Bowie Baysox two wins from Eastern League championship (Reading leads 9-1)

BOWIE, Md. - So far, the Eastern League Championship Series has mirrored the EL semifinal series for the Double-A Bowie Baysox. And the Baysox would be fine if that trend continued.

In their series with Altoona, Bowie lost the opener 8-7 before running off three straight wins to advance. In the ELCS with Reading, Bowie lost the opener on Tuesday night 3-1 and then bounced back with a blowout 10-3 win last night at Reading.

Tonight, the series shifts to Prince George's Stadium for the pivotal Game 3. Bowie is two wins away from its first-ever Eastern League championship.

Tonight's pitching matchup features hurlers who were traded this season. For Bowie, the starting pitcher will be 23-year-old lefty Chris Lee, who faces Reading right-hander Jake Thompson.

The 23-year-old Lee was drafted by Houston in Round 4 in 2011. In May of this season, he was traded to the Orioles for two international bonus slots. He then went to Single-A Frederick, and went 3-6 with a 3.07 ERA over 14 starts. Tonight, he makes his ninth start for Bowie.

Lee went 4-2 with a 3.08 ERA in seven regular-season starts for the Baysox. Last Friday, he was the winning pitcher in Game 3 versus Altoona when he went six innings, allowing six hits and two runs.

"He's got a really good arm, a quality arm," Bowie manager Gary Kendall said of Lee. "His fastball range, I've never seen a guy that ranges from 88 to 95 (mph), and he'll pitch somewhere in between. He's got a little in reserve every now and again, and he'll flash some above-average fastballs. His breaking ball and his changeup need to be more consistent, and I think that is a work in progress. He and (pitching coach) Alan Mills have worked hard to improve on that."

The 21-year-old Thompson was part of the Cole Hamels trade, going from Texas to Philadelphia on July 30. Then, in his first seven starts for his new organization, he went 5-1 with a 1.80 ERA for Reading. He was even better last Friday in the playoffs, pitching a complete-game, three-hit shutout versus Binghamton on 108 pitches.

Thompson was ranked by Baseball America as the Rangers' No. 2 prospect at the end of the 2014 season and was ranked No. 43 overall on their Top 100 list.

This should be an interesting matchup as Thompson is facing a Bowie team that has scored seven or more runs in four of its six postseason games. Bowie has scored 39 runs in the six games, going 4-2.

Some leading Bowie playoff batters:

* Mike Yastrzemski is 9-for-22 (.409) with three doubles, two triples, two homers and six RBIs.

* Quincy Latimore is 10-for-26 (.385) with four doubles, three homers and nine RBIs. He leads all EL batters in playoff homers and RBIs.

* Ozzie Martinez is 8-for-21 (.381) with two doubles and four RBIs.

* Garabez Rosa is 10-for-27 (.370) with one double, triple, homer and five RBIs.

* Glynn Davis is 3-for-12 (.250) with two doubles, a triple and five RBIs.

Check back here later today for updates from Bowie and a full story after tonight's game.

Reading gets lead: The Fightin Phils took a 1-0 lead in the third on an unearned run. No. 9 hitter KC Serna led off with an infield single and advanced to second on Lee's throwing error. He went to third on a groundout and scored on J.P. Crawford's sac fly. Bowie went hitless in the first three innings against Thompson, who, so far, has looked as good as advertised. An inning later a two-run double by Harold Martinez made it a 3-0 Reading lead.

Reading adds again to lead: Nick Williams homered leading off the fifth, giving the Phils a 4-0 lead and knocking Lee from the game. Lee went four innings plus a batter, allowing five hits and four runs.

Now the big inning: Reading scored five runs in the sixth off three Baysox pitchers to lead 9-0. And it sure looks like the Baysox will have to win Friday and Saturday to win the EL title. Bowie got on the board in the sixth on Quincy Latimore's RBI infield single.