We took three out of four last night.  Clearwater got solid pitching and four pitchers combined to throw a shutout.  Lehigh Valley walked off again.  This time in the tenth inning on CJ Chatham’s RBI single.  in the ninth on a wild pitch.  Reading lost again.  The winning pitcher was old friend, Mark Leiter Jr.  Jersey Shore broke open a close game with a 4-run inning.

The most interesting news is probably that the Clearwater home plate umpire apparently opted out of wearing the ABS equipment.  I did not know they had that option.  (They don’t.)

Clearwater (2-1) scored early and made the lead hold up, beating Lakeland, 5-0.

The Threshers scored two runs in the first inning.  Johan Rojas (0-3, R, HBP) was drilled in the back with a 94 mph fastball to start the home first.  The Flying Tigers were made to pay quickly as Casey Martin (1-4, R, RBI) brought Rojas home with a one-out, RBI double.  DJ Stewart (1-3, HBP) reached on a single, and runners were on the corners.  Ben Pelletier (0-4, RBI) brought home Martin with a ground out to the second baseman.

The Threshers struck for two more in the second inning.  Corbin Williams (1-4, R) and Hunter Markwardt (2-2, 2 R, 2 BB) opened the inning with singles.  They advanced a base on a wild pitch.  Edgar Made (1-3, 2 RBI, SF) brought home one run with a sac fly.  One out later, Luis Garcia (1-4, RBI) brought home the second run with an RBI single.

The Threshers added a run in the fourth when Markwardt beat out a bunt and advanced to second on a wild throw by the third baseman.  He scored on a single by Made, running through a coach’s stop sign at third.

The Threshers went quietly for a few innings when they loaded the bases in the eighth but failed to score.

Meanwhile, the pitchers put on their own show.

Eduar Segovia tossed a dominant 2.1 innings.  He pitched around a one-out walk in the first.  He walked the leadoff batter in the second, then struck out the side.  He gave up a leadoff single in the third and was lifted one batter later after his fifth strikeout.  I think the starting pitchers (and their piggyback partner) are on a pitch count.  Segovia was lifted after his 50th pitch.  He threw 33 fastballs at an average of 93.4 mph.  His range was 92-94, throwing one each at 91 and 95 mph.  He also threw a change (2), curve (3), and 12 sliders.

JP Woodward retired the final two outs in the third on 7 pitches.

Victor Vargas followed with 4.0 very solid innings.  He allowed a single in 3 of those innings, but walked none and struck out five.  He threw 55 pitches as his end of the piggyback.  His 16 fastballs were 91.5 with a low of 89 and a high 93 mph.  He threw 8 changes, 7 curves, and 24 sliders.

Carlo Reyes 1.2 innings.  He threw 43 pitches.  He’s primarily fastball changeup, mixing a few curves and sliders.  His fastball sat 90-91 and touched 89 and 92 mph.

Tyler Adams got some vengeance.  He retired the final out on 3 pitches, striking out the final batter looking, freezing him with a nasty curve to end the game.

Chris Burke made his professional debut.  The nineteen-year-old Aussie went 2-4 in his first action stateside.  He had a single and a double.

Edgar Made stole his first base of the season.

Piggyback continues with –

• 5/7 – Castillo/Marcano
• 5/8 – Jordi Martinez/Rodolfo Sanchez
• 5/9 – Mayer/Hernandez (again)
• 5/10 – Monday, off day

Lehigh Valley (3-0) walked off again, beating Rochester, 5-4 on CJ Chatham’s RBI hit in the tenth inning.

Bailey Falter (4.0 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 5 K) started and gave up a 3-run HR in the first inning.  He was touched for another run in the fourth.  The IronPigs then began a procession of relievers who each pitched 2.0 innings, allowing no hits and no runs.  Damon Jones was first and walked a batter while striking out four.  Mauricio Llovera followed with 2 strikeouts.  JD Hammer struck out three AND stranded the ghost runner to grab the win.

The IronPigs struck back in the second with 3 runs of their own.  Darick Hall got things started with a solo HR.  Bailey Falter helped his own cause with a bases-loaded fielder’s choice that scored 2 more runs but only one RBI for Falter.  Josh Stephen broke up the double play and the second baseman lost the handle and the ball rolled around on the dirt.  An aggressive Cornelius Randolph scored from second on the play.

Trailing by a run entering the ninth, the ‘Pigs tied the game on Luke Williams‘ sharp single to centerfielder Carlos Tocci.  Travis Jankowski had singled and stole second.  That’s close enough to score on an arm I don’t remember being very strong.

After Hammer prevented the Red Wings from scoring in the tenth, Darick Hall moved ghost runner Austin Listi to third on a ground out.  Chatham drove him home on an 0-2 single.

Luke Williams was 2-5 with an RBI.  Chatham was 2-4 with an RBI and a walk.  Jankowski was 1-1 with a run scored.

Reading (0-3) lost to Erie, 5-4.  Reading rallied late but fell short.

James McArthur gave up a solo HR in the first inning.  He breezed through the second, but ran into trouble in the third.  An error put a runner on base and a double put two runners in scoring position with nobody out.  A sac fly and a wild pitch cleared the bases.  Another solo HR made sure.

Colton Eastman pitched 3.0 innings and gave up a run in the fifth that stretched the SeaWolves lead to 5-0.  He allowed 4 hits and 2 walks while striking out two.

Austin Ross pitched 2.0 shutout innings allowing one hit, walking none, and striking out four.

Ethan Evanko pitched one inning and allowed a hit, walk, and strikeout.

Through the first four innings, Reading put a runner on base with less than two outs and couldn’t move one around.  They got a two-out runner in the fifth and two runners in the sixth with two-out but still nothing.

They finally broke through in the seventh without a hit.  Two walks and a 2-run fielding error finally got the Phils’ on the board.

They went down in order in the eighth, the only inning they didn’t have a base runner, then continued their rally in the ninth.  Luke Miller led off with a single.  With one out, Arquimedes Gamboa reached on throwing error.  Dalton Guthrie singled to score Miller.  Daniel Brito plated Gamboa with an RBI single and Guthrie went to third.  He tried to score on Matt Vierling’s fly ball to right but was cut down at the plate.

Jersey Shore( 2-1) beat Hudson Valley 5-1.  The BlueClaws pitching was pretty good.

Josh Hendrickson went 4.0 innings allowing 2 hits, walking none, and striking out four.  Jonathan Hughes went 3.0 innings allowing one hit, walking 3, and striking out two.  Billy Sullivan pitched 2.0 innings allowing a run on one hit, walking 3, and striking out two.

The BlueClaws had just a few baserunners, but they made the most of their opportunities.  They scored in the first inning on Bryson Stott’s first HR at High-A.  All I can say is it’s about time.  Stott had homered in his first GCL at bat and in his first Williamsport at bat back in 2019.

Then 18 BlueClaws were retired in order until with one out in the seventh, Jhailyn Ortiz reached on a single.  Logan O’Hoppe walked and both scored on Rudy Rott’s triple.  Keaton Greenwalt walked and stole second.  Rott scored on a passed ball.  Greenwalt scored on Herbert Iser’s sac fly.  Hunter Hearn was hit by a pitch before the inning came to an end.

Jersey Shore collected just 4 hits.  Jhailyn Ortiz went 2-4 with a double and run scored.  Stott had his HR in 4 at bats.  Rott went 1-3 with a run scored and 2 RBI.

GCL Phillies East and GCL Phillies West (runs 6/28 thru 9/12)

DSL Phillies Red and DSL Phillies White (starts 5/30)

Here’s the affiliate scoreboard from MiLB.

The rosters and lists are up to date as of May 2nd … there are 303 players in the org

• organization’s rosters (5/2)
• organization’s injury list (5/2)
• organization’s Rule 5 eligibility list (5/2)