Heading to the playoffs as division winners for the first time since 2001, the Reading Fightin' Phils begin the chase for an Eastern League Championship tonight on the road as they visit the defending champion Binghamton Mets for game one of the Eastern League Divisional Series.
The Fightin' Phils and the B-Mets have played seven games against each other this season, with Reading taking four out of the seven. Reading clinched the Eastern Division with a 2-1 victory over Binghamton on September 3rd.
Tonight begins the first round, best-of-five series, with the winner advancing to the Eastern League Championship Series against either Altoona or Bowie. First pitch is slated for 6:35pm on AM 1240, FM 98.5 or online at Fightins.com.
Starting Pitching Match-up:
| Reading Fightin' Phils (80-61) | Binghamton Mets (77-64) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RHP | Zach Eflin | RHP | Tyler Pill | ||
| 8-6, 3.69 ERA | 6-0, 2.08 ERA | ||||
Starting for Reading will be Phillies 8th ranked prospect, Zach Eflin. Eflin, 21, came to the Phillies organization in the Jimmy Rollins trade and has been a solid performer all season in the Reading rotation. He has struggled recently though, going 3-2 with a 5.04 ERA in his last 10 starts. Eflin's fastball velocity has gone up over the past few weeks, but it normally hangs in the low to mid 90's. His best pitch is his changeup while his third pitch, the breaking ball, can be thrown for strikes, but not as consistently as the fastball and change. Eflin's last start came against Richmond on September 4th. He didn't factor into the decision, allowing four runs in six innings of work. Over his last two starts, he's allowed nine runs in 11 innings.
The B-Mets will send Tyler Pill to the mound. Pill's last start came against Reading, where he earned the win after hurling seven innings of two-run ball. Pill has seen time in both Double-A and Triple-A this season, with most of his success coming with Binghamton, holding opposing hitters to a .200 average compared to .326 in Triple-A. His numbers with Triple-A Las Vegas are 2-7 with a 7.45 ERA. Combined this season, he's 8-7 with an ERA of 5.87. First baseman Brock Stassi is 1-for-3 against Pill this season with a home run and two RBI's while J.P. Crawford and Angelo Mora each have RBI's against him.
Starting Lineups:
| Reading Fightin' Phils (80-61) | Binghamton Mets (77-64) | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Player | Bats | Position | Player | Bats | ||
| 1 | CF | Nick Williams | L | 1 | 2B | L.J. Mazzilli | R |
| 2 | SS | J.P. Crawford | L | 2 | SS | T.J. Rivera | R |
| 3 | C | Andrew Knapp | S |
3 |
3B | Josh Rodriguez | R |
| 4 | 1B | Brock Stassi | L | 4 | LF | Brock Peterson | R |
| 5 | LF | Cam Perkins | R | 5 | 1B | Vince Belnome | L |
| 6 | RF | Dylan Cozens | L | 6 | CF | Joe Benson | R |
| 7 | 3B | Harold Martinez | R | 7 | C | Xorge Carrillo | R |
| 8 | 2B | Angelo Mora | S | 8 | SS | Amed Rosario | R |
| 9 | P | Zach Eflin | R | 9 | P | Tyler Pill | L |
Game Notes:
- The Fightin Phils are struggling as the playoffs start, losing five of seven to begin the month of September. Meanwhile, the B-Mets are 4-3 this month.
- Binghamton comes into the playoffs with a combined staff ERA of 3.46 while Reading's sits at 3.84, good for 4th and 9th respectively in the Eastern League.
- Reading finished the season second in the Eastern League in average (.269) while Binghamton came in fifth (.256).
- Reading heads into postseason play leading the Eastern League in runs scored (665), doubles (273) home runs (101), RBI's (616), walks (468), on-base percentage (.338), slugging percentage (.407) and OPS (.744). They were second in triples with 42.
- The Reading Fightin' Phils finished in second place in league attendance with an average of 6,044 fans per game. Binghamton came in last in the 12 team league, drawing an average of 2,766 fans per game.
- In the 10 games prior to the playoffs, Phillies top prospect J.P. Crawford is hitting .268 (11-for-41) with five runs scored and three RBI's. He went 3-for-5 with a run scored in Reading's season finale in Richmond on Labor Day.
Broadcast Information:
Gametime: 6:35pm EST
Location: NYSEG Stadium, Binghamton, New York
Weather: 78 degrees, Mostly Cloudy, 15 % Chance of Rain
TV: MiLB TV
Radio: AM 1240, FM 98.5, Fightins.com.
Brandon Apter, Publishing Editor for Philliedelphia.com
