The Reading Fightin Phils and Bowie Baysox began the 2015 Eastern League Championship series on Tuesday at FirstEnergy Stadium in Reading. The Fightin Phils haven't won a championship since 2001, when they were declared co-champions with New Britain due to the September 11th terrorist attacks. They haven't won an outright title since 1995. Meanwhile, the Baysox, Double-A affiliate of the Orioles, are making their first trip to the championship series in franchise history.
In game one, a strong pitching performance from Zach Eflin combined with home runs from both Brock Stassi and Art Charles, gave Reading a 3-1 win to take the early lead in the series.
Taking the mound for Reading was Phillies top prospect Zach Eflin. After allowing just two runs against the Binghamton Mets in game one of the division series, Eflin followed it up with another gem. He scattered five hits over six innings and struck out five. He left the game in the seventh after taking a liner off of his leg, but according to Eflin, his exit was more of a pitch-count issue. He's allowed just two runs in 13 innings this postseason.
"I just felt confident in all the pitches I was throwing," he said. "I was able to command all four pitches for strikes. I fell behind some hitters, but I really stressed getting ahead of guys. I was able to command my offspeed when I was behind in counts." [MiLB.com]
The Fightin Phils got on the board in the fourth courtesy of a solo home run off the bat of Eastern League MVP Brock Stassi. The 26-year-old first baseman blasted the homer into the pool in right field at FirstEnergy Stadium.
In the seventh, Art Charles led the inning off with a solo home run to right field.
Angelo Mora followed with a double to center. He moved to third on a bunt single from Nick Williams. After a J.P. Crawford walk, Andrew Knapp plated Mora with a sacrifice fly to center field to make it a 3-0 game.
A Jimmy Cordero wild pitch allowed Bowie to score one run in the ninth, but he struck out Drew Dosch to end the game. Edubray Ramos hurled a scoreless seventh for Reading, striking out two. Cordero earned the save, pitching the final two innings, allowing a run while walking two and striking out four.
Offensively, Brock Stassi and Art Charles provided the big blasts, but Nick Williams and Cam Perkins went 2-for-4 while Angelo Mora went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored.
The play of the day, though, came in the fifth with two outs and a runner on second. Bowie second baseman Corban Joseph hit a line drive to center field and Nick Williams robbed him of extra bases with a spectacular diving catch to save a run.
"In the fifth, Nick Williams made a great play in center field," Eflin said. "Dove and threw everything out there and there was a runner [Ozzie Martinez] on second base. I got to say that really saved the game. I really believe it's a different game if that runner scored." [MiLB.com]
Reading and Bowie continue their series tonight at FirstEnergy Stadium. First pitch is slated for 7:05pm. Ethan Martin will take the mound for Reading. He'll oppose Baysox left-hander Nick Addition, who threw six shutout frames against Altoona in the western side of the divisional series on September 10th.
