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).

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, and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to his YouTube page, or subscribe to his Street Knowledge podcast. Email Chris at [email protected].