Phillies Prospect Watch: Double-A Reading Heads to Eastern League Championship

Phillies affiliates went 1-1 on Thursday, Sept. 17, with Double-A Reading qualifying for the Eastern League Championship series. The Fightin Phils won 5-4 behind a home run from shortstop Bryan Rincon (1-for-3 with two walks) and a series of Hartford miscues, including two runs that crossed via wild pitch.

Third baseman Aidan Miller (1-for-2 with three walks and two steals) and left fielder Pedro León (1-for-2 with two walks) both singled in runs in the late innings, giving the Fightin Phils the insurance they needed to close out the win.

Starter Cody Bowker fanned six batters in four innings, allowing a pair of runs, and Carson DeMartini went 3-for-4 with a double. Mavis Graves and Wen-Hui Pan helped Reading cross the finish line, recording four and three outs, respectively; Pan struck out two batters on 14 pitches.

The Fightin Phils will begin their best of three championship series on the road against the Erie Sea Wolves at 5:05 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 20.

Triple-A Lehigh Valley, meanwhile, lost a 9-8 slugfest. Kameron Misner and Gabriel Rincones Jr. both homered; Keaton Anthony and Otto Kemp (2-for-4 with a double) were two of five IronPigs to reach base at least three times.