PORTLAND, Maine — Zach Eflin yielded two unearned runs over 8 ⅔ innings, leading the visiting Reading Fightin Phils to a 6-2 win over the Portland Sea Dogs on Friday night at Hadlock Field in front of 6,053 fans.
Eflin was lifted in the ninth inning after four straight batters reached base with two outs.
Carlos Asuaje broke up the shutout with a two-run homer into the U.S. Cellular Pavilion. The homer was the first for Asuaje in Double-A and extended his team-high on-base streak to 29 straight games.
The Sea Dogs extended the inning off Eflin on singles by Jantzen Witte and Oscar Tejeda, but Lee Ridenhour retired Keury De La Cruz on a close 1-3 play to end the game. Ridenhour notched his first save of the season.
William Cuevas (5-2) took the loss for Portland, giving up three runs on seven hits over six innings. Gabriel Lino finished with a homer, double and two RBIs. Brock Stassi went 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Reading scored three times off Kyle Kraus in the eighth inning on Lino’s homer and a run-scoring groundout by KC Serna.
Portland is now 2-2 on the homestand, but has won five of its last seven games.