Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The IronPigs beat the Worcester Red Sox 4-1 on Friday night at Coca-Cola Park, riding four solo home runs and six strong innings from starter Chuck King.
Worcester struck first in the top of the fifth, when Max Ferguson reached on an infield single and scored on a double into left-center off the bat of Nate Baez. King settled in from there, working around a two-on jam later that inning and holding the WooSox scoreless for the rest of his outing.
Lehigh Valley’s offense came alive in the sixth. Otto Kemp tied the game with a 424-foot shot to left-center off Worcester starter John Holobetz — his 16th home run of the season. Keaton Anthony followed later in the frame with a solo blast off reliever Seth Martinez, putting the ‘Pigs ahead for good at 2-1. Payton Henry and Gabriel Rincones Jr. each tacked on solo homers against Martinez in the seventh, pushing the lead to 4-1.
King picked up the win, scattering five hits and striking out two over six innings without walking a batter. Andrew Hoffman tossed 1.1 scoreless innings in his IronPigs season debut, and Kirby Snead closed the door with two strikeouts for his third save. Martinez took the loss, charged with all three of Lehigh Valley’s late-inning homers. Worcester had been averaging nearly seven runs a game over its previous eight contests, but the IronPigs bullpen limited the WooSox to a single baserunner over the final three innings.
The win snapped a stretch in which Lehigh Valley had dropped three straight games to open the series. The IronPigs and Red Sox continue their six-game set today at Coca-Cola Park, with Drake Fellows on the mound for Lehigh Valley against Michael Sansone for Worcester. First pitch is set for 6:35 p.m.
Reading Fightin Phils
One day after clinching their first playoff berth in seven years, the Fightin Phils fell 6-3 to the Erie SeaWolves at FirstEnergy Stadium in a back-and-forth game Friday night.
Reading starter Adam Seminaris was sharp again, working through six innings on five hits and five strikeouts without a walk, stranding runners all night. He entered the game leading the Eastern League in innings and strikeouts and sitting third in ERA.
Aroon Escobar gave Reading an early lead, driving the second pitch of the game off the top of the wall for his 11th home run of the season. The 21-year-old has been red-hot in September, hitting .344 with more walks than strikeouts this month. Raylin Heredia added two doubles, pushing his league-leading total to 35. Center fielder Dante Nori made a pair of highlight-reel catches to help keep the game close.
Erie tied it in the seventh after a walk-fueled rally, then took the lead for good on a two-run single by Woody Hadeen. Reading answered right back in the bottom of the inning: Nick Biddison, with just 25 career Double-A at-bats to that point, drilled his first Double-A home run to tie it at three. Erie regained the lead in the eighth on a Roberto Campos solo shot off Reading reliever Keegan Batka, who was making his Double-A debut, then salted the game away in the ninth on a two-run homer from Thayron Liranzo. Moises Rodriguez closed it out for the save.
Reading and Erie continue their series today at FirstEnergy Stadium, with Braydon Tucker starting for the Fightin Phils. The Fightins will open their first postseason series in seven years on Tuesday against the Hartford Yard Goats.
Home Runs — September 11, 2026
Lehigh Valley – Otto Kemp (16)
Lehigh Valley – Keaton Anthony (12)
Lehigh Valley – Payton Henry (7)
Lehigh Valley – Gabriel Rincones Jr. (4)
Reading – Aroon Escobar (11)
Reading – Nick Biddison (1)
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