Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Robert Moore turned in one of his best games of the season Friday night, blasting two home runs — including a two-run, ninth-inning walk-off — to lift the IronPigs to a 6-4 win over the Syracuse Mets at Coca-Cola Park. The lead changed hands four times.
Syracuse struck first when Jose Ramos led off the third with a solo homer. Lehigh Valley answered immediately when Moore drove a two-run shot in the bottom of the third to go ahead 2-1. The Mets tied it in the fourth on an RBI double from MJ Melendez, but the IronPigs reclaimed the lead in the fifth on a Rafael Marchan sacrifice fly. Syracuse went back ahead 4-3 in the sixth on a two-run single from Billy Amick, only for Colby Thomas to tie it right back with an RBI double.
With the score knotted 4-4 in the ninth, Dylan Moore drew a leadoff walk, and after a strikeout, Robert Moore delivered his second homer of the night for the game-winning blast. He finished 3-for-3 with a double, two homers and four RBI. It marked the second walk-off homer of the season for Lehigh Valley.
Grant Holman (3-0) earned the win with a scoreless ninth, while Ben Simon (3-4) took the loss after surrendering the decisive homer. The IronPigs improved to 62-65 on the season, while Syracuse fell to 65-63. The two clubs continue their series Saturday with a doubleheader at Coca-Cola Park.
Reading Fightin Phils
Reading’s six-game winning streak ended Friday as the Fightin Phils fell 5-1 to the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at FirstEnergy Stadium, though Reading still holds a 3.5-game lead over Binghamton and a two-game cushion over Somerset atop the Eastern League.
Binghamton jumped ahead early when Mets prospect Chris Suero lifted a three-run home run in the first, scoring Marco Vargas and Jefferson Rojas. Reading answered in the second when Carson DeMartini ripped an RBI double to score Aroon Escobar, cutting it to 3-1. Binghamton extended the lead to 5-1 in the third on a Suero RBI single and a run that scored on a fielding mishap off the bat of Eli Serrano III.
Gage Wood worked five innings and struck out seven, allowing five runs on six hits before handing off to the bullpen; Aaron Combs faced the minimum over the sixth and seventh, and Evan Gates escaped a bases-loaded jam in the eighth.
Reading threatened again in the bottom of the eighth when Bryan Rincon, extending his on-base streak to 23 games, singled with two outs, and Dante Nori and Pedro León followed with back-to-back walks to load the bases, but Binghamton’s Garrett Stratton struck out Raylin Heredia to end it.
Wood (0-3) took the loss, while Bryce Jenkins (3-0) earned the win with a scoreless relief inning. The two teams are set to play a doubleheader Saturday.
Jersey Shore BlueClaws
The BlueClaws had a rough Friday at ShoreTown Ballpark, dropping both ends of their doubleheader against the Wilmington Blue Rocks, 8-1 and 11-2.
In the opener, Wilmington broke through in the third on an RBI single from Luke Dickerson, though Jersey Shore tied it in the bottom half on a fielder’s choice groundout from Carter Mathison aided by two Wilmington errors. The Blue Rocks went back ahead in the fourth on a sacrifice fly from Caleb Farmer, added two more in the sixth on doubles from Jacob Walsh and Farmer, then tacked on four more in the seventh — capped by the 11th home run of the year from Ronny Cruz — for the 8-1 final.
Jersey Shore starter Ryan Dromboski allowed just one earned run over five innings, while Wilmington’s Miguel Sime Jr. struck out six across four innings for the win.
Game two was even more lopsided: Wilmington scored twice in the first on balks, added a run in the second, and then Jacob Walsh delivered a grand slam in the third for a 7-1 lead. Jersey Shore’s only run came in the sixth on an RBI single from Devin Saltiban. Wilmington closed it out with a four-run seventh that included a two-run double from Walsh, who finished with six RBI on the day.
BlueClaws starter Cade Obermueller was charged with seven runs, six earned, over three innings. The series continues Saturday night at 7:05 p.m.
Clearwater Threshers
The Threshers picked up their second straight win Friday, holding off the Lakeland Flying Tigers 8-6 at Joker Marchant Stadium behind a career night from Cade Climie.
Jonathan Hogart got Clearwater on the board leading off the second with a home run to left — his 17th of the season. The Threshers added a run later in the inning on an RBI single from Climie for a 2-0 lead. Lakeland answered with a solo homer in the fourth to cut the deficit in half.
Clearwater broke it open with a four-run sixth: Matthew Ferrara reached on an infield hit, Hogart was hit by a pitch, Macon Winslow doubled both home, and then Climie crushed a three-run homer — his first career home run — to make it 6-1. Lakeland chipped away with runs in the sixth and seventh to pull within 6-4, but Clearwater answered in the seventh, loading the bases before Climie singled home two more. Climie finished with six RBI, the most by a Thresher since May 2024.
Lakeland scored twice in the ninth, but reliever James Tallon struck out the final batter to seal it.
Sean Youngerman (3-7) earned the win, allowing one run on four hits with four strikeouts over five innings, with Cal Higgins, Brendan Sweeney and Elias Holbert combining in relief. The win eliminated Lakeland from playoff contention and set up a first-round FSL playoff matchup between Clearwater and Tampa. The series continues Saturday at 6:00 p.m.
Home Runs — August 28, 2026
Lehigh Valley – Robert Moore (13, 14)
Clearwater – Jonathan Hogart (17)
Clearwater – Cade Climie (1)
