Reading closed this week with a record of 33-37, still 7.5 games out of first place in the Southern division as we approach the seasons, mid way point.  Statistically, in the hitting categories Jesus Merchan continues to lead the league in hitting at .347.  Greg Jacobs is 9th in average (.315), 5th in hits (73), 5th in doubles (19), 6th in homers (10), and 2nd in RBI’s (46). Mike Costanzo is 5th in runs (42), 2nd in homers (13), and 2nd in strikeouts (91); Randy Ruiz is 9th in hits.  Jason Hill is 7th in the league with 19 doubles and Javon Moran is 6th in the league with 16 stolen bases.  On the hill, Landon Jacobsen is 2nd in the league with 6 wins and leads the league with 87.2 innings pitched.  Matt Maloney, is starting to come on strong and is 2nd in the league with 85.1 innings and 4th in the league with 71 stikeouts.

The Phils completed a three game sweep of the Mets (AA) club on Thursday with a 7-1 victory.  Chris Rojas (2-1) started and was strong, giving up only a run in five innings.  The Phils broke the game open in the 7th inning with 4 runs, including a 3 run double by Matt Padgett. Jesus Merchan had two hits and two runs, Michael Garciaparra added 2 hits and Chris Coste had 2 runs and 2 RBI’s, pacing the Phils offense.  Fabio Castro continued pitching well with 2 more scoreless innings.

Trenton continued their mastery of the Phils Friday evening with a 3-0 victory.  Matt Maloney (5-6) started and pitched well going 6.2 innings, giving up only 1 run and striking out 5.  The Phils had only 3 hits on the evening, 2 of them by Mike Spidale. On Saturday evening, prospect Pat Overholt(0-1) got hit around in his Reading debut giving up 6 runs (5 earned) on 8 hits over 5 innings of work in a 7-2 loss.  The Phils had the lead very briefly on a 2 run single by Jason Hill, however Trenton quickly recovered to take their 5th straight against Reading. On Fathers Day, Reading finally got a win against Trenton in a 7-2 victory behind the pitching of Heath Totten who pitched 6.2 innings giving up only 1 earned run.  Chris Key pitched the 9th and notched his 3rd save of the year. The Phils scored 4 runs in the 8th inning to break the game open, behind the 3-5 effort by Chris Coste who added 2 RBI’s.  Mike Costanzo and Juan Tejada also added 2 hits for the Phils.

The Phils returned home opening a three game set against Binghamton Tuesday night in a game that began Tuesday and was finished Wednesday due to rain.  In a wild game, Binghamton won 8-7 in 11 innings.  Landon Jacobsen started and went 5 innings, giving up 4 runs (3 earned) on eight hits, while walking 1 and striking out 5.  Chris Key (4-1) took the loss in relief for the Phils.  The Phils rallied with 4 runs in the 9th to send the game into extra innings before losing on a homer in the 11th.  Peeter Ramos went 2-4 with a run and 2RBI’s, Randy Ruiz went 3-5 with 2 RBI’s, Chris Coste went 2-4 with a run and an RBI pacing the Phils offense. In the 2nd game played Wednesday evening, in one of the most bizarre endings ever seen, the Phils won3-2 on a walk off catchers interference call. Matt Maloney (6-6) pitched a complete game, giving the bullpen a much needed game off, giving up only 2 runs over 7 innings while striking out 5.  Jason Hill’s 2 RBI’s led the Phils offense.

Philling:Mike Spidale was called up from (A) Clearwater.  Spidale, 25, was a 12th round pick of the White Sox in the 2000 draft and was hitting .275 with o homers, 26 RBI’s and 12 stolen bases for the Threshers and should add some speed to the lineup while Javon Moran is out.

23 year old Pat Overholt, will get a shot in the Reading rotation as he has been called up from Clearwater as well.  For the Threshers, Overholt was 4-6 with a 3.82 ERA.  He has pitched 73 innings and given up 67 hits while walking 30 and striking out 69. Opponents were hitting .248 against him in A ball. Overholt was the Phils Minor League pitcher of the month in April and a Florida State League All Star, making the expectations fairly high.

On Tuesday, Fabio Castro was promoted to (AAA) Ottawa.  For Reading, Castro was 2-0 over 16.2 innings.  He allowed 12 hits, 5 earned runs, walking 6 and striking out 24.  A 2.70 ERA combined with his 12.96K/9 and a WHIP of 1.08 also show Castro’s strong performance at the AA level. On the flip side, Brian Burgamy was sent down to (A) Clearwater.  Clearly a disappointment, Burgamy hit .191 in 183 AB’s for Reading.  He added 3 homers, 11 RBI’s and 4 stolen bases.

The roster shuffle continued on Wednesday, with Heath Totten going back up to (AAA) Ottawa, after several effective starts for Reading.  Totten was 3-5 with a 3.86 ERA in 49 innings with Reading. Pitcher Zach Segovia ,24, joins Reading from Ottawa and should go into the Reading rotation. Segovia, who actually started a game for the big Phils this year has struggled mightily this year, going 1-9 with a 6.05 ERA in 77.1 innings with Ottawa. He has walked 28 and struck out 22, allowing hitters to bat .315 against him.  Considered a legitimate prospect entering the year, the next several starts for Segovia should be telling.  On the other side of the coin, is the promotion of super prospect Carlos Carrasco ,20, from (A) Clearwater.  He will immediately go into the Reading rotation and look for him to anchor it shortly. During his time in Clearwater this year, Carrasco was 6-2 with a 2.84 ERA in 12 starts.  He walked 22 and struck out 53 while dominating hitters, as they hit only .199 against him.  The only problem stat may be home run balls, as he gave up 8 in 69 Clearwater innings.

Mike Costanzo’s 12 game hitting streak ended against Trenton.

The Phils commited 3 errors (including Mike Costanzo’s 22nd of the year in their 7-4 win against Trenton.

In a wild Wednesday evening, Michael Garciaparra was thrown out of Game One for tossing his helmet, and in Game Two, Ryan Cameron was thrown out while sitting in the bullpen and has to be restained after getting tossed.

Carlos Carrasco will make his Reading debut Thursday evening.  The revamped Reading rotation included Carrasco, Maloney, Overholt, Jacobsen, and Chris Rojas.