Time for another Reading Phillies weekly report. Just like last week, the Reading Phillies managed to go 4-3 on the week, to climb all the way up into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern League Southern Division with a 37-52 record. Goodbye, cellar. I guess I should not get to excited, however, since we only hold a one-half game lead over the last place Erie SeaWolves. I am a bit short on time this week, so I am only going to give the game recaps. Hopefully, some interesting prospect talk can be started in the comments. Thanks for understanding.

Game Recaps

7/2 – Reading Phillies vs. New Britain Rock Cats

A highly anticipated game for the Reading Phillies because of Carlos Carrasco’s start was diffused rather early, when Carrasco hurt his shoulder during warm-ups, and smartly sat out. Even though the Phillies’ arguably best pitching prospect didn’t start, the pitching was still dynamite on the night, and lead the Phillies to a 9-2 victory. Recently promoted Brett Harker started, and pitched 3 great innings, allowing 3 hits and 1 walk to go along with 0 earned runs. He also struck out 2. Overholt (WP) came in after Harker, giving up 2 runs in 4 innings of work to pick up the win. While the pitching was terrific, the offense wasn’t too shabby either. Spidale, Eylward, Marson, and Donald all had 2 hits, while Donald drove in 5 runs.

7/3 – Reading Phillies vs. New Britain Rock Cats

The Phillies continued their winning streak, beating the Rock Cats 6-2 to complete the 4-game series sweep. Durbin (WP) pitched to his second straight quality start, going 6.2 innings while allowing 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 runs with only 1 being earned. He also struck out 6 to lower his season era to 2.6. Even better news followed shortly after, when Outman came in and pitched 2.1 innings of dominating ball. He gave up 2 hits and 1 walk while striking out 2. The offense was a bit methodical, but got the job done. Marson officially ended his “Phuture Phillies Curse”, while also pacing the offense with a 2-2 night, including 1 home run, 2 runs batted in, and 2 walks.

7/4 – Reading Phillies at Portland Sea Dogs

The good vibes came to a halt, as the Sea Dogs won a pitching dominated 2-1 ballgame. While the Phils lost, it was great to see Brummett (LP) bounce back after 2 horrendous starts. Brummett went 7 strong innings, allowing 5 hits, 4 walks, and 2 earned runs to go along with his impressive 6 strikeouts. The offense did nothing, with Slayden collecting the only RBI.

7/5 – Reading Phillies at Portland Sea Dogs

Portland shut down the Phillies’ offense for the second game in a row to win 5-1. Edgar Garcia (LP) made his Reading Phillies debut, and did very well for himself. He pitched 6 strong innings and struck out 4. He also allowed 5 hits, 2 walks, and 2 earned runs. Two relief prospects showed both the good and the bad. Bisenius struggled after having a terrific week last week. He gave up 3 earned runs on 2 hits and 2 walks in a single inning of work. While Bisenius was bad, Outman was again good. He pitched one dominating inning, registering 1 strike out while retiring the side in order. The offense was again flat. 6 hits were sprinkled throughout the lineup, with Donald collecting 2 of them.

7/6 – Reading Phillies at Portland Sea Dogs

The offense exploded for 11 runs, to lead the Phillies to an 11-5 victory. The starting pitching, as it has been all week, was again good. Castro (WP) was touched frequently with base hits, but battled to keep runs off of the board. His final line was 5.1 innings pitched, 7 hits, 2 earned runs, 2 walks, and 5 strike outs. The story of this game was finally the offense. The offense combined for 16 hits. Sellers, Spidale, Slayden, and Hammond all had 2 hits apiece, while Eylward had 3 hits and Donald had 4. Surprisingly, no triples or home runs were hit in the offensive onslaught.

7/7 – Reading Phillies at Portland Sea Dogs

The Phils dropped a close game, losing 5-4 to drop the series to the Sea Dogs 3-1. Outman had his first bad outing of the week. He gave up 2 earned runs on 5 hits in 2 innings of work. He did not walk anybody, however, which is a positive sign. Bisenius (LP) lso got roughed up for the second straight time, giving up 2 earned in .2 innings. The offense was steady, with every regular besides Eylward collecting at least one hit. Donald supplied the power, with his only hit being a home run.

7/8 – Reading Phillies vs Erie SeaWolves

The Phils finished the week on a good note behind yet another spectacular performance by JD Durbin (WP). Durbin went 7 strong innings, giving up only 4 hits and 1 earned run to lead the Phils to a 6-3 win. The offense was lead by Sellers, who went 2-4 with 2 home runs and 3 runs batted in.