Portland dropped to 2-2 on its six-game road trip.
Marco Hernandez led the offensive charge for Portland, going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBIs. Reading’s Cam Perkins homered and drove in three runs.
Both teams scored single runs in the first inning. Hernandez led off the game with a homer to center, his fifth of the season. Reading responded with a two-out RBI single from Andrew Knapp.
Reading took a 2-1 lead in the second, scoring its second two-out run. Harold Martinez led off with a single and scored on a single by J.P. Crawford. Perkins gave the Phils a 4-1 lead in the third, blasting a two-run homer to left off Sea Dogs starting pitcher Mike Augliera. The homer was the first for Reading in July.
Manuel Margot extended his hitting streak to six games with a two-out RBI single in the fourth, scoring Keury De La Cruz, and cutting Reading’s lead to 4-2. But, the Phils responded in their half of the fourth, receiving a two-run single by Brock Stassi.
Hernandez’s hot hitting continued, picking up his third of the game in the fifth, a single, driving home Tim Roberson. Once again, Reading responded, courtesy of Brian Pointer’s two-out RBI double.
The Sea Dogs cut the lead to 7-5 in the sixth inning off Hoby Milner. Jantzen Witte led off with a double and scored on Sam Travis’ triple. Following a walk, Margot forced in a run with a fielder’s choice. Portland added a run in the eighth on David Chester’s sacrifice fly, but Perkins executed a perfect squeeze bunt in the eighth for the game’s final run.
The series continues tonight at 7:05 p.m.
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