Home Reading rallies with four in the eighth to knock off Richmond, 5-3
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Reading rallies with four in the eighth to knock off Richmond, 5-3

Chris Graham

richmond flying squirrels The Richmond Flying Squirrels let a late lead slip away, allowing four runs in the eighth inning, in a 5-3 loss to the Reading Fightin Phils on Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The Flying Squirrels (35-37, 2-1), the Double-A affiliate of the San Francisco Giants, lost their first game against the Fightin Phils (29-42, 1-2), the Double-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies, this season and saw their season-long six-game win streak end.

Wade Meckler led off the ballgame with a base hit and Marco Luciano drove him home with an RBI double to center field, pushing the Flying Squirrels to a 1-0 lead in the first.

In the top of the fourth, Logan Wyatt extended the Richmond advantage to 2-0 with an RBI single against Reading starter Griff McGarry.

Matthew Kroon broke the shutout in the fifth inning with an RBI double to move the score to 2-1. It was the only run Juan Sanchez allowed over 1.2 innings.

Wyatt led off the seventh with a solo home run to pad the Flying Squirrels’ advantage to 3-1. Wyatt has homered in back-to-back games against the Fightin Phils and has stacked six RBIs on the road trip.

The Flying Squirrels went hitless against Brett Schulze (Win, 4-5) in the top of the seventh and the eighth innings.

Reading responded with a four-run bottom of the eighth inning to capture a 5-3 lead. Oliver Dunn cut the deficit to one run with an RBI single and Nick Podkul rocketed a three-run homer against Richmond reliever Nick Zwack (Loss, 4-5).

Reading reliever Tyler McKay (Save, 4) allowed a leadoff single to lead off the ninth but worked a double play and a flyout to secure the Reading victory.

Richmond starter Landen Roupp tied a season high with seven strikeouts over 3.1 hitless innings against the Fightin Phils.

The Flying Squirrels continue the series against the Fightin Phils Saturday night with first pitch set for 6:45 p.m. Right-hander Mason Black (0-4, 4.00) will make the start for Richmond opposed by Reading left-hander David Parkinson (2-3, 5.57).

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Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the founder and editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination, a memoir published in 2019. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, TikTok, BlueSky, or subscribe to Substack or his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].