Zack Segovia

Brett Smith pitched six shutout innings and struck out five last night as the Trenton Thunder beat the New Hampshire Fisher Cats, 5-1, in the Eastern League. The Thunder, who got three hits from both Ramiro Pena and Shawn Garrett, have won 10 straight. Louisville 4, Ottawa 2 OTTAWA, Ontario - Homer Bailey allowed just two runs in six innings as the Bats beat the Lynx in the International League. Zack Segovia, who opened the season with the Phillies, lost his fourth consecutive start.

Joba Chamberlain struck out nine in five innings in a 2-0 win as the Trenton Thunder completed a sweep of the Connecticut Defenders in an Eastern League doubleheader last night. Jeffrey Marquez had pitched a seven-inning complete game as the Thunder won the opener, 3-1. The righthanded Chamberlain had been promoted yesterday from single-A Tampa, where he had a 4-0 record with 51 strikeouts in 40 innings. Reading 5, Binghamton 3 BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Randy Ruiz doubled leading off the 13th inning and scored on a single by Greg Jacobs as the Phillies outlasted the Mets in the Eastern League.

The Akron Aeros raced to a 7-0 lead, then held on to defeat the Reading Phillies, 9-6, in the Eastern League last night. The Phillies loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth on consecutive singles. Greg Golson's groundout and Mike Costanzo's single scored two runs. But with the tying run at the plate, Jason Hill went down swinging, and Greg Jacobs fouled out to third base. The loss was the second in a row for the Phillies after five straight victories. With shortstop Brandon Pinckney leading the way with two doubles and three RBIs, the Aeros jumped to an early 7-0 lead, with six of the runs being charged to Zack Segovia.

Clete Thomas drove in three runs last night to lead the Erie SeaWolves past the Trenton Thunder, 12-1, in the Eastern League. The loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Thunder this season. Starter Kevin Whelan walked four batters in the first when Erie jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Before the game, righthanders Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy were promoted from Trenton to the triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Lefthander Chase Wright and righthander Tyler Clippard were sent down.

Jeremy Slayden ripped a two-run homer to key a three-run fourth inning as the Reading Phillies beat the New Britain Rock Cats, 7-3, in the Eastern League last night. New Britain 101000100 -380 Reading00132010x -7111 WP: Fabio Castro (5-1). LP: Anthony Swarzak (3-6). HR: NB-Luke Hughes (14). R-Jeremy Slayden (11), Joey Hammond (3), Lou Marson (1). A: 7,315. Lehigh Valley 017002020 -12170 Rochester000030110 -5111 WP: Les Walrond (2-7). LP: Philip Humber (4-7)

Jorge Vazquez came off the disabled list yesterday and had five hits and four RBIs as the Trenton Thunder swept an Eastern League doubleheader from the Binghamton Mets. Vazquez went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs in a 9-3 victory in the opener. In a 3-0 win in the nightcap, he went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Harrisburg 8, Reading 7 READING - Jeremy Slayden, hitting .458 (11 for 24) since being demoted from Lehigh Valley last week, had four hits and two RBIs, but the Phillies lost to the Senators in the Eastern League.

MOOSIC, Pa. - Jim Rushford hit a leadoff homer in the bottom of the ninth last night to lift the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons to a 2-1 International League victory over the Ottawa Lynx. Rushford, who went 3 for 4, hit an 0-2 fastball over the fence in right field to give the Red Barons (63-46) their seventh straight win. Angel Chavez's inside-the-park homer in the seventh inning pulled Scranton into a 1-1 tie. Eddy Garabito's RBI double in the first inning accounted for Ottawa's run. Eudo Brito allowed one run in seven innings, but Scranton's Ryan Cameron picked up the win in relief.

Gary Burnham hit two home runs last night as the Reading Phillies defeated the Altoona Curve, 5-0, in the Eastern League. Zack Segovia worked all nine innings of the seven-hit shutout. The last Reading pitcher to toss a nine-inning shutout was Ken Pumphrey on July 4, 2002. Trenton 4, Harrisburg 0 TRENTON - Ty Clippard and Jeff Kennard combined on a two-hit shutout as the Thunder blanked the Senators in the Eastern League. Scranton 4, Buffalo 1 MOOSIC, Pa. - RBI doubles from Brennan King and Josh Kroeger helped the Red Barons top the Bisons in the International League.

Cory Lidle earned his pilot's license this winter, and he actually thought about flying to yesterday's Phillies game in a small airplane. Lidle instead took the team bus and was forced to endure a 5 1/2-hour trip because of a sludge spill on I-275 in St. Petersburg. Normally, it's a 2 1/2-hour trip from Clearwater to Fort Myers. "The day started out bad and got worse," Lidle said after giving up four runs and five hits, including two home runs, in three innings of work against the Boston Red Sox. The Phillies lost, 9-4, to fall to 5-4 this spring.

Zach Segovia won his first start for Reading last night, leading the Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Altoona Curve in the Eastern League. Segovia, who was 1-9 in triple-A Ottawa, allowed four hits and an unearned run. Ottawa 4, Columbus 3 COLUMBUS, Ohio - Chris Roberson singled in the winning run in the 11th inning as the Lynx beat the Clippers in the International League. Wilmington 1, Frederick 0 WILMINGTON - Rowdy Hardy scattered six hits over eight innings to improve to 9-1 and lower his ERA to 1.41 as the Blue Rocks beat the Keys in the Carolina League.

The sight of Houston's Michael Bourn stealing bases last weekend and slimmed-down Washington reliever Zack Segovia giving up a grand slam to Matt Stairs on Thursday night got us thinking about former Phillies. There's a whole bunch of them out there, and many have had interesting seasons. Some of those seasons have been great (Ryan Franklin); some good (Gavin Floyd); some surprising (Brian Sanches); some up-and-down (Pat Burrell); and others downright poor (Adam Eaton). On a rainy Friday we decided to put together an all- former Phillies team for the 2009 season.

Jorge Vazquez came off the disabled list yesterday and had five hits and four RBIs as the Trenton Thunder swept an Eastern League doubleheader from the Binghamton Mets. Vazquez went 3 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs in a 9-3 victory in the opener. In a 3-0 win in the nightcap, he went 2 for 3 with an RBI. Harrisburg 8, Reading 7 READING - Jeremy Slayden, hitting .458 (11 for 24) since being demoted from Lehigh Valley last week, had four hits and two RBIs, but the Phillies lost to the Senators in the Eastern League.

Jeremy Slayden ripped a two-run homer to key a three-run fourth inning as the Reading Phillies beat the New Britain Rock Cats, 7-3, in the Eastern League last night. New Britain 101000100 -380 Reading00132010x -7111 WP: Fabio Castro (5-1). LP: Anthony Swarzak (3-6). HR: NB-Luke Hughes (14). R-Jeremy Slayden (11), Joey Hammond (3), Lou Marson (1). A: 7,315. Lehigh Valley 017002020 -12170 Rochester000030110 -5111 WP: Les Walrond (2-7). LP: Philip Humber (4-7)

The Akron Aeros raced to a 7-0 lead, then held on to defeat the Reading Phillies, 9-6, in the Eastern League last night. The Phillies loaded the bases with no outs in the ninth on consecutive singles. Greg Golson's groundout and Mike Costanzo's single scored two runs. But with the tying run at the plate, Jason Hill went down swinging, and Greg Jacobs fouled out to third base. The loss was the second in a row for the Phillies after five straight victories. With shortstop Brandon Pinckney leading the way with two doubles and three RBIs, the Aeros jumped to an early 7-0 lead, with six of the runs being charged to Zack Segovia.

WASHINGTON - The Phillies' magic number is three. That ain't a good thing. There was a trivia question hidden in last night's dramatic win over the Washington Nationals, courtesy of Russell Branyan's pinch-hit homer in the eighth inning. And, not to let any fizz out of another exciting moment, it doesn't necessarily bode well for their hopes the rest of the season. Until Branyan's blast gave the Phillies the 3-2 win last night at RFK Stadium, it was just one. Charlie Manuel knew that.

Clete Thomas drove in three runs last night to lead the Erie SeaWolves past the Trenton Thunder, 12-1, in the Eastern League. The loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Thunder this season. Starter Kevin Whelan walked four batters in the first when Erie jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Before the game, righthanders Joba Chamberlain and Ian Kennedy were promoted from Trenton to the triple-A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees. Lefthander Chase Wright and righthander Tyler Clippard were sent down.

Joba Chamberlain struck out a career-high 12 batters over six innings last night to lead the Trenton Thunder to a 2-0 win over the Harrisburg Senators and a sweep of their four-game Eastern League series. Chamberlain has struck out 22 in his last two starts. Ottawa 4, Scranton 3 OTTAWA, Ontario - Brennan King's sacrifice fly in the bottom of the ninth gave the Lynx an International League win over the Yankees. Carlos Leon and Joe Thurston drew walks and Chris Roberson singled in the ninth to load the bases for King.

Zach Segovia won his first start for Reading last night, leading the Phillies to a 3-1 win over the Altoona Curve in the Eastern League. Segovia, who was 1-9 in triple-A Ottawa, allowed four hits and an unearned run. Ottawa 4, Columbus 3 COLUMBUS, Ohio - Chris Roberson singled in the winning run in the 11th inning as the Lynx beat the Clippers in the International League. Wilmington 1, Frederick 0 WILMINGTON - Rowdy Hardy scattered six hits over eight innings to improve to 9-1 and lower his ERA to 1.41 as the Blue Rocks beat the Keys in the Carolina League.

Alan Horne pitched six strong innings to lead the Trenton Thunder past the Akron Aeros, 9-5, in the Eastern League last night. Horne scattered five hits and allowed one run. Toledo 8, Ottawa 2 OTTAWA, Ontario - The Mud Hens clubbed three home runs - including Mike Hessman's 21st homer of the season - to beat the Lynx in the International League. Binghamton 8, Reading 7 Reading 3, Binghamton 2 READING - Jason Hill reached first on catcher's interference by Mike Nickeas, sending Mike Spidale home with the winning run in the bottom of the seventh as the Phillies split an Eastern League doubleheader with the Mets.

Joba Chamberlain struck out nine in five innings in a 2-0 win as the Trenton Thunder completed a sweep of the Connecticut Defenders in an Eastern League doubleheader last night. Jeffrey Marquez had pitched a seven-inning complete game as the Thunder won the opener, 3-1. The righthanded Chamberlain had been promoted yesterday from single-A Tampa, where he had a 4-0 record with 51 strikeouts in 40 innings. Reading 5, Binghamton 3 BINGHAMTON, N.Y. - Randy Ruiz doubled leading off the 13th inning and scored on a single by Greg Jacobs as the Phillies outlasted the Mets in the Eastern League.