READING — It’s taken 14 years, but Reading is headed back to the Eastern League Championship Series.
J.P. Crawford and Nick Williams homered and Dylan Cozens doubled twice to lift the Fightin Phils to a 4-2 win over Binghamton on Saturday night, sweeping the Mets in the three-game Eastern Division series.
The R-Phils will play Bowie in the Eastern League Championship Series, which begins Tuesday in Reading for the first two games. Bowie beat Altoona 3-0 on Saturday to win the Eastern League Western Division series 3-1.
“We’re that much closer to getting a ring, bringing it back to this town,” said Williams, who was acquired earlier this season when the Phillies dealt Cole Hamels to Texas.
“Coming here, getting traded ... going from a losing team to a winning team, it’s been great. This one’s for the books.”
Crawford connected on a 94 mph fastball that Binghamton starter Gabriel Ynoa left over the middle of the plate in the first inning. The entire park knew right off the bat the shot was destined to carry beyond the right-field wall to give the Fightin Phils an early 1-0 lead.
Cozens led off the second with a double to left-center,
moved to third on Harold Martinez’s single to right and scored on Angelo Mora’s sacrifice fly to up Reading’s advantage to 2-0.
Williams then doubled the lead again to 4-0 with his two-run homer later in the inning. The blast was nearly identical to Crawford’s, sailing over the advertising boards outside the park in right-center.
Two of the Philadelphia Phillies’ top prospects, Crawford and Williams entered Saturday’s Game 3 with impressive playoff numbers. Crawford was 4-for-9 with four runs scored in the first two games in Binghamton. Williams was 4-for-11 with a home run.
The only Reading player to do better during the first two games was Eastern League MVP Brock Stassi, who was 3-for-6 with a home run, two doubles and four RBIs.
It didn’t get any better for the B-Mets in the third inning. Stassi and Perkins opened the inning with back-to-back singles before Martinez walked to load the bases and end Ynoa’s night. The right-hander threw 71 pitches in just 2.1 innings of work. Reliever Beck Wheeler got a deep flyout from Lively — basket-caught by center fielder Joe Benson — to get out of the jam.
Benson got Lively again in the next half-inning by sending a 95 mph fastball over the right-center wall to cut Reading’s lead to 4-2.
Lively started a double play in the sixth inning. Amed Rosario reached first on an error by Crawford at short to start the inning but was caught stealing after Lively struck out pinch hitter Victor Cruzado. Crawford atoned for the error by corralling catcher Andrew Knapp’s wide throw and tagging Rosario on the helmet as he slid by.
That would be Lively’s last action of the evening. He was replaced by Reinier Roibal after five innings, yielding four hits on 80 pitches — 54 for strikes. He struck out six and walked one. Roibal pitched a 1-2-3 sixth before giving way to Ryan O’Sullivan in the seventh.
“I thought he did a nice job pitching his fastball early then using his curveball off his fastball,” Reading manager Dusty Wathan said of Lively. “He tends to elevate his fastballs, which makes his breaking ball better. I think he did that tonight.”
O’Sullivan worked himself out of trouble after issuing one-out walks to Xorge Carillo and Rosario. The right-handed reliever struck out pinch hitter Jeff McNeil and snagged a sharply hit line drive back at him by L.J. Mazzilli to end the inning.
Jimmy Cordero pitched the eighth and Stephen Shackleford worked the ninth for his 31st save of the season.
Reading last reached the Eastern League Championship Series in 2001, when the R-Phils and New Britain were declared co-champions due to the stoppage of play in Major League Baseball.
Eastern League Playoffs
Eastern Division, Game 3
At FirstEnergy Stadium, Reading
BINGHAMTON (2) — Mazzilli 2b 4 0 1 0, Rivera 3b 3 0 0 0, Rodriguez rf 4 0 0 0, Belnome 1b 3 1 1 0, Peterson lf 4 0 0 0, Benson cf 4 1 2 2, Carillo c 3 0 0 0, Rosario ss 2 0 0 0, Ynoa p 1 0 1 0, Wheeler p 0 0 0 0, Cruzado ph 1 0 0 0, Walters p 0 0 0 0, McNeil ph 1 0 0 0, Smoker p 0 0 0 0, Galvez ph 1 0 0 0, Velasquez p 0 0 0 0. Totals 32 2 5 2.
READING (4) — Williams cf 5 1 1 2, Crawford ss 2 1 1 1, Knapp c 4 0 0 0, Stassi 1b 3 0 1 0, Perkins lf 3 0 1 0, Cozens rf 3 1 2 0, Martinez 3b 2 1 1 0, Mora 2b 3 0 0 1, Lively p 1 0 0 0, Roibal p 0 0 0 0, Pointer ph 1 0 0 0, O’Sullivan p 0 0 0 0, Charles ph 1 0 0 0, Cordero p 0 0 0 0, Shackleford p 0 0 0 0. Totals 29 4 7 4.
Bin (0-2) 000 200 000 — 2
Rea (2-0) 130 000 00x — 4
E — Binghamton 0, Reading 1. DP — Reading 1. LOB — Binghamton 7, Reading 10. 2B — Belnome, Benson, Cozens 2. HR — Benson, Williams, Crawford. SB — Perkins. CS — Rosario, Crawford. SF — Mora.
Binghamton IP H R ER BB K
Ynoa L,9-10 2.1 6 4 4 3 3
Wheeler 1.2 0 0 0 1 3
Walters 2 0 0 0 2 4
Smoker 1 1 0 0 1 0
Velasquez 1 0 0 0 0 2
Reading IP H R ER BB K
Lively W,9-7 5 4 2 2 1 6
Roibal H 1 0 0 0 0 0
O’Sullivan H 1 0 0 0 2 1
Cordero H 1 0 0 0 1 0
Shacklfrd S,31 1 0 0 0 0 0
HBP — by Walters (Perkins).Blk — Cordero. T — 2:56. A — 3,406