Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The IronPigs dropped their second straight to Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, falling 9-2 Wednesday night at PNC Field. Lehigh Valley grabbed an early lead when Keaton Anthony doubled home a run in the top of the first, but the RailRiders answered with four runs in the bottom half on three straight RBI singles from Jasson Dominguez, J.C. Escarra and Marco Luciano, plus a run-scoring fielder’s choice from Oswaldo Cabrera. Yanquiel Fernandez blasted a two-run homer in the third to make it 6-1, and Max Schuemann added a solo shot in the fifth to push the lead to 7-1.
Otto Kemp got the Pigs back on the board with a solo homer in the seventh — his 14th of the season — but Fernandez answered right back with another two-run blast in the bottom half to close out the scoring at 9-2.
Alexander Cornielle worked five innings of one-run relief for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre to pick up the win, while Casey Lawrence took the loss, his first as an IronPig, after allowing seven runs over 4.1 innings.
The loss dropped Lehigh Valley to 63-70 overall, 28-30 in the second half. The series continues Thursday at 7:05 p.m., with Alan Rangel starting for the IronPigs against Brenden Beck.
Reading Fightin Phils
Reading answered Tuesday’s loss with a 5-3 win over Hartford on Wednesday at Dunkin’ Park, evening the series at a game apiece.
In a bullpen game, Evan Gates opened with a season-high three innings, allowing one run. The Fightins scored first when Raider Tello‘s sacrifice fly brought home Bryan Rincon, but Hartford tied it in the bottom of the first on an RBI single from Jack O’Dowd.
Hartford grabbed a 3-1 lead with two runs in the sixth off reliever Reese Dutton, capped by a Zach Kokoska single and a bases-loaded walk. Reading answered back in the seventh: Aroon Escobar drew a leadoff walk, and Bryson Ware followed with his 14th home run of the season to tie it at three. The Fightins then took the lead for good in the eighth, with Dante Nori scoring on a Carson DeMartini double before Escobar’s single brought home DeMartini for the final margin. Wen-Hui Pan and Estibenzon Jimenez, who picked up his seventh save, closed out the final two innings.
The win kept Reading’s Northeast Division lead at 2.5 games over Somerset and 3.5 games over Binghamton. Portland fell to Chesapeake 5-4 in 10 innings to fall 5.5 games off the pace with 10 games remaining. The Fightins return to action Thursday at 6:30 p.m., with Gage Wood starting against Jackson Cox. The Reading and Hartford series could be a preview of the Eastern League Division Playoffs with Hartford having won the first half and Reading poised to take the second half championship.
Jersey Shore BlueClaws
Jersey Shore’s series at Hub City evened at a game apiece after the Spartanburgers routed the BlueClaws 11-4 Wednesday at Fifth Third Park.
Quincy Scott‘s three-run homer in the first put Hub City ahead 3-0, and Jersey Shore answered with RBI singles from Robert Phelps and Scott Mudler in the fourth to cut it to 3-2. Hub City blew the game open with a seven-run fifth that included a two-run single from Maxton Martin and RBI hits from Arturo De Freitas and Esteban Mejia.
Nate Humphreys tripled home a run in the ninth for Jersey Shore’s final tally. Phelps and Mudler each finished with two hits, while Brady Day went hitless, snapping a 15-game hitting streak that had tied the longest by a BlueClaw since the club moved to High-A. Starter Giussepe Velasquez didn’t allow a run after the first inning, and Gerardo Lopez worked two scoreless innings in relief.
The series, which closes out Hub City’s home schedule for 2026, continues Thursday at 6:35 p.m., with Ryan Dromboski starting for Jersey Shore.
Clearwater Threshers
Clearwater’s game against Fort Myers was postponed Wednesday night at BayCare Ballpark due to inclement weather. The two teams will make it up Thursday, September 3, as part of a doubleheader in their continuing series. Both games of the doubleheader will be seven innings.
The Threshers remain at 70-54 overall, 30-28 in the second half, on the strength of Tuesday’s 7-3 win to open the homestand.
Home Runs — September 2, 2026
Lehigh Valley – Otto Kemp (14)
Reading – Bryson Ware (14)
