September 17, 2015
The Reading Fightin Phils played their final game of the season on Wednesday at FirstEnergy Stadium, and they left their home ballpark on a sour note. Ethan Martin was wild and ineffective (2 1/3 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 5 BB), and the Bowie Baysox knotted the Eastern League Championship Series at a game apiece.
The best-of-five series will now move to Maryland for the final three games, so if the 2017 Philadelphia Phillies want to win a title, they will have to do it on the road. Here are the deets:
| Date | Location | Result | Series | |
| Game 1 | Tuesday | Reading | 3-1, Reading | 1-0 Reading |
| Game 2 | Wednesday | Reading | 10-3, Bowie | 1-1 Tied |
| Game 3 | Today | Bowie | ||
| Game 4 | Tomorrow | Bowie | ||
| Game 5 | Saturday | Bowie |
CSN Philly’s John Finger was in Reading last night, and he writes that the Fightin Phils are still feeling confident. Why? The man who takes the ball tonight has a pretty solid pedigree:
“Jake Thompson tomorrow is a pretty good way to bounce back,” Reading manager Dusty Wathan said. “The way you bounce back and momentum and all that stuff is the next day’s starting pitcher. This is one of the reasons why — with the extra day of rest — why we wanted Thompson to pitch tomorrow. We feel pretty confident.”
Thompson, the second-ranked prospect in the system according to MLB Pipeline, is fresh off a three-hit shutout in the previous series. Since coming over in the Cole Hamels trade, the righthander has been excellent with a 1.50 ERA. The 21-year-old probably enjoyed getting out of that hittin’ weather in Texas.
J.P. Crawford had two hits last night, including a double. Andrew Knapp, homered, because of course he did. Even if Knapp isn’t a top-tier prospect, that guy has absolutely raked since joining Reading. Nick Williams took an 0-for-5 last night, but the has impressed both at the plate and in the field:
It's a bird...it's a plane...it's @NickWilliams409 making a MUST-SEE catch in last night's ELCS Game One. pic.twitter.com/v6l8hV9Aa8
— Reading Fightins (@ReadingFightins) September 16, 2015
What I’m getting at here is that even though the Phillies are likely headed for the worst record in baseball, they have some things going for them moving forward. This Jim Salisbury piece from a few weeks ago hit all the right notes. When looking through the lens of how they Phillies are set up long-term, their last 12 months have been productive.
Sure, it stinks that a minor-league team is playing the only “meaningful” baseball in the Phillies system right now. But the Phillies look like they’re on the way to correcting that, much more than they were a year ago.
Follow Rich on Twitter: @rich_hofmann
