MANCHESTER, NH — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (4-17, 34-55) dropped an early afternoon contest to the Reading Fightin Phils (10-12, 41-50) at Delta Dental Stadium Wednesday, 7-0. Fisher Cats pitching struck out 13 batters, but the offense faltered again; the Cats failed to score a run for the fourth straight contest.

New Hampshire right-hander Nick Fraze (L, 0-1) took the ball for the first three innings; other than a solo home run, Fraze held the Fightin Phils in check. The Texas State product struck out six and allowed four total baserunners.

Cade Doughty recorded two of New Hampshire’s five hits. Rainer Nuñez bashed his second triple of the year in the bottom of the second. The Fisher Cats’ leadoff batters reached base in five separate innings.

Abdiel Mendoza handled the next three frames for the Cats and allowed one run, a solo homer. Mendoza

struck out a batter per inning. Braydon Fisher sat down the side in the seventh. Reading scored five runs in the eighth, three on the line of Andrew Bechtold and two against Jimmy Burnette. Juan Nuñez cleaned up the eighth and faced the minimum in the ninth.

Reading starter Matt Osterberg (W, 3-6) pitched five scoreless innings and struck out six. The Fightin Phils bullpen handled the final four.

The Fightin Phils scored their first run on a Carson Taylor solo home run in the second, and Cade Fergus left the yard in the fifth. With a 2-0 in the top of the eighth, Reading scored five runs on eight hits to blow the game open, 7-0.