition 13-5, the Reading Phillies came up short, leaving eight runners on base in the final game of the best-of-five series. Reading was victorious in the opening game of the series, but the Thunder, who are looking for their third Eastern League championship in six years, rebounded t...

"Fear the 'Hawk" is the motto of Reading Phillies closer Justin Friend, who sports a hairstyle that has made him stand out in the past. With the sides of his head cropped closely and the center section of his head, from front to back, left longer and shaggy, the Double-A closer has some new mohawk-mates on his team. Outfielders Tyson Gillies (pictured on the left) and Leandro Castro (on the right) currently rock similar 'do's, with Gillies' version matching Friend's a bit and Castro's shaved to the skin on the sides being more reflective of Mr. T's famed cranium. A survey of teammates which included Tommy Joseph, Jiwan James, D'Arby Myers, Darin Ruf, Cody Asche and Miguel Abreu on Friday, regarding who had the better mohawk, was fairly balanced. Friend, of course, is recognized by teammates as the father of the trend. The 26-year-old, who was acquired by the Phillies in the 2010 Rule 5 draft, was dominant for Reading this year, as he is perfect...

Disappointed and dejected, Ethan Martin stood at his locker following Reading's 3-1 loss in game 3 of the Eastern League division series. The defeat put the R-Phils on the brink of elimination from the postseason, as Trenton grabbed a 2-1 lead in the best-of-five series. The 23-year-old Martin, who was acquired by the Phillies in July, in the Shane Victorino trade, struck out 11 Thunder batters while walking none over 7 2/3 innings, although he was charged with 3 runs, only one of which was earned as he took his first loss since joining the Phillies organization. Martin had posted a 5-0 record with a 3.18 ERA in the Eastern League this seaso. Trenton's David Adams slapped an RBI single with two outs in the 8th inning that snapped a 1-1 tie and put the Yankees' Double-A affiliate up for good. The inning began with a single by Tyler Austin , who was then sacrificed to second. A grounder by Adonis Garcia that was mishandled by third baseman Cody Asche put runner...

Game 3 of the Eastern League division series is set for a 7:05 PM start on Friday night. Notes and quotes on that contest lie ahead. Jake Fox has been placed on Reading's inactive list, as his wife went into labor early Friday, at home in Michigan. The proud couple are new parents to a baby boy. Fox's stint on the inactive list must last three days, so he is not eligible to return until the Eastern League finals, should Reading advance. John Hill has replaced Fox on the R-Phils' active roster. Justin Friend , who warmed up late in game 2's loss on Thursday night is available for game 3. Read ahead for exclusive quotes for Wathan as well as Reading stars Trevor May and Darin Ruf as well as rising prospect Tyler Knigge ... Dusty Wathan speaking about his confidence level in game 3 starting pitcher Ethan Martin , who was acquired by the Phillies in the Shane Victorino trade in July and is undefeated since joining the R-Phils- Obviously, (my confidence le...

The Phillies (66-71) will host the last place Rockies (56-80) in a three-game set this weekend. In the series opener, the Phils will send lefty ace Cliff Lee, who has the opportunity to win three consecutive starts for the first time this season, to the mound. Colorado will counter with left-hander Jeff Francis, who allowed 1 run in 5 innings of work in a no decision when he last faced the Phillies in June. The two clubs have equally split their six previous meetings this season. To read more about the pitching match ups and other key statistical details on this series, read head. Friday, 7:05 PM. Jeff Francis (5-4, 5.73 ERA) vs. Cliff Lee (4-7, 3.52 ERA). Lee is 1-1 with a 2.08 ERA in 2 career starts against the Rockies. In his last 4 starts, Lee has a 2-0 record with a 1.91 ERA. Lee has a 1-5 record with a 4.14 ERA in 11 starts at home this year. Francis is 2-0 with a 5.14 ERA in his last 6 starts. In 8 road starts this season, Francis has a 2-1 record with a 4.69 ERA. J...

The Thunder struck in the 9th inning with three runs off of Reading reliever Colby Shreve to knot the Double-A Eastern League division series at one game apiece in the best of five match up. The outburst was a result of clutch hitting with some luck sprinkled on top as, with the bases loaded, Trenton designated hitter Rob Segedin laced a slicing drive to right field that got by a diving Leandro Castro resulting in a triple while plating three runs. The right-handed Shreve (6-3, 3.69 ERA, 4 saves in 47 games at three levels this year) began the 9th by getting David Adams out on a grounder, but a walk to Zoilo Almonte and a single by Addison Maruszak presented a tough spot for the 24-year-old former 6th round draft selection. Shreve then battled back, striking out catcher J.R. Murphy . Shreve then issued an intentional walk to lefty hitter Kevin Mahoney to reach the more appealing match up against the righty batting Segedin, who was 0-for-3 in the contest to that point. ...

Prior to tonight's game 2 of the Eastern League division series, I spoke with R-Phils manager Dusty Wathan about several subjects. Read ahead for Wathan's quotes... On who would be the starting pitcher for Reading, if the series reaches game 5- It'll probably be Mario Hollands . He's done a great job in the organization this year, bouncing all around. And, you know, we got him back from Lehigh Valley, put him on the roster. We'll probably use him out of the bullpen tonight, if we need him maybe. So, he's available out of the bullpen tonight, but if we go to a game 5, we'll use Hollands. On his confidence level in set-up man Tyler Knigge , who worked out of a jam in the 8th inning of game 1- It's huge. One thing he had to work on to get to this level was his slider. He has to continue to work on it, and he has. I thought he was throwing the ball well last night. It was a situation where they didn't hit the ball hard the first couple singl...

A trio of Reading Phillies launched solo home runs to power the club to a 4-2 victory in the opening game of the best-of-five Eastern League division series at FirstEnergy Stadium on Wednesday night. Trenton kicked off the scoring in the top of the 4th, when Reading starter Austin Hyatt allowed a two-run homer to left fielder Ramon Flores , who was promoted to Trenton this week after spending the season with Class A Advanced Tampa. Reading clapped back in the 5th inning when a lead-off homer by minor league veteran Jake Fox and a run scoring ground out by Jiwan James knotted the game at two runs apiece. The right-handed Hyatt, the Phillies' 15th round draft choice in 2009, went 6 2/3 innings and allowed just those two earned runs, while striking out four and walking two in the process. After Hyatt walked two batters in the 7th, righty reliever Tyler Knigge (pictured) took over, quickly inducing a double play grounder from Thunder first baseman Kevin Mahoney. The 23-year-o...

Just one of the Phillies' four full season minor league affiliates are headed to the postseason. Taking all 142 games of their schedule to do so, the Double-A Reading Phils clinched their Wild Card berth with a 7-3 win over Portland on Monday, on the final day of the Eastern League's regular season. In the Eastern division standings, the R-Phils beat out New Britain by just one game for the right to take on division champ Trenton (Yankees affiliate) this week with a chance to play in the EL championship series on the line. To open the playoffs, Reading will host the Thunder for games 1 and 2, at Reading's First Energy Stadium on Wednesday and Thursday. Games 3, 4 and 5 will be played at Trenton's Waterfront Park on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, if necessary. Reading finished three games behind Trenton in the season standings, but the R-Phils downed the division champs in seven of 13 contests during the regular season. Reading's top offensive performer this season was...

First baseman/outfielder Darin Ruf has had a tremendous season for the Double-A Reading Phillies. After setting a team single season record with 38 home runs, getting named Eastern League Most Valuable Player and being honored as the Phillies top offensive minor leaguer with the Paul Owens Award, Ruf could be on the verge of a September call up once the R-Phils have completed their possible postseason run. This week, one of my other internet homes PhilliesNation.com asked its writers to offer their thoughts on what the big league Phils should do with the 26-year-old Ruf. Listed below is what I had to say on this matter. Click this link to read the full post featuring comments from PN's Eric Seidman, Ian Riccaboni and Ryan Dinger. At the risk of duplicating my sentiments from this week’s edition of Phillies Nation TV, it would be a complete disservice to Darin Ruf if the Phillies don’t promote him to the big league roster once Reading’s season is done. Ruf’s August (.371 av...

A pair of division rivals face off this weekend as the Phillies (62-69) travel to Atlanta to take on the Braves (74-57) in a 3-game series beginning Friday night at Turner Field. In the opener, the Phils will send ace right-hander Roy Halladay, who is 0-1 with an 8.74 ERA in 2 starts against the Braves this year, to the mound. Atlanta will counter with 2009 1st round draft selection Mike Minor, who has won just once in his past 5 home starts. Read ahead for more details on the pitching match ups and loads of key statistics from this series. Friday, 7:35 PM. Roy Halladay (8-7, 3.88 ERA) vs. Mike Minor (7-10, 4.71 ERA). Halladay has posted a 4-1 record with a 2.75 ERA over his last 5 starts. On the road this season, Halladay is 3-4 with a 4.31 ERA in 9 starts. In 5 career starts at Turner Field, Halladay is 1-2 with a 3.57 ERA and a .259 batting average against. Chipper Jones is 10-for-19 (.526 avg) with 3 doubles and 3 HR in his career against Halladay. Minor, a lefty, has a 1-2 record...

We're back with another brand new edition of the PhoulBallz Minor League Podcast. On episode 16, Tug and I discuss the unreal seasons of Darin Ruf and Tyler Cloyd along with recent big league promotions for Cloyd, Phillippe Aumont and Steven Lerud . Also, we review the Reading Eagle's recent prospect ranking survey, September call-up possibilities, playoff chances for the Phils' minor league clubs and we play The Twitter Game. Check out the media player below to hear the full show, or download it by clicking HERE . You can also check out previous episodes and subscribe on iTunes .