R-Phils, Pigs coming on strong down the stretch

In Reading, Leandro Castro (.284) his his 10th home run of the year, and Darin Ruf (.314) drove in his 94th run of the season in a 2-1 win over Erie.  Austin Hyatt recorded his 7th win with 5 good innings (1 run, 5 hits, 1 walk, 4 Ks) and Tyler Knigge picked up his 5th hold with 1.2 scoreless innings of relief.  The R-Phils have solidified their playoff standing, now ahead of reeling New Britain by 3 games, and are just 4 back of first place Trenton, who dropped a 4-3 decision to Akron.

In Allentown, Derrick Mitchell had a single and his 7th home run of the year, driving in 4 runs in the IronPigs' 9-5 win over the first place Yankees.  Cody Overbeck had 2 hits and a walk, and knocked in 3, and Steve Susdorf picked up 2 hits, 2 walks, and scored 3 times.  Mario Hollands started and went 4 innings, giving up 4 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6, and Jake Diekman and Justin De Fratus each threw an inning.  Diekman's ERA in a stellar 0.73 for Lehigh Valley.  The Pigs remain a half game ahead of Pawtucket for the wild card with 8 games left.

In Lakewood, Hoby Milner (2.86) threw 6 shut out innings (2 hits, 2 walks, 6 Ks), and Willie Carmona and Gabriel Lino each homered for the Claws in their 4-0 win over Kannapolis.  Tim Carver and Alejandro Villalobos each had 2 hits for Lakewood.

The Clearwater Threshers dropped a 2-1 game in Brevard County, and slipped to 2 games out in a wild, 4-team race in their division. Zack Collier (.267) and Carlos Alonso (.273) had 2 hits each for Clearwater.  Austin Wright (10-5) was the hard luck loser, going 5.1 innings and giving up 2 runs on 5 hits and 3 walks, striking out 7.  Mike Nesseth finished up with 2.2 innings (just 1 hit) of scoreless relief.


In Huntsville, the Birmingham Barons defeated the Stars, 5-4.  Darren Byrd (2.51) tossed a 1-2-3 9th inning for the Stars, striking out 2..............In Tulsa, Josh Outman continues to show improvement, throwing 7 innings and allowing just 1 run on 5 hits, and 3 walks, striking out 6 and getting no decision for the Drillers in their 2-1 win over the Naturals........In Round Rock, Jesus Sanchez (2.05) was tagged with his first AAA loss, allowing a run on 5 hits in 2 innings for Nashville, in the Sounds' 6-5 loss to the Express.