(Richmond, VA) - The Reading Fightin Phils (53-55, 23-16) scored six unanswered runs to erase a five-run deficit and defeat the Richmond Flying Squirrels (63-43, 20-18) by a score of 6-5 on Sunday. The win earned Reading a series split, continuing the team’s trend of splitting or winning every series in the second half thus far.
Richmond got on the board early in the first inning, as Charlie Szykownky’s RBI single scored Dayson Croes to open up the scoring. Maui Ahuna kept the ball rolling, hitting a single to left field to plate Szykowny. This gave the Squirrels an early 2-0 nod.
The San Francisco Giants’ Double-A affiliate kept its foot on the gas in the second frame. Ty Hanchey ripped a double to right field, sending Jack Payton trotting home to add to the lead. Trevor Cohen followed up, slapping a single to right field to plate Hanchey. Raylin Heredia threw out Cohen as he tried to stretch his single to a double.
Richmond scored for the third straight frame when Jose Astudillo singled home Szykowny. The Flying Squirrels built a 5-0 lead over the first third of the ball game.
Neither side would score for the next three stanzas, as both starters were out of the game by the fifth inning. Richmond was working a bullpen game, while Fightins starter Reese Dutton tossed five innings of five-run ball, allowing a pair of walks and a earning a strikeout in a no-decision.
The R-Phils got on the board in the seventh inning when Pedro León (12) lined a solo home run over the left field wall to make the score 5-1. This was the 28-year-old’s 15th home run as a member of the Phillies organization this season, putting him in a tie for fifth among Phillies minor leaguers.
Reading kept clawing back in the eighth inning. The Fightins put runners on second and third with nobody out when Squirrels reliever Mitch White threw a wild pitch to the backstop. The ball ricocheted away, allowing Aroon Escobar (Phillies No. 4 prospect) to score the team’s second run. Raider Tello followed up with an RBI single to right field, plating Carson DeMartini (Phillies No. 16 prospect). Luke Ritter grounded into a 6-4-3 double play, but Caleb Ricketts scored to cut the lead to one.
León, who got the scoring started in the prior inning, stepped up with two outs and a runner on third base, and the veteran outfielder ripped a game-tying double down the left field line. Bryan Rincon (Phillies No. 14 prospect) scored, and the game was all tied at 5-5 after eight innings.
Richmond failed to score in the bottom half of the frame, and Reading took its first lead in the top of the ninth on some hustle sequences from Alex Binelas. The Eastern League home run leader hit a lead-off triple for just his second three-bagger of the season. He then scored on a wild pitch from Squirrels bullpen arm Tyler Vogel to give the Fightin Phils their first lead of the game.
Estibenzon Jimenez (3) slammed the door for the save, allowing one hit and striking out a pair of hitters to seal the deal on a comeback win.
Wen-Hui Pan (2-0) got the win, as the Phillies’ 12th-ranked prospect worked around a pair of hits in a scoreless eighth inning.
Vogel (7-2, BS 4) took the loss for the Flying Squirrels, relinquishing two runs on three hits with a walk in a pair of innings.
León led all Fightins hitters, going 3-for-5 with a home run and two RBI in the victory.
Reading holds a one-game lead in the Eastern League-Northeast division with 30 games to go in the season.
Reading returns to the field on Tuesday at the Chesapeake Baysox at 7 p.m. Pregame radio coverage is underway at 6:40 p.m. on the Reading Fighitn Phils Radio Network. A video stream is available via MiLB TV or the Bally Live App.
The Fightin Phils return home from Tuesday, August 11, through Sunday, August 16, against the Chesapeake Baysox, Double-A affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles. On Tuesday, the first 2,500 adults receive a Rocky Colavito Baseballtown Hall of Fame Reading Indians Bobble Head, thanks to FirstEnergy. Wednesday is SU2C "Stand Up To Cancer" and Fightin Cancer Night with the R-Phils Wearing Fightin Cancer Jerseys. Thursday and Friday both feature fireworks, with Thursday's show sponsored by Recovery Awareness Night thanks to Berks Counseling Center and SOS Berks and Friday's by PSECU. Saturday is the 28th Annual Harley Night with a R-Phils Harley Game Cap Giveaway for the first 2,500 adults, along with postgame fireworks, thanks to American Crane and Equipment Corporation. The series ends Sunday with a R-Phils Team Photo for the first 2,000 kids with a pre-game player autograph session for kids at 4 PM, thanks to Berkshire Hathaway.
Tickets to all games are available at rphils.com/tickets, by calling 610-370-BALL or in-person at the Customers Bank Ticket Office.
The 2026 R-Phils season is presented by Pepsi. Follow the Fightin Phils on Twitter @ReadingFightins, like us on Facebook, or follow us on Instagram @Fightins.