The Reading Fightin Phils fell to the Portland Sea Dogs 14-6 on Friday night at FirstEnergy Stadium in the first game of their season opening series.
The Fightin Phils were off to a hot start in the bottom of the first inning when Trent Farquhar scored after a fielding error by Portland’s Mikey Romero. Caleb Ricketts followed with an RBI single putting the Fightin Phils up 2-0.
The Sea Dogs responded in the top of the second inning with a run scored by Mikey Romero, making it 2-1.
The Fightin Phils tacked three runs on in the bottom of the fifth inning. Aidan Miller stepped up and hit his first Double-A home run. His homer was followed by a double from Leandro Pineda who then scored off an RBI single from Hendry Mendez. Finally, Ricketts grounded a force out to score Keaton Anthony putting the Fightin Phils up 5-1.
In the top of the sixth inning, Jhostynxon Garcia of the Sea Dogs singled and, after multiple walks, scored on an RBI single from Max Ferguson. Another walk due to a hit batter scored Blaze Jordan. Corey Rosier then hit a grand slam to right field. Back-to-back home runs occurred when Romero stepped up after Rosier, giving the Sea Dogs a lead of 8-5.
The Fightin Phils were unable to respond once they took over at the bottom of the sixth. Portland quickly found themselves with the bases loaded early into the top of the seventh inning. A sac fly from Corey Rosier scored Max Ferguson and an RBI double from Mikey Romero added to Portland’s lead making it 11-5.
The Fightin Phils did respond with a run scored late in the bottom of the seventh after a ground out from Andrick Nava got Hendry Mendez home. The run was not enough as by the end of the seventh inning the score read 11-6 with the Sea Dogs still holding strong to the lead.
Portland extended its lead by three in the top of the ninth making the final score 14-6 with Wyatt Olds (1-0) walking away with the win.
It was still a momentous night for Miller who hit his first Double-A home run and Caleb Ricketts came away with two RBI.
The Fightin Phils return to the field today at 5:15 p.m. against the Dogs. Righthander Gabe Mosser will be on the mound for Reading, and rightie David Sandlin will start for Portland. Radio coverage is at 5 p.m. on 830WEEU.com, or fans can watch the game on MiLB TV or for free on the Bally Live App.
Reading remains home through Sunday against the Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox. On Saturday, the first 1,500 kids receive a 2025 Team Photo, presented by Feesers. The series ends Sunday when the first 1,000 kids get a mystery Fightin Phils bobblehead.
