Lehigh Valley IronPigs
The IronPigs beat the Worcester Red Sox 7-5 on Saturday night at Coca-Cola Park, backing six strong innings from starter Drake Fellows with three home runs in a game that swung several times before Lehigh Valley pulled away for good.
Worcester’s Allan Castro opened the scoring with a solo homer in the first, but Carter Kieboom’s RBI double answered in the bottom half. The IronPigs then continued their recent home run barrage (seven HR in two games) when Payton Henry lifted a solo shot to put Lehigh Valley in front, and two batters later Gabriel Rincones Jr. followed with a two-run blast that made it 4-1. Worcester clawed back in the fourth on a Tsung-Che Cheng RBI triple, a Tomas Nido run-scoring groundout, and a Braiden Ward solo homer that tied it at 4-4.
The pendulum again swung in Lehigh Valley’s favor in the fourth. With two outs in the inning, Henry singled and McIntosh and Rincones Jr. drew back-to-back walks before Otto Kemp lined a two-run single that put the ‘Pigs ahead for good, 6-4. Paul McIntosh added a solo homer in the sixth for insurance, and Castro’s RBI groundout in the seventh was as close as Worcester would get.
Fellows earned the win, allowing four runs on six hits with six strikeouts. Michael Sansone took the loss for Worcester after allowing six runs in 3.2 innings, and Lou Trivino III closed it out in the ninth, striking out two and stranding the tying run at first for his eighth save.
Henry, Rincones Jr. and McIntosh now have three, four and eight home runs, respectively, on the season. The two clubs wrap up their series today at Coca-Cola Park, with first pitch set for 1:15 p.m. Casey Lawrence starts for Lehigh Valley against Worcester’s Gage Ziehl.
Reading Fightin Phils
Reading beat the Erie SeaWolves 13-10 on Saturday in the penultimate game of the regular season, trading punches with one of the Eastern League’s best offenses in a game that saw 19 runs cross the plate over the first three innings.
Erie struck before Reading recorded an out. Peyton Graham doubled, Zyhir Hope walked, and Thayron Liranzo drove a three-run homer to deep right-center for an early 3-0 lead. Reading answered in the bottom of the first when Raider Tello and Carson DeMartini each singled in a run, a throwing error let in a third run, and Caleb Ricketts capped the rally with a two-run single to put the Fightin Phils ahead 4-3.
The lead didn’t hold. Luke Shliger tied it with a leadoff homer in the second, and Erie tacked on six more runs across the second and third innings behind two RBI hits apiece from Hope and Graham, building a 9-4 cushion. Reading struck right back in the bottom of the third as Pedro Leon led off with his 15th home run of the season, and three batters later Bryson Ware crushed his 16th to make it 9-8.
The game went quiet until the sixth, when Aidan Miller and Aroon Escobar strung together bloop hits to tie it at nine, and DeMartini’s two-out single in the bottom of the inning put Reading ahead for good. Reading’s bullpen took over for starter Braydon Tucker in the fourth. A wild pitch and a bunt single that eluded reliever Mavis Graves let an unearned run tie the game at 10. Reading loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth, and Erie’s own miscues brought the go-ahead run home; DeMartini and Ware each walked to push the lead to 12-10, and Nick Biddison added a run on a bases-loaded hit-by-pitch. Wen-Hui Pan needed just nine pitches to retire the side in order for his third save.
Reading looks to close out the series and the regular season today against Erie at 1:15 p.m., then opens the playoffs Tuesday at home against the Hartford Yard Goats — its first postseason appearance in seven years.
Home Runs — September 12, 2026
Lehigh Valley – Payton Henry (3)
Lehigh Valley – Gabriel Rincones Jr. (4)
Lehigh Valley – Paul McIntosh (8)
Reading – Pedro Leon (15)
Reading – Bryson Ware (16)
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