The Reading Phillies continue to maintain the Eastern League’s Eastern Division wild-card playoff berth at the Erie SeaWolves’ expense.

Reading assured itself a series victory with Saturday’s 2-1 win over Erie at FirstEnergy Stadium. The Phillies’ third consecutive win left them 71-62, four games back of first-place Trenton, while the SeaWolves (55-77) now maintain the league’s worst record from the Western Division basement.

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

Reading took charge of a one-run game with their four-run fourth inning, the difference in Friday’s 6-2 victory over the Erie SeaWolves at FirstEnergy Stadium.

The loss was the third straight for Erie (55-76) and the second in its weekend series against the Phillies (70-62). Reading maintained second place in the Eastern League’s Eastern Division, as well as its wild-card playoff berth.

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

Darin Ruf usurped the Erie SeaWolves’ new role as Eastern League spoilers with one mighty swing Thursday night.

Ruf, the league’s home-run leader, added to his total with a seventh-inning grand slam off Erie reliever Kelvin De La Cruz. His 33^rd homer was the difference in the Phillies’ 7-6 win at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Erie, eliminated from any postseason possibilities with Wednesday’s loss to Akron, fell to 55-75 in the league’s Western Division. Its latest setback came in the opener of its final road trip for 2012.

Reading not only moved to 69-62 in the league’s Eastern Division standings, but claimed second place outright when New Hampshire beat New Britain 9-6. The Phillies and Rock Cats began Thursday tied for the division’s wild-card playoff berth.

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

Starting lineups for Wednesday’s Eastern League game between the Akron Aeros and the Erie SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park:

Akron Aeros (75-53): 1. Tyler Holt CF, 2. Jordan Henry RF, 3. Thomas Neal LF, 4. Chun Chen 1B, 5. Jesus Aguilar DH, 6. Ryan Rohlinger 3B, 7. Davis Stoneburner 2B, 8. Michel Hernandez C, 9. Carlos Rojas SS.

Starting pitcher: RH Danny Salazar (2-0, 2.70 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (55-73): 1. Niuman Romero SS, 2. Tony Plagman DH, 3. Nick Castellanos RF, 4. Jordan Lennerton 1B, 5. Avisail Garcia CF, 6. Daniel Fields LF, 7. Rawley Bishop 3B, 8. Brandon Douglas 2B, 9. James McCann C.

Starting pitcher: RH Jared Gayhart (1-3, 4.50 ERA).

**

Eastern League officials announced Wednesday that the New Britain Rock Cats will host next year’s All-Star Game. New Britain Stadium will welcome some of its best players July 10, 2013.

New Britain last hosted that game in 2003. Outfielder Grady Sizemore of the Cleveland Indians was among the current Major League Baseball players who competed in Connecticut that season.

The Erie SeaWolves have never hosted an All-Star Game since joining the league in 1999.

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

Starting lineups for Monday’s Eastern League game between the Akron Aeros and the Erie SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park:

Akron Aeros (75-51): 1. Tyler Holt CF, 2. Jordan Henry RF, 3. Chun Chen 1B, 4. Nick Weglarz LF, 5. Jesus Aguilar DH, 6. Matt Lawson 2B, 7. Ryan Rohlinger SS, 8. Roberto Perez C, 9. Carlos Rojas 3B.

Starting pitcher: LH T.J. House (7-3, 3.43 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (53-73): 1. Jamie Johnson LF, 2. Niuman Romero SS, 3. Nick Castellanos RF, 4. Jordan Lennerton 1B, 5. Avisail Garcia CF, 6. Rawley Bishop 3B, 7. Tony Plagman DH, 8. Brandon Douglas 2B, 9. James McCann C.

Starting pitcher: RH Patrick Cooper (2-8, 5.26 ERA).

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

Starting lineups for Friday’s Eastern League game between the Harrisburg Senators and the Erie SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park:

Harrisburg Senators (56-68): 1. Brian Goodwin CF, 2. Jose Lozada 2B, 3. Justin Bloxom LF, 4. Jimmy Van Ostrand DH, 5. Anthony Rendon 3B, 6. Destin Hood RF, 7. Seth Bynum SS, 8. Tim Pahuta 1B, 9. Kris Watts C.

Starting pitcher: Ryan Perry RH (1-3, 2.00 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves (53-70): 1. Jamie Johnson CF, 2. Niuman Romero SS, 3. Nick Castellanos RF, 4. Jordan Lennerton 1B, 5. Avisail Garcia DH, 6. Daniel Fields LF, 7. Rawley Bishop 3B, 8. Corey Jones 2B, 9. James McCann C.

Starting pitcher: Jared Gayhart RH (1-2, 4.19 ERA)

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

Sunday’s cancelled game at Jerry Uht Park meant the Erie SeaWolves will have more than 48 hours off until they resume their dwindling regular season.

Erie (53-66) was originally scheduled to be idle for a third consecutive Monday. The SeaWolves will then travel to Bowie for the first of two August series against the Baysox (62-58) at Prince George’s Stadium.

The teams’ four-game series begins with Tuesday’s 6:05 p.m. doubleheader. Those two seven-inning games were necessitated by an April 22 rain out in Maryland.

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

It was only one inning, but it was bad enough to spoil the other eight.

The Erie SeaWolves committed a wild pitch, a passed ball and a fielding error in the top of the fourth of Wednesday’s matinee game against Bowie. Starting pitcher Patrick Cooper also allowed the Baysox three hits, a walk and a hit batsman during their rally, which they made hold up for a 5-2 victory at Jerry Uht Park.

The loss was the SeaWolves’ sixth in their last seven games. It left them 45-51 going into an eight-game, seven-day road trip to Altoona and Akron.

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »

Ryan Howard’s back.

Does that mean he should be on your fantasy baseball team?

It depends on how bad you need him.

If you’re in a NL-only league, you probably know there’s not too much at first base.

In that case, Howard could be a refreshing sight.

If you’re in a mixed league, there might be reason to wait — or let someone else take the risk.

Howard returned last week from an Achilles injury. He ruptured the left tendon in the playoffs last year.

He went 2-for-4 in his debut, but don’t expect that every day.

The truth is, Howard is in decline.

Here’s his slugging percentage since 2006: .659, .584, .543, .571, .505 and .488 in 2011.

See the trend?

Howard hit 33 homers last year and 31 in 2010, down from three straight years in the mid-40s.

He might still be a presence at the plate, he’s just not the same.

With half of the season gone, you could expect a .260 average with 14 home runs and 44 RBIs.

And if the Phillies continue to stay out of the race, maybe they give him some extra rest along the way, further suppressing those numbers.

If that’s an upgrade for you, pick him up or trade for him.

– Rick Green

Starting lineups for Friday’s Eastern League game between the Binghamton Mets and the Erie SeaWolves at Jerry Uht Park:

Binghamton Mets (33-37): 1. Juan Lagares CF, 2. Reese Havens 2B, 3. Jefry Marte 3B, 4. Eric Campbell 1B, 5. Wilmer Flores DH, 6. Dustin Martin RF, 7. Wilfredo Tovar SS, 8. Juan Centeno C, 9. Pedro Zapata LF.

Starting pitcher: Darin Gorski LH (4-4, 4.50 ERA).

Erie SeaWolves: 1. Niuman Romero SS, 2. Brandon Douglas 2B, 3. Nick Castellanos 3B, 4. Jordan Lennerton 1B, 5. Rawley Bishop LF, 6. James McCann C, 7. Tony Plagman RF, 8. Bryan Pounds DH, 9. Michael Rockett CF.

Starting pitcher: Kelvin De La Cruz (4-6, 3.45 ERA).

– Mike Copper

Read the rest of this entry »