With the Ironpigs, GCL Phillies and Class 'A' Lakewood officially out of the playoff picture in the Phillies minor leagues, the focus remains on Advanced 'A' Clearwater, Short Season Williamsport and most notably, Double-A Reading. Clearwater won their first half title, Williamsport won the Pinckney Division of the New-York Penn League on Monday night for the first time in 14 years and Reading secured themselves a spot in the postseason with a 6-2 win over Binghamton, Double-A affiliate of the New York Mets. Reading heads to the playoffs for the first time since 2012.
Monday night's game featured a pitching matchup between rehabbing Mets starter Steven Matz and Phillies top prospect, Jake Thompson. The B-Mets got on the board first courtesy of a Brock Peterson RBI-single and a sacrifice fly off the bat of Joe Benson to make it a 2-0 lead in the fourth.
The Fightin Phils got to the Mets bullpen in the seventh. After Destin Hood drew a lead-off walk, Dylan Cozens and Angelo Mora hit back-to-back singles to load the bases. Brodie Greene followed with an RBI-single to plate Hood to cut the lead in half, 2-1. Harold Martinez came in to pinch hit and reached on a fielders choice. With the bases still loaded, KC Serna tied things at two before Phillies number one prospect J.P. Crawford hit the go-ahead two-run double to give Reading a 4-2 advantage.
Reading tacked on two more runs in the eighth. Destin Hood singled with one down and Dylan Cozens belted his second home run since joining Double-A Reading late last week to make it a 6-2 game. Ryan O'Sullivan induced three ground outs in the bottom of the ninth to seal the win and clinch a playoff berth for Reading.
Starter Jake Thompson (4-1, 2.08) continued his strong pitching with Reading, allowing two runs in seven innings of work, striking out four. O'Sullivan hurled the final two frames, not allowing a hit. Top prospect J.P. Crawford had the big go-ahead hit in the seventh. He went 2-for-4 with two doubles and two RBI's on the night. Dylan Cozens, hitting .467 (7-for-15) in his short time in Double-A thus far, also had two hits, including the two-run homer to provide insurance in the eighth. Center fielder Destin Hood walked twice and scored two runs on the night. Mets starter Steven Matz retired 15 of the 18 batters he faced, giving up just one hit.
Crossscutters secure division with 12-2 win
Short Season Class 'A' Williamsport (44-25) beat Auburn 12-2 on Monday. That win paired with a loss by West Virginia sent the Cutters to the playoffs for the first time since 2005. It's also the first time they've won their division in 14 years, since 2001. Carlos Duran went 4-for-5 with three RBI's while Jan Hernandez contributed with three hits and four RBI's as well. Starter Luis Morales tossed five innings and gave up just two runs.
