Game Recaps: Thursday 6/4

Akron scored four runs in the first three innings but managed just three hits over the final six frames, and the Reading Phillies came from behind to post a 7-4 win before 3,520 fans at FirstEnergy Stadium Thursday night. Reading moved to 30-22 and tied Erie for second place in the Southern Division, with both clubs just three games behind the Aeros (33-19), who have now lost 10 of their last 14 contests.

Phillies starter Joe Savery was wild at the start, as Jose Constanza and Cristo Arnal took his first 11 pitches en route to drawing consecutive walks to open the game. Beau Mills popped out, but the Aeros pulled off a beautiful double-steal and Carlos Santana followed with an RBI groundout to plate Constanza and make it 1-0. Jared Goedert then provided the big blow of the inning, a two-run jack to left-center to give the Aeros a 3-0 cushion.

Reading got two of the runs right back in the bottom of the first though, as Michael Taylor’s infield single kept the inning alive and Kevin Mahar then won a long battle with Aeros starter Hector Rondon and parked a two-run shot of his own into left-center to cut the lead to 3-2. The Phillies tied it in the second on an RBI double from Tuffy Gosewisch, but Akron responded in the top of the third as Santana’s sac fly to center made it 4-3. The inning was set up by Constanza and Arnal once again as both men singled to open the frame, and Beau Mills then put down the first sacrifice bunt of his career (spanning 928 at-bats) to move them up for Santana.

That would be the extent of the scoring for Akron however, and Reading took the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. Michael Spidale and Paul Bako delivered back-to-back singles with one away, and at that point Rondon departed with right biceps soreness. He is listed as day-to-day. Carlton Smith came on in relief but surrendered an RBI double to Gosewisch (on which right fielder Jerad Head lost his footing) and an RBI groundout to Ozzie Chavez to make it 5-4 in favor of the Phillies. Reading then tacked on insurance runs in the seventh and eighth to account for the final margin.

Savery (6-1) earned his third straight win by allowing four runs and five hits in six innings. Rondon (6-4) went just 3.1 innings in his shortest start of the year, and was charged with five runs and six hits. He did not allow a walk, and he struck out six. Jason Anderson recorded the final three outs for his first save. Goedert finished 2-4 with his third home run of the season, while Santana’s two RBI pushed his team-leading total to 37 on the year.