Lehigh Valley IronPigs

The IronPigs edged out Scranton/Wilkes-Barre 5–4 in a tightly contested road victory on Tuesday. Lehigh Valley jumped ahead early with a two-run first inning and sealed the win with a late surge, scoring twice in the ninth. Offensively, the team was efficient despite not scoring between the second and seventh innings. Their clutch hitting in the final two frames proved decisive. Oscar Mercado had three singles in the game and Johan Rojas had a single and a double, with the double driving in two runs in the top of the ninth. Shortstop Aidan Miller made his Triple-A debut and drew three walks in his first three at-bats, stealing a base after each walk. The three stolen bases give Miller 55 steals on the season.

Pitching was solid across the board. The IronPigs held the RailRiders scoreless through the first three innings and limited damage in the middle innings. Starter Gabe Mosser went five innings and allowed two hits and two walks while striking out five. Mosser was charged with two earned runs in the outing. Andrew Walling made his Triple-A debut and worked a perfect sixth inning in relief. Phil Bickford (4-1, 3.56) got the win and allowed just one hit in his one inning of relief.

Reading Fightin Phils

Reading fell 7–6 in an 11-inning thriller against the Somerset Patriots. The Fightins led 6–5 after ten innings but couldn’t hold off a two-run rally by Somerset in the top of the 11th. Reading got a two-run home run from catcher Caleb Ricketts in the bottom of the eighth to tie the game. Erick Brito had three singles and an RBI in the game while Felix Reyes and Robert Moore both had two hits. Reyes had two doubles to score a run and drive in another. Moore had a single and a double and scored one run. Dante Nori and Aroon Escobar made their debuts with Reading with Nori going 1-for-6 with a stolen base and Escobar going 1-for-5.

Pitching was a mixed bag. Starter Estibenzon Jimenez worked through the fifth inning allowing two earned runs on three hits and three walks to go with six strikeouts. Eiberson Castellano and Tristan Garnett were hurt by weak defense that led to three unearned innings. Gabriel Barbosa (0-1, 5.68) took the loss when he allowed two runs – one unearned – in the 11th inning.

Clearwater Threshers

Clearwater dropped Game 1 of the Florida State League Division Series 5–1 to Lakeland (Tigers). The Threshers were held scoreless until the eighth inning, when Matt Ferrara drove in Luke Davis with an RBI single. Ferrara had a career-best three-hit game, accounting for a third of Clearwater’s nine total hits. Davis and Nathan Humphreys also contributed with singles in the eighth and ninth innings.

Pitching was serviceable but not dominant. Starter Zuher Yousuf allowed one run over four innings, walking two and striking out one. Luis Avila struggled in relief, giving up two runs in just one-third of an inning. Orlando Gonzalez and Aaron Combs provided solid middle relief, combining for 2.2 scoreless innings with five strikeouts. Cole Gilley and Keegan Batka finished the game, allowing two more runs, one of which was unearned.

Game 2 of the best-of-three series will be played Thursday in Lakeland. Game 1 of the other FSL series will be Wednesday when Daytona (Reds) hosts St. Lucie (Mets).

Home Runs on September 9, 2025 (season total in parenthesis):

  • Lehigh Valley – none
  • Reading – Caleb Ricketts (6)
  • Clearwater – none