Tonight in Reading, the Phillies Double-A affiliate will kick off the Eastern League Championship Series against the Bowie Baysox, Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. The Fightin Phils swept defending champion Binghamton, 3-0, to get to the title series while the Baysox took care of Altoona (Double-A Pirates) in four games to punch their ticket to their first championship series in franchise history.
Reading is looking for their first outright Eastern League title since 1995, when they beat the New Haven Ravens, 3-2, to earn that championship. In 2001, they made it to the final round, but ended up being named co-champions with New Britain. The series was cancelled due to the September 11th terrorist attacks.
The Fightin Phils were washed out for a game in their series against Binghamton, so their pitching rotation will shift a hair as they head into the championship series. This season, Reading went 5-2 against the Baysox. Tonight's game is scheduled for 7:05pm.
Taking the mound in game one will be Zach Eflin. After posting an 8-6 record to go along with an ERA of 3.69 during the regular season, Eflin's strong performance helped Reading to their game one win in Binghamton last week. He allowed two runs in seven innings of work, striking out four and walking one. Eflin didn't fare too well against Bowie in his two starts against them this season. The right-hander surrendered nine runs in 9 1/3 innings, striking out four.
In game two, Fightin Phils manager Dusty Wathan will go with Ethan Martin. Martin, 26, has battles injuries through his career, keeping him from being good at the big league level. Martin, 2-5 with a 5.93 ERA in the majors, has been an effective starter for Reading down the stretch. He's 3-1 with a 3.14 ERA in 21 games, five of which have been starts. In those five starts, he's 1-0 with a 1.82 ERA (5 ER in 24.2 IP). Martin has appeared in three games against the Baysox this season, one start. In his start back on July 21st, he allowed four runs over five innings. In two relief appearances at the end of August, Martin tossed four shutout innings, striking out three.
Phillies top pitching prospect Jake Thompson gets the game three start after pitching a three-hit shutout against Binghamton on Saturday night. The right-hander struck out eight and walked one. Right now, the Phillies look to have gotten a heck of a return for Cole Hamels, with Thompson pitching extremely well since the trade and outfielder Nick Williams fitting in nicely at the top of the order for Reading, blasting two postseason home runs already. Thompson went 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA in seven starts with the Fightin Phils and holds a combined 11-7 record to go along with a 3.73 ERA between the Phillies and Rangers organizations.
Meanwhile, the Baysox will counter with Joe Gunkel, Nick Addition and Chris Lee to start the series. Gunkel, 23, was an 18th round pick of the Red Sox in 2013. Acquired by Baltimore in June, Gunkel thrives on the command of his two-seam fastball and is a ground ball pitcher by nature. Addition, 27, was a 46th round pick of the Cardinals in 2006. He is a fly ball pitcher who has a lot of pitches in his arsenal but rarely hits 90 with his fastball. Lee, 23, was a fourth round pick of the Astros from 2011. Like Gunkel, the hard-throwing left-hander is a ground ball pitcher, but his fastball can reach the upper 90s.
