The Reading Fightin Phils had just enough clutch hitting and pitching Tuesday night to outlast the Portland Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field.

Leadoff hitter Roman Quinn drove in three runs as the Phils beat the Sea Dogs, 6-4.

“They are a better club,” Portland Manager Carlos Febles said. “That’s the reason they’re 34-18. They’re a good offensive team. They pitch well.”

Still, Febles could find little fault with his team.

“This is a game where us managers feel good about (their) club,” he said. “We fell behind early and we tied it up. We grinded it out and it gave us a chance later in the game. Hopefully it will give us momentum for the next game.”

The Phils, who remain atop the Eastern Division despite losing three straight games in Manchester, New Hampshire, over the weekend, opened the scoring when Quinn pulled his second home run of the season 391 feet to right to lead off the game.

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Reading had a chance to add to that lead. With one out, Jorge Alfaro doubled off the bottom of the wall in left just inside the foul pole and Dylan Cozens walked. The Sea Dogs turned a double play to end the inning.

Andrew Benintendi of the Portland Sea Dogs slides into third base, reaching on a single and moving around when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. Two runs scored on the fifth-inning play at Hadlock Field. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Andrew Benintendi of the Portland Sea Dogs slides into third base, reaching on a single and moving around when the ball was misplayed in the outfield. Two runs scored on the fifth-inning play at Hadlock Field. Derek Davis/Staff Photographer

Portland made it 1-1 in the third. Tzu-Wei Lin, after reaching on a fielder’s choice, moved to third when first baseman Carlos Alfonso was unable to handle pitcher John Richey’s pickoff attempt, then scored when Rainel Rosario’s blooper to right fell int.

The Sea Dogs threatened to score again in the fourth. With one out, Nate Freiman singled up the middle and Ryan Court lined an opposite-field double into the right-field corner.

But Richey struck out Jake Romanski and got Cole Sturgeon on a grounder to first.

In the fifth, the Phils chased Portland starter Ty Buttrey, who had retired 10 straight. Reading batted around and scored three runs to take a 4-1 lead.

“I think (Buttrey) got real tired,” Febles said. “For me, that was his issue. Fatigue.”

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Portland got three unearned runs in the bottom of the inning to make it 4-4.

With two outs, Henry Ramos reached on an error, Sean Coyle doubled, and two runs scored when Andrew Benintendi hit an opposite-field single down the left-field line.

Benintendi went to third when Aaron Brown let the ball roll past him and scored when Court lined a single to center for his third hit of the game.

The Phils regained a 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth off reliever Rob Wort (0-4). With two outs, Brown walked, and K.C. Serna and Quinn followed with back-to-back singles.

The Phils then completed the scoring when Christian Marrero led off the seventh with his fourth home run of the season.

The Sea Dogs managed to get two hits off left-handed reliever Hoby Milner, who pitched two scoreless innings and hasn’t allowed an earned run in 18 innings this season, and closer Miguel Nunez, who worked the ninth for his team-high fifth save, but were unable to come up with the big hit.

NOTES: Nate Freiman has hit safely in 12 of 13 games at Hadlock Field. Freiman, who is batting .302 at home, has reached base safely in 16 of 19 starts since joining the Sea Dogs. … The announced attendance was 2,744.


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