The Richmond Flying Squirrels brought the potential tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, but fell, 5-2, to the Reading Fightin Phils on Sunday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
The loss extended Richmond’s (18-35) losing streak to three games and marked the third straight game the Flying Squirrels have lost with the potential tying run either on base or at home plate.
Reading (31-21) plated two runs in the first inning against right-hander Brandon Lawson (Loss, 1-2). After Darick Hall doubled with two outs, Austin Lisiti and Josh Stephen hit back-to-back singles to give the Fightin Phils a 2-0 lead.
The Flying Squirrels cut the deficit in half in the third against left-hander JoJo Romero. With two outs, Brandon Van Horn singled and Jacob Heyward smacked an RBI double to make it a 2-1 game.
The Fightin Phils got the run back in the bottom of the third when Henri Lartigue hit a bases-loaded popup to shallow right field that resulted in a sacrifice fly.
Richmond pulled closer in the fifth. Matt Winn singled, moved to second on a passed ball and advanced to third on a balk before scoring on a double from Van Horn. After allowing the double, Romero was ejected by home plate umpire Aaron Higgins. He was replaced by left-hander Jeff Singler (Win, 3-0), who struck out Heyward to end the inning.
Lawson completed five innings for the fifth time in his last six starts and allowed three earned runs or less in his eighth consecutive start.
Right-hander Connor Overton entered in relief in the sixth, but allowed a solo home run to Stephen on his first pitch of the afternoon. Overton yielded a two-out run in the seventh when Lartigue singled through the right side to bring in Hall, making it 5-2, Reading.
Johneshwy Fargas stole his 15th base of the season in the seventh to claim the Eastern League lead in steals. He has stolen four bases across the first four games of the series with the Fightin Phils.
Will Maddox and Winn drew back-to-back walks against left-hander Jakob Hernandez (Save, 1) in the ninth, bringing the potential tying run to the plate with nobody out. However, Hernandez retired Fargas, Van Horn and Heyward in order to end the game.
The Flying Squirrels finish their series against the Reading Fightin Phils on Monday at FirstEnergy Stadium, when left-hander Caleb Baragar (1-0, 2.31 ERA) is scheduled to face left-hander David Parkinson (5-2, 3.02 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 9:45 a.m., and coverage begins with the Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup at 9:15 on Sports Radio 910 the Fan and 105.1 FM.
Tickets are on sale now for the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Week presented by Genworth. The All-Star Week festivities begin on Sunday, July 7 with Mayor Levar Stoney’s All-Star Week Kickoff on Brown’s Island, followed by the All-Star Country Music Jam on Monday, July 8, headlined by Big & Rich with special guests Cowboy Troy and DJ Sinister at Virginia Credit Union LIVE! at Richmond Raceway. The Celebrity Home Run Derby is Tuesday, July 9 and the festivities wrap up with the 2019 Eastern League All-Star Game on Wednesday, July 10.
For tickets or more information, call 804-359-3866 (FUNN), visit SquirrelsBaseball.com/Tickets or stop by the Flying Squirrels box office.
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