8/15/24 - 7:00 AM - We attended the Reading game in person last night so will offer an abbreviated round up this morning for last night’s action. Got to see inside the new facility - very impressive! Outstanding, top drawer training area for the club to use. Weather was great, got to chat with a few folks I haven’t seen for a bit and had a very enjoyable experience - plus the Fightin’s won!
International League ( AAA ) - Worcester 2 (20-20, 55-60) Lehigh Valley 1 (21-18, 55-57)
Polar Park, Worcester, MA
At Bat : 1 R, 8 H, 2 BB, 10 K’s
Kody Clemens had two hits (single & double). Carlos De La Cruz homered.
On The Hill : 2 R, 4 H, 6 BB, 9 K’s
Mick Abel - 5 IP, 1 unearned R, 3 H, 4 BB, 7 K’s
Dylan Covey - 1 perfect IP - 1 K
Blaine Knight - 1 IP, 0 R, 1 HB, 0 H, 0 BB, 0 K’s
Michael Rucker - 1 IP, 1 R, 1 H, 2 BB, 1 K
Eastern League ( AA ) - Reading 5 (17-24, 48-61) New Hampshire 4 (13-25, 43-63)
Reading, PA - First Energy Stadium
Summary :
Lefty Braeden Fausnaught made his Reading debut, there was a group there representing his time at West Chester University to cheer him on - got to chat with an old friend who was amongst them. We sat down the right field line in the “Rams Club” area where the home bullpen used to be - the new bullpens are located out in left center field now and just opened for use this week. Both teams have their bullpens there now as opposed to down the left and right field lines.
Braeden threw the ball very well - I describe him as a pitcher who gets late movement and is deceptive - isn’t necessarily a strikeout pitcher but will get swings and misses. He gets after hitters with mix - not afraid of contact - bulldog on the mound - will battle. That’s exactly what he did for five innings allowing just one run (first inning) on five hits, no walks and struck out five batters. Andrew Baker was first relief and hung a slider that got hit yard - big time fastball again though at 97-99 mph. Konnor Ash just gets after it - he threw two scoreless frames and seemingly could throw everyday- Konnor even warms up the left fielder with long tosses between innings 😳. Andrew Schultz closed it with a scoreless ninth albeit New Hampshire put a couple runners on - with his unique delivery and mid to upper nineties heat while also now featuring a cutter he’s pitched very well the past couple months and has assumed the closer’s role. Folks who only review box scores would see that but being there in person I was impressed with the incorporation of the cutter as a mix off the heat - he’s a big league arm - very interesting development, great young man - happy for him!
Justin Crawford had two hits, one a hard grounder to right field and the other a squibber down the third base line that the fielder had no chance of throwing him out on with Justin’s speed. He was robbed of a third hit when he smoked a line drive up the middle that the second baseman jumped and snared. The kid is the real deal, I’ve been saying that all along. Watched his defensive actions in center - the wind at Reading can play havoc with fly balls, he’s good at reads and has the speed to make up for balls that get “caught in the air”.
We’ve been to Reading before and where the new clubhouse is now out beyond center and right center field used to be a “wind tunnel” for home runs - that old tunnel is now blocked by the two story structure and the home run line is now placed up much higher to right center field. Balls still fly but not like we’ve seen there before and what would have been taters previously now clank off the high wall of the building and are in play - right fielder Gabriel Rincones Jr made a couple nice plays on caroms - runners have to be moving out of the box to get to second else they won’t get there, an interesting new dynamic to the old ball yard.
The experience at Reading to watch a game is top notch - the history is awesome and the quaintness of being close to the action is really cool. Thanks to Pitching Coach Phil Cundari for taking the time pregame to show us around a bit, to the young voice of the Fightin’s Jake Starr and team photographer George Youngs Jr for coming over to chat and to the players we got to converse with. Last night was the Oat Milks Jersey promotion that each affiliate is doing predicated by a MLB sponsorship/advertising deal. The jerseys were auctioned off before and during the game - of course we had to get a few 🤓.
On The Hill : 4 R, 11 H, 0 BB, 7 K’s
Braeden Fausnaught - 5 IP, 1 R, 5 H, 0 BB, 5 K’s - 87 pitches - 60 strikes
Andrew Baker - 1 IP, 3 R - 2 earned, 3 H, 0 BB, 0 K’s - 25 pitches - 17 strikes
Konnor Ash - 2 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 1 K - 27 pitches - 16 strikes
Andrew Schultz - 1 IP, 0 R, 2 H, 0 BB, 1 K - 22 pitches - 12 strikes
At Bat : 5 R, 7 H, 5 BB, 10 K’s
Justin Crawford and Robert Moore each had two hits (singles). Moore also walked twice. Trevor Schwecke doubled.
South Atlantic League ( High A ) - Winston-Salem 2 (23-21, 54-56) Jersey Shore 0 (20-24, 58-52)
Lakewood, NJ - Shoretown Ballpark
On The Hill : 2 R, 7 H, 3 BB, 8 K’s
Freddy Tarnok (rehab assignment) - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K - 11 pitches - 9 strikes
Estibenzon Jimenez - 4 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 0 BB, 2 K’s - 48 pitches - 29 strikes 👀
Chuck King - 1 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 1 BB, 0 K’s - 28 pitches - 18 strikes
Wen Hui Pan - 2 IP, 1 R, 3 H, 0 BB, 2 K’s - 34 pitches - 21 strikes
Jaydenn Estanista - 1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 2 BB, 3 K’s - 28 pitches - 15 strikes
At Bat : 0 R, 5 H, 1 BB, 12 K’s
Hendry Mendez doubled.
Florida State League ( Low A ) - Tampa 8 (20-21, 44-63) Clearwater 7 (12-30, 55-53)
Clearwater, FL - BayCare BallPark
On The Hill : 8 R, 14 H, 8 BB, 11 K’s
Enrique Segura - 4.1 IP, 5 R, 9 H, 4 BB, 5 K’s - 88 pitches - 53 strikes
Jake Eddington - 2 IP, 3 R - 2 earned, 4 H, 1 BB, 3 K’s - 50 pitches - 30 strikes
Drew Garrett - 1.1 IP, 0 R, 1 H, 3 BB, 2 K’s - 31 pitches - 11 strikes
Jonh Henriquez - 1.1 IP, 0 R, 0 H, 0 BB, 1 K - 19 pitches - 13 strikes
At Bat : 7 R, 8 H, 6 BB, 6 K’s
Devin Saltiban (double & HR (15th of year)) and Joel Dragoo (pro debut - two singles) each had two hits. Dante Nori tripled. Starlyn Caba singled, walked twice, stole a base, had two RBIs and scored a run.
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
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