Slayden slays Connecticut

Jeremy Slayden rounds third after his two-run homer in the 7th inning gave Reading a 3-2 lead they
would not relinquish.   

Jason Kershner: First win in a Reading uniform since August 14, 2001.

Andrew Carpenter: Best outing of the young season.

By Tony Zonca

Reading, PA --  Phillies right fielder Jeremy Slayden said he shouldn't be regarded as a first-pitch hitter.  And that a scant few of his homers land over the opposite-field fence.

Friday night in a 3-2 victory over the Connecticut Defenders, Slayden went against the grain in the seventh inning when he jumped all over an outside fastball, the first pitch he saw from right-handed reliever Kelvin Pichardo, and sent it clattering into the left-field seats for a deciding two-run shot, his third of the season.

Lou Marson had led off the inning with his second single, and Slayden made a winner of lefty Jason Kershner (1-0), whose last win in a Reading uniform came on August, 14, 2001.  Kershner threw two shutout innings and Patrick Overholt shut the door in the ninth for his team-leading fifth save.

After a rough first inning in which he allowed RBI doubles by Travis Ishikawa and Travis Denker, Phillies starter Andrew Carpenter settled down over the next five innings, though he had to pitch out of a bases-loaded jam in the third, ending it with one of his seven strikeouts.  He allowed the two runs on five hits -- two of them infield hits -- and walked three.

The Phillies (10-11) scored a run in their half on Marson's RBI single, which followed a single and stolen base by Jason Donald, back in the lineup for the first time since April 16.  Donald, who had been nursing a lacerated middle finger on his throwing hand, had two hits.

The Defenders (10-11) got six strong innings from Adam Cowart.  Picardo slipped to 0-2.

SHANE WATCH:  Philadelphia center fielder Shane Victorino, making a rehab assignment a second straight year at FirstEnergy Stadium, was 1-for-3 and the second out in a rare 9-5-3 double play in the sixth inning, when the Phillies failed to score despite bunching together three singles.  He handled three fly balls cleanly, one of which he ran down nicely in left-center.  In two previous rehab outings this week in Clearwater, Victorino was 2-for-5 with a run and an RBI.  He also walked twice and struck out.  In 12 games with the big club, he was hitting .234 (11-for-47) with four runs and two RBIs.  He last played on April 12.  Last year in Philadelphia he batted .281 in 131 games with 12 home runs and 46 RBIs.  He also stole 37 bases and scored 78 runs. For the second time in two years he was sidelined with a right calf injury.

PHILLERS:  With a fifth-inning single, Neil Sellers jacked his hitting streak to seven games. . . . The Phillies are 7-3 with Jason Donald in the lineup, 3-8 without him. . . . At one point this week, the Phillies had made 10 roster moves in 12 days involving 16 players. . . . New additions since they left April 16 for a seven-game road trip are first baseman John Urick, right-hander Zack Segovia, infielder Carlos Leon and outfielder Rich Thompson.  Gone are outfielder Javon Moran (to Lehigh Valley), right-hander Nate Johnson (Clearwater) and second baseman Brad Harman (Philadelphia).  First baseman Juan Tejeda was placed on the disabled list and left-hander Jason Kershner came off. . . . The Phillies will play 20 of their first 29 games away from home.  

PLAYER MOVES:  The Phillies added free-agent outfielder Rich Thompson, 29, to the roster Friday.  He batted .295 with three home runs and 41 RBIs in 325 at-bats last season with Triple-A Tucson, an Arizona farm club.  He was signed by Boston in January and released in spring training.  Thompson was born in Reading, but went to high school in the Scranton area.

DID YOU KNOW THAT Jack Blalock is the younger brother of the Texas Rangers' Hank Blalock, and John Urick is the grandson of former big-league manager Whitey Herzog?

This story was posted on April 25, 2008