The season is winding down in the minor leagues and plenty of the Phillies minor league clubs are fighting for a spot in the playoffs, with Advanced 'A' Clearwater having already clinched. With a farm system filled with new prospects along with home grown talent, this year in the Phillies organization, fans have been treated to quite a treat, especially in Double-A Reading. Last night, they kept rolling while Advanced 'A' Clearwater swept a doubleheader against Brevard County. Here's a rundown of Friday's action…
Triple-A: Severino Gonzalez hit hard in Ironpigs (60-74) loss to Scranton Wilkes-Barre (75-59)
With Alec Asher slated to start for the Phillies on Sunday, his start on Friday night in Lehigh Valley was scratched. Going in his place was Severino Gonzalez (2-6, 5.03), who continued to struggle in Triple-A. In just 3 1/3 innings, he surrendered seven runs on 12 hits in the Ironpigs 7-2 loss. Seth Rosin, Colton Murray and Dustin McGowan finished off the game with a combined 4 2/3 shutout innings. Erik Kratz highlighted Lehigh Valley's offense, going 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored and two doubles. David Buchanan (4-1, 3.24) starts tonight for the Ironpigs.
Double-A: Despite losing Nick Williams, Reading (76-55) tallies 16 hits in victory over Bowie (74-57)
In what could be a preview of the Eastern League Championship Series, the Fightin' Phils cut their magic number to three after a 9-4 win over the Baysox. Reading has lost outfielders Roman Quinn, Nick Williams and Cam Perkins to injury, but their offense keeps finding ways to produce. The top four guys in the lineup each had two hits a piece, with center fielder KC Serna driving in two runs. Making his Double-A debut, Dylan Cozens blasted a three-run homer in the eighth inning to blow the game open. Top prospect J.P. Crawford went 2-for-4 with a run scored, a walk and a strikeout. Starter Joely Rodriguez didn't factor into the decision after tossing 4 2/3 innings. He gave up four runs. Right-hander Reinier Roibal earned the win, hurling 2 1/3 shutout innings, allowing just one hit while striking out five. The Fightin Phils continue their series with Bowie tonight. Nick Pivetta (2-3, 6.31) gets the call for Reading.
Advanced 'A': Threshers (38-23/75-56) sweep doubleheader against Brevard County (25-34/54-74) behind strong pitching performances
Phillies pitching prospect Ricardo Pinto (8-2, 2.45) returned to the mound for the first time since August 17th during yesterday's doubleheader in game one. Ranked by MLB.com as the Phillies 12th best prospect, Pinto allowed just one run on four hits in five innings of the seven-inning contest. Left fielder Andrew Pullin laced a go-ahead two-RBI double in the fifth with Clearwater trailing 1-0. They'd win game one, 2-1. In game two, the Threshers were led by another strong pitching performance, this time from starter David Whitehead (8-11, 4.55). He scattered five hits over five innings, striking out two and walking three in the 7-0 shutout win. First baseman Rhys Hoskins led the offense with a 3-for-4 day at the plate with a double and two runs scored. Aaron Brown's 11th home run of the season in the seventh inning made it a 7-0 game. Brown, the Phillies 2014 third round pick, is hitting .382 (13-for-34) over his last 10 games. Mark Leiter (6-1, 2.04) will start tonight.
Class 'A': Starter Will Morris dazzles for Lakewood (33-27/66-62) in win over Hagerstown (29-31/64-64)
It seems like pitching is the big headline across the board for the Phillies minor league clubs and Class 'A' Lakewood is no different. A 24th round pick from the 2013 draft, Will Morris (6-0, 1.41) spun seven dominant frames in yesterday's 4-1 Blueclaws win, allowing an unearned run and striking out f0ur. Closer Matt Hockenberry earned his 16th save of the season as well. Herlis Rodriguez, Cord Sandberg and Emmanuel Marrero each contributed with RBI's in the victory. Tonight, Tyler Viza (4-9, 3.38) gets the call for Lakewood. He hasn't earned a win over his last 10 starts, losing seven decisions despite posting a solid ERA of 3.09.
Short Season 'A': Crosscutters (42-24) shutout in Batavia (27-38)
Despite tallying nine hits, the Crosscutters went 1-for-9 with runners in scoring position and losing by a score of 6-0. Starter Alejandro Arteaga (4-2, 3.07) took the loss and allowed five runs in 5 2/3 innings on the mound. Josh Tobias raised his average to .319 on the season after going 2-for-5 at the plate.
Rookie League: GCL Phillies (35-24) fall to GCL Blue Jays (39-18)
Jorge Alfaro continued to rehab from his ankle injury, going 1-for-1 with a double and an RBI in the Phillies 5-0 shutout win.
