Lehigh Valley IronPigs
Christian Cairo led off Friday night’s game at PNC Field with a home run, the first leadoff shot of the year for the IronPigs. Keaton Anthony followed Cairo’s first inning home run with a solo shot of his own later in the inning, and for a moment Lehigh Valley looked ready to run away with the game. Unfortunately, the early lead didn’t hold up and Scranton/Wilkes-Barre defeated the IronPigs 9-2.
That was as good as it got. Scranton/Wilkes-Barre answered with a six-run second inning that flipped the game on its head. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Yanqiuel Fernandez and Ernesto Martinez tied it, and Anthony Volpe put the RailRiders ahead for good with a two-run homer. RBI singles from Marco Luciano and Oswaldo Cabrera rounded out the damage, making it 6-2. Starter Brian Keller took the loss, charged with all six runs over just 2.2 innings.
Scranton tacked on more as the night went along. A J.C. Escarra sacrifice fly made it 7-2 in the sixth, and Jarred Kelenic put the game away with a two-run homer in the seventh. Hayden Merda worked 2.2 scoreless innings out of the RailRiders bullpen and struck out six to pick up the win. The loss dropped Lehigh Valley to 28-32 in the second half and 63-72 overall, seven games behind Scranton.
Cairo’s blast was his fourth homer of the season, and Anthony’s was his ninth. Lehigh Valley and Scranton continue their series Saturday at PNC Field, with first pitch set for 6:05 p.m. Chuck King gets the ball against Xavier Rivas.
Reading Fightin Phils
Bryan Rincon opened Friday’s game at Dunkin’ Park with a home run, his 23rd of the season and a Minor League leading 10th leadoff blast. It gave Reading an early lift in what turned into a tight, back-and-forth 4-3 loss to the Hartford Yard Goats.
Hartford answered in the second on a Hill RBI double, and the two sides traded chances from there. The Fightin Phils regained the lead in the seventh. Bryson Ware ripped his second triple of the season and scored on a Rincon sacrifice fly, making it 2-1. Hartford came right back in the bottom of the inning, doubles from Zach Kokoska and Kyle Karros pushing the Yard Goats ahead 3-2. Reading starter Luke Russo kept the game manageable, working past six innings and allowing three runs on five hits.
Down to their final outs in the ninth, the Fightin Phils turned to pinch-hitter Caleb Ricketts, who delivered his 11th home run of the season to tie it at three. It was a gutsy answer, but Hartford closed it out in the bottom of the inning. Jack Dallas hit Jared Thomas with the bases loaded to force in the winning run, handing Reading a 4-3 walk-off loss.
The setback stung, but Reading’s playoff position held steady. Somerset’s 17-0 loss at Erie kept the Fightin Phils three games up in the Eastern League Northeast Division with eight games to play, and their magic number to clinch sits at six. Reading returns to Dunkin’ Park Saturday at 6:10 p.m., with Adam Seminaris facing Hartford’s Stu Flesland.
Jersey Shore BlueClaws
Brady Day and Nate Humphreys each went deep for Jersey Shore on Friday night, but the offense couldn’t keep pace with Hub City in a 10-3 loss in Spartanburg.
The Spartanburgers jumped out early, scoring once in the first and three more times in the second to chase BlueClaws starter Cade Obermueller after just 1.2 innings and four runs allowed.
Jersey Shore clawed back with solo home runs in back-to-back innings. Day connected in the third for his fifth homer of the year, and Humphreys followed in the fourth with his second, pulling the BlueClaws within two runs at 4-2. It was the high point of the night for Jersey Shore’s offense.
Hub City took the answer away quickly. RBI singles from Chandler Pollard and Paxton Kling extended the lead across the fourth and fifth innings, and Quincy Scott capped the scoring with his 13th homer of the season in the sixth, finishing with two hits and three RBIs on the night. The BlueClaws had no answer for the Spartanburgers’ pitching the rest of the way, and Hub City closed out the win to take three of the first four games in the series.
Day was Jersey Shore’s most productive hitter, finishing with two hits including his home run. Beyond the two solo shots, though, the BlueClaws struggled to sustain any rallies against a Hub City staff that tightened up after the shaky opening innings. Jersey Shore hands the ball to Tanner Gresham on Saturday as the series in Spartanburg continues.
Clearwater Threshers
Clearwater trailed by four runs in the middle innings Friday night but stormed back for a 13-9 win over Fort Myers at BayCare Ballpark, extending their winning streak in the series to four games.
Fort Myers built the early lead with a two-out rally in the third and three more runs in the fourth. The Threshers answered immediately. Nolan Beltran led off the fourth with a double, and Macon Winslow followed with a two-run homer, his second of the season. On the very next pitch, Will Vierling went deep as well, his eighth homer of the year, cutting the deficit to 5-4. Fort Myers pushed the lead back to two runs in the seventh, but Clearwater’s lineup took over from there.
The Threshers loaded the bases in the bottom of the seventh on three walks, and Beltran cleared them with a double that gave Clearwater its first lead of the night. Vierling added an RBI single, and Jack Hopko tripled home another run, making it 9-6 after seven. Fort Myers tied it right back at nine on a pinch-hit three-run homer from Jimmy Keenan in the eighth, setting up a wild finish.
Tyler Spangler answered with his first career home run to put Clearwater back in front, and Vierling capped his career night with a second homer of the game, a three-run shot, to make it 13-9. Vierling finished with four hits, two homers, and five RBI. Orlando Gonzalez worked the final two innings for the win, striking out four.
Clearwater continues its homestand against Fort Myers on Saturday, with first pitch set for 6:30 p.m.
Home Runs — September 4, 2026
Lehigh Valley – Christian Cairo (4)
Lehigh Valley – Keaton Anthony (9)
Reading – Bryan Rincon (23)
Reading – Caleb Ricketts (11)
Jersey Shore – Brady Day (5)
Jersey Shore – Nate Humphreys (2)
Clearwater – Macon Winslow (2)
Clearwater – Will Vierling (8)
Clearwater – Tyler Spangler (1)
Clearwater – Will Vierling (8) (9)
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