Reading had a 3-4 week, unfortunately featuring yet another bullpen meltdown costing the RPhils another multi-run lead late in the game.  The RPhils lost a blowout to New Hampshire, took 2 out of 3 from Portland (and would have swept without the meltdown), and lost 2 of 3 to Akron.  They play New Hampshire again early this week in a series that features a third chance to face former RPhil Kyle Drabek and two morning games.

Drew Naylor and Yohan Flande posted wins as starters, and Michael Schwimer garnered the only win in relief.  Chapman, German, Stutes, and Escalona all gave up runs in short appearances to lose a 6-2 lead in the 6th to Portland, but Chapman came back to make a spot start on Sunday and pitched well.  The weirdest pitching stats of the week belong to Ty Taubenheim, who made his Phils debut.  Taubenheim is someone who has pitched in the big leagues, and was a successful starter in AAA last year, but, in his first two appearances for the RPhils, he’s yielded 14 earned runs in 4.1 IP for an ERA of 29.08.  Not exactly a boost to a sagging staff.  The RPhils pitchers are second in the league in opponents’ HRs, and pretty much middle of the pack in the rest of the league-wide stats.

On the offensive side of the ledger, the RPhils scored 4 runs or more in 5 of the 7 games this week, which made it a fairly successful week for them.  Here are the brief weekly stats for some of the younger regulars:  Quentin Berry, 5/22, 2 2B, 3 SB; Tyson Gillies 11/23, hit in every game in which he played this week (and is currently day-to-day with a hamstring injury), but coaxed only 1 walk; Domonic Brown, 10/26, 1 @B, 3 HR, 3 BB, Freddy Galvis 4/27, no extra base hits, 1 walk.  Galvis’s lack of offensive production is one of the more important limitations on the RPhils ability to score.  The RPhils are no higher than 8th in any offensive category league-wide,