READING, PA – The Thunder offense continued to be red-hot Sunday afternoon as an 18-hit attack led to a 14-2 victory over the Reading Fightin Phils at First Energy Stadium.
The first 11 Thunder batters had been set down in order by Reading starter Colin Kleven before Jake Cave singled to begin a two-out rally in the 4th inning capped with a Dan Fiorito two-run single. Mark Payton added a sacrifice fly in the top of the 5th inning to add a run to the lead, but the Thunder bats padded the lead just a few batters later when Gary Sanchez launched his 11th homer of the season – his third straight game with one- deep to left field for a 6-0 lead.
After scoring four times in the fifth inning, Trenton added two more four-run innings in the 6th and the 8th to open up a 14-2 lead. All nine Thunder batters recorded hits in the game, six Thunder batters had multi-hit games and three Thunder batters (Cave, Sanchez and Ali Castillo) had three-hit afternoons.
Thunder starter Brady Lail allowed just three hits over 6.1 innings in his fifth victory of the season. Lail allowed a one-out triple in the 7th before being lifted from the game and replaced with Andrew Bailey. Bailey, in his third appearance with the Thunder, allowed the inherited run to score but tossed 1.2 scoreless innings on his own. Lail’s season ERA stands at 2.43 following the win, which improved his record with the Thunder to 5-3.
The win is Trenton’s ninth win in the last 11 games and the team’s fourth in a row. During the current four-game winning streak, the Thunder have now scored 44 runs and are batting 61-for-159 (.384 AVG) in that time.
The Thunder and Fightins return to action Monday afternoon with a 9:35 a.m. first pitch in the 14th annual morning game at First Energy Stadium. Trenton sends LHP Matt Tracy (0-1, 0.00) to the mound against RHP Ben Lively (5-6, 3.72) for Reading. Pre-game coverage begins at 9:20 a.m. on 91.3 FM WTSR, 1490 AM WBCB or online at www.trentonthunder.com.
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