HARTFORD, Conn. (Interstat) — The Reading Fightin Phils defeated the Hartford Yard Goats 5-4 on Thursday, Sept. 17, 2026, at Dunkin’ Park, completing a two-game sweep of the Eastern League (AA) playoff series. Reading won the series 2-0. The Fightin Phils scored once in the first, twice in the second, and added runs in the fourth and sixth. Hartford answered with two in the second, one in the seventh, and one in the eighth. Reading had six hits; Hartford had five. Mavis Graves (4-7) earned the win, Jackson Cox (6-6) took the loss, and Estibenzon Jimenez recorded his eighth save. Cody Bowker struck out six over four innings, while Victor Juarez fanned three in two scoreless relief innings. Wen-Hui Pan and Cade Denton also pitched scoreless relief. Braylen Wimmer drove in two runs for Hartford, and Jared Thomas homered. Bryan Rincon also homered for Reading. The game took 2 hours, 57 minutes and drew 4,926 fans. Reading improved to 69-67; Hartford fell to 66-72.