On Tuesday, both Jake Thompson and Nick Williams fared well in their debuts for Double-A Reading. While Thompson has to wait a bit until his next start on the mound, outfielder Nick Williams was back in the lead-off hole on Wednesday against Trenton and boy did he have himself a game. Chase Utley also made his second rehab start for Reading and catcher Andrew Knapp stayed on fire at the dish.
In just his second start with the Phillies organization, Williams went 4-for-4 with two home runs, a double, five runs scored, three RBI's, a steal and a walk. He's 6-for-9 during his first two games with the Reading Fightin' Phils. Williams wasn't the only guy that hit a pair of long balls in Reading's 11-1 demolishing of Trenton either. Catcher Andrew Knapp, who has been on fire since joining the Double-A club, launched two home runs as well, raising his average to .373.
Meanwhile, Chase Utley spent his second straight night with Double-A Reading. On Tuesday, he went 1-for-4 with a run scored. Tonight, he followed that up with a 3-for-4 performance at the plate, scoring a run, driving one in and also drawing a walk. After Tuesday's game, Utley said he would play with Reading tonight before heading back to Philadelphia to join the big league club on Thursday. Whether or not he'll be activated remains to be seen.
Utley said he'll be back at Citizens Bank tomorrow and consult with the Phillies, "nothing is set in stone."
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) August 6, 2015
Another notable performance from Reading's game was the pitching of Ben Lively, the prospect the Phillies received from the Reds in exchange for Marlon Byrd . The 23-year-old righty hurled six innings of one run ball, walking three and striking out four. He's 8-7 with a 3.78 ERA this season in Double-A over 21 starts, spanning 123 1/3 innings.
Minor League Notes:
- RHP Alberto Tirado made his debut for Clearwater today in the Threshers 7-0 victory over the Lakeland Tigers. He tossed two scoreless frames, walking two hitters and striking out three. Tirado came to the Phillies in the Ben Revere trade with the Blue Jays.
- Clearwater starter Ricardo Pinto lowered his ERA to 2.96 after spinning six shutout innings, scattering five hits while striking out six.
- Outfield prospect Aaron Altherr went 2-for-3 with a double, triple, three runs scored, four RBI's and two walks tonight for Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He's hitting .306 this season for the Ironpigs, who are now 51-61 on the season and have won four of their last five games to start the month of August.
