READING- All year for the Trenton Thunder, the theme that has led them to be so successful has been pitching, defense and timely hitting. With the Thunder in the Eastern League Division Series, that motif had been the same, in the two games in Trenton. It allowed the Thunder to travel to Reading up 2-0 in the series, needing...
READING- All year for the Trenton Thunder, the theme that has led them to be so successful has been pitching, defense and timely hitting.
With the Thunder in the Eastern League Division Series, that motif had been the same, in the two games in Trenton. It allowed the Thunder to travel to Reading up 2-0 in the series, needing just one more win to take the best-of-five series over the Fightin Phils, and advance to the EL Championship Series against either Altoona or Arkron (Akron is up 2-1, with game four postponed Saturday night due to rain.)
With Caleb Smith on the mound Saturday, the Thunder took the field knowing a win would set off the celebrations. The big lefty had just shut down the Fightin Phils a week ago, limiting them to just one hit, and no runs, in six dominant innings. But that was a day after Reading had clinched the East Division title, and spent the night celebrating into the early morning hours.
Led by Smith, and another ascendant performance from the back end of the bullpen, the Thunder beat Reading 3-2, to clinch the series, and win the East Division pennant. Trenton got single runs in the second (Dante Bichette Jr. home run), third (error), and fifth (Miguel Andujar RBI double), and the pitching staff made the runs hold up, just like it had done in games one and two.
It is the sixth time that the franchise has advanced to the finals, winning three (2007-2008, 2013). Trenton lost in 2010 (Altoona 3-1) and 2012 (Akron, 3-1).
Trenton took a lopsided loss in game three Friday night, with the hosts running out to a 13-5 victory, to pull the series back to 2-1. For the Thunder, although it was not a must-win contest, they surely did not want to let Reading win Saturday's game and force a winner-take-all game five Sunday night.
Smith, Travis Hissong, J.P. Feyereisen, and Tyler Jones held the powerful Fightin Phils lineup to just seven hits, and two runs, to clinch the series.
Thunder rumbles to game two win, go up 2-0 against Reading in EL playoffs
Jones and Feyereisen have been rocks in the three wins, with Feyereisen locking down the eight inning, and Jones coming in to slam the door in the ninth. In games one, two, and four, that was the recipe for success. Now, the Thunder will look to follow that blueprint in the EL Championship.
"With those two, they are a tough duo to crack," Thunder manager Bobby Mitchell said. "For any offensive team. They can really pitch, and really locate. They have good breaking balls."
"It makes it a lot better when you can shorten the game a little bit," Feyereisen said. "The other team knows if they don't get the job early, they are not going to get it done. The starters know when they have good pen guys, it is going to help them get there job done, so we can do ours."
Thunder catch a break (or two) in EL Division Series game one
With the next series not due to start until the 13th, Trenton can now come home and get a few days off, and hope that the Altoona-Akron series goes the distance. Because the series host alternates each year, the 2016 finals will start in either Altoona or Akron for the first two games, with the final three (if necessary) played at ARM & HAMMER Park. But as we saw from the Reading series, the three games at home may not be much of an advantage if Trenton comes home down 2-0.
But the way this team has been playing since the calendar turned to June, it would be foolish to think that any scenario is out of the question for the Thunder to overcome.
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Contact Sean Miller at seanmillertrentontimes@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter @TheProdigalSean