Clearwater (79-58) began their playoff run with a 90 minute rain delay.  The late start did not bother Daytona’s Amir Garrett as he shut down the Threshers for seven innings.  The big left hander held the Threshers to one hit on his way to a 3-0 victory.  Clearwater never threatened.  The only other base runner Garrett allowed came on a strike out/wild pitch as he walked none and struck out twelve.  The Threshers were no-hit through the first six innings.

Clearwater’s Ricardo Pinto may have been bothered by the long delay.  He was not as sharp as usual walking three in six innings, he had posted a 2.18 BB/9 in 13 starts with the Threshers.  Still, he gave his team a chance to win holding the Tortugas to three runs on four hits.  Pinto struck out six. Continue reading Playoffs Box Score Recap – 9/8/2015 →

For the first time since 2012 when Reading lost in the first round of the Eastern League playoffs, teams from within the Phillies’ organization will play in the post season.

Clearwater begins the playoffs on the road Tuesday in Daytona for the first game of a three-game series.  Games two and three (if necessary) will be played in Clearwater.

The announced match ups are –

1. RHP Ricardo Pinto (9-2, 2.87) v. LHP Amir Garrett (9-7, 2.44)
2. RHP John Richy (0-0, 2.84) v. TBD
3. RHP David Whitehead (9-11, 4.44) v. TBD

Game one will be a match up of staff aces.  Pinto faced Daytona once and beat the Tortugas.  He pitched 6.1 innings and gave up two runs (2.86 ERA).  He allowed six hits including a home run.  Pinto struck out seven and walked none.  More below the fold.

Amir Garrett faced the Threshers six times and had a 1-2 record.  Two of his starts experienced long rain delays.  He pitched two innings in one and recorded one out against two batters in the other.  He pitched at least six innings in each of the other four starts.  In all, he pitched 27.1 innings and gave up seven earned runs (9 R) on 26 hits including one home run.  He posted a 2.31 ERA against the Threshers.  Garrett struck out 25 and walked nine.  Five of the walks occurred in one start, three in another.

Richy faced Daytona once and shut them out over seven innings.  He allowed four hits, walked one, and struck out three.  However, he didn’t figure in a decision.  Overall, Richy went 10-5 in 20 starts (24 appearances).  He pitched 137 innings and allowed 153 hits, 12 home runs.  He struck out 115 and walked 35.  Richy posted a 4.07 and spent most of the season in the California League.

Whitehead faced Daytona once and gave up four runs in five innings on seven hits and a walk.  He struck out two.  He is coming off consecutive good starts where he beat Brevard County and Dunedin.  Whitehead went five innings in each game and gave up one run on 11 hits and three walks while striking out six.

The Threshers will have to do without Dylan Cozens’ bat in the playoffs, but Jesse Valentin has been hitting his stride since being activated.

• 2B Jessie Valentin (.273)
• CF Carlos Tocci (.258)
• LF Andrew Pullin (.258), 14 HR, 73 RBI
• RF Aaron Brown (.257), 11 HR, 47 RBI
• 1B Rhys Hoskins (.317), 8 HR
• DH Wilians Astudillo (.314) 49 RBI
• 3B Mitch Walding (.233) 48 walks
• SS Malquin Canelo (.250)
• C Chace Numata (.263)

Reading begins their five-game series against the Binghamton Mets Wednesday.  Games one and two are on the road.  The Phils return home for games, four, and five (if necessary).  Pitching match ups are not set.

Williamsport begins their three-game series against the West Virginia Black Bears Wednesday.  Game one is on the the road.  The Crosscutters return home for games two and three (if necessary).  Pitching match ups are not set.

Lehigh Valley (63-81) lost to the Rochester Red Wings 8-1 and finished fifth in the International League North.  Seve Gonzalez struck out five in six innings and walked none.  However, he gave up four runs (3 ER) on eleven hits including 3 doubles and a home run.  Joey DeNato allowed an inherited runner to score on a wild pitch, then gave up three more in the ninth.

• The “prospects” turned in the following in their season finale:
• LF Kelly Dugan (.221) went 0-4.
• 1B Tommy Joseph (.193) went 3-4 with a run scored and 2 doubles.
• C Gabriel Lino (.215) went 1-4.

Reading (80-61) lost to the Richmond Flying Squirrels 2-1.  Nick Pivetta was removed after four pitches with a possible oblique injury (per manager Dusty Wathan).  Joely Rodriguez came in and threw five solid innings.  He gave up one run on four hits and struck out six.  Ethan Martin gave up the tie-breaking run and earned the loss.  A Cam Perkins sac fly accounted for the Phils’ only run.

• The Phils go into the playoffs with the following performances:
• Nick Williams (.320) just off the DL went 1-5 with a stolen base.
• J.P. Crawford (.265) 3-5 with a run scored and double.
• Andrew Knapp (.360) went 2-4 with a walk.
• Brock Stassi (.300) went 0-1 with 3 walks.
• Cam Perkins(.252) went 0-3 with a SF and RBI.
• Dylan Cozens (.350) went 0-4.
• Rodriguez picked a runner off first.
• Destin Hood hasn’t played since Thursday and may miss the divisional playoffs with a knee injury he suffered diving for a ball (per manager Dusty Wathan). He was reassigned to the GCL Phillies roster.

Clearwater (79-58) starts their playoff run Tuesday night in Daytona.

Lakewood (73-65) beat the Delmarva Shorebirds 12-3 and finished second for the second half in the SAL Northern Division.  They had the third best overall record in the division, fourth best in the league.  Jairo Munoz reaped the benefits of the BlueClaws 16-hit attack.  He went five innings and gave up two runs on six hits and no walks.  He struck out four.  Munoz gave up a two-out, two-run home run in the first but shut down the ‘Birds while the ‘Claws scored all twelve runs in the second through fourth innings.

• The BlueClaws turned in the following in their season finale:
• Herlis Rodriguez (.294) went 2-4 with 2 runs scored and an RBI.
• Drew Stankiewicz (.288) with a run scored, 2 doubles, a walk, and 2 RBI.
• Damek Tomscha (.282) went 1-4 with a double and 3 RBI.
• Deivi Grullon (.221) went 0-3 with a walk and 2 K.
• Kyle Martin (.279) went 2-4 with a run scored, double, walk, and RBI.
• Cord Sandberg (.255) went 1-3 with 2 runs scored, a double, and 2 walks.
• Scott Kingery (.250) DNP.
• Jiandido tromp (.216) went 3-5 with 2 runs scored, a double, HR (9), and 4 RBI.

Williamsport (46-30) lost to the State College Spikes 5-3.  Jose Taveras gave up four runs on eight hits in six innings.  Greg Brodzinski drove in two runs, Jesus Posso one.

• The Crosscutters go into the playoffs with the following performances:
• Josh Tobias (.321) went 0-4.
• Jose Pujols (.238) went 1-4 with a run scored and 3 K.
• Brendon Hayden (.291) went 0-3 with a walk.
• Mark Laird (.285) DNP.
• Zachary Coppola (.271) went 1-1 as a pinch hitter.
• Venn Biter threw out a runner at home, Pujols threw one out at second.

GCL Phillies (36-24) Season completed.  Finished in second place, four games back.

DSL Phillies (40-32) Season completed.  Finished tied for second place, three games back.

VSL Phillies (30-40) Season completed.  Finished tied for third in a four team league.

Here’s the affiliated scoreboard from MiLB.

Extra Innings –

• Reading Fightin Phils activated OF Nick Williams from the 7-day disabled list.
• Destin Hood assigned to GCL Phillies from Reading Fightin Phils.
• RHP David Buchanan, RHP Nefi Ogando, and LHP Ken Roberts will be called up to the Phillies before tomorrow’s game against Atlanta.
• The Phillies are going to institute a 6-man rotation for the remainder of the season.

Look! They did it again!  The Clearwater Threshers won the second half FSL North Division with their 2-1 win on the last day of the season.  They duplicated their first half performance when they won they clinched on the last day of that half.  The Threshers, who had a distressingly poor record in 2014, rebounded with the best overall record in the entire Florida State League.   More on the Threshers below the fold.   Continue reading Box Score Recap – 9/6/2015 →

Three wins by Reading, Clearwater, and Lakewood.  Two losses, one a blowout and the other a walk-off.  The pitching staffs for the three winning teams issued just one walk, and Williamsport’s starter issued one walk in six innings.  David Whitehead pitched well for the second start in a row,  Rhys Hoskins put on a singles clinic, and Aaron Brown drove in three runs.  More on the game below the fold.   Continue reading Box Score Recap – 9/5/2015 →

Five more close games.  A 4-1 win and a 4-1 loss, a 2-0 victory, and two one-run losses.  The Clearwater loss was a little exasperating, but exciting nonetheless.  They are frustrating to watch when they go into an offensive lull for extended periods, but frustrating to play against because they never give up.  They rallied in the bottom of the ninth and eleventh innings to extend the game, and were threatening again in the thirteenth before succumbing to the other team.  More on the game below the fold.   Continue reading Box Score Recap – 9/4/2015 →

All five affiliates were involved in close games last night – four one-run games and one two-run game, that resulted in three wins and two losses.  The Clearwater win was much closer than it had to be thanks to a three-run ninth inning surrendered by their closer, Ulises Joaquin.  The tying and winning runs were on base before he was able to record the final out of the game.  Way more excitement than I needed.  More on the game below the fold. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 9/3/2015 →

All four affiliates in action lost last night.  Looks like Jello was the order of the day as several pitchers turned in shaky outings.

Lehigh Valley (62-77) lost to the Pawtucket Red Sox 6-5.  Seve Gonzalez gave up four runs in five innings on eight hits and two walks.  Dustin McGowan walked in the go ahead run in the eighth inning.  The IronPigs had fought back to tie the game in the top of the eighth on Tommy Joseph’s home run.  Bogusevic, Canzler, Moore, and Pastornicky had 2 hits each. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 9/2/2015 →

Clearwater (77-57) split a double header with the Daytona Tortugas, winning 3-2 and losing 3-0.  Victor Arano and Matt Imhof got the starts.  Ricardo Pinto was pushed back to Thursday in Dunedin.  That could make him available for game two in the first round of the playoffs.

Game one went eight innings.  Arano started and pitched out of minor jams in the second and third before wriggling out of a lead off triple in the fourth.  The Tortugas finally got to him with a game-tying, two-run home run in the fifth.  Alberto Tirado pitched around two walks in two hitless innings.  Jesen Therrien picked up his third save with two strike outs in a perfect eighth.  The Threshers missed a bigger inning when they scored a run on a bases loaded double play in the first.  Rhys Hoskins provided a two-run lead with a solo home run (8) in the fourth.  Malquin Canelo provided the game winner on a solo home run (2) in the eighth. Continue reading Box Score Recap – 9/1/2015 →

Lehigh Valley (62-75) beat the Syracuse Chiefs 8-3.  Anthony Vasquez gave up three runs in six innings.  Chris Leroux struck out two in two, no-hit innings.  Nefi Ogando struck out two in one inning.   Continue reading Box Score Recap – 8/31/2015 →

Lehigh Valley (61-75) held the Syracuse Chiefs to two hits and won 3-1.  Sean O’Sullivan pitched six innings of one-hit ball.  He gave up one run, walked five, and struck out eight. Colton Murray Murray struck out three in two, no-hit innings.  Dustin McGowan allowed one hit and picked up his 14th save.   Continue reading Box Score Recap – 8/30/2015 →