August 3

Another miserably hot day, they're calling for daytime highs in the low 90s all weekend. On the way to Reading in the afternoon I made a stop in Ephrata. Dick Myers gave me the address of a business that accepts and recycles worn-out electronics, I took my old laptop there to give it a dignified retirement. I had it almost ten years, the last thing I wanted to do was toss it in the trash. At the ballpark the R-Phils hosted the Binghamton Mets in the opener of a weekend series. The ballclub's roster has undergone a makeover in recent days as Jonathan Petibone, Sebastian Valle and Cesar Hernandez were all promoted to the AAA club in Allentown. In return Justin Friend was reassigned from AAA and pitchers Brody Colvin and Kyle Simon joined the club from FSL Clearwater. The organization also sent pitcher Ethan Martin and catcher Tommy Joseph to Reading, they were acquired via trade earlier in the week. The R-Phils got the weekend off to a good start as they defeated the B-Mets 4-1, all of the runs scored courtesy of the long ball. Darin Ruf hit two home runs and had three RBI, D'Arby Myers added a solo shot and for the record the lone B-Met run was a home run as well. Ethan Martin picked up the win in his Eastern League debut, Justin Friend recorded the save. Before the game we had a "renew your wedding vows" ceremony, one couple was saying theirs for the first time. After the game we had fireworks but it goes without saying that I was nowhere to be seen once they got started. The series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday and wraps up with a single game on Sunday. Take care, thanks for reading.