Erie SeaWolves (53-66) at Reading Phillies (48-69)
Thursday-Friday, 7:05 p.m.
Saturday, 6:35 p.m.; Sunday, 1:05 p.m.
FirstEnergy Stadium, Reading

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-- SeaWolves designated hitter Jeff Frazier's seventh-inning solo homer in Wednesday's 8-3 win over Harrisburg was his sixth homer of the season and his first long ball since a 9-4 Erie win at New Hampshire on June 6.

-- Left-handed reliever Josh Kite threw two scoreless innings of relief against Harrisburg on Wednesday and has not allowed a run in three innings since joining the SeaWolves last week.
Kite struck out three, walked one and did not allow a hit.

Kite was signed by the Detroit Tigers from the independent Sioux Falls Canaries and assigned to Erie.

-- Three Erie players saw their hit streaks end on Wednesday. Third baseman Santo De Leon went 0-for-3, ending a 13-game hitting streak, while left fielder Wilkin Ramirez (0-for-5) had an eight-game streak and center fielder Casper Wells (0-for-3) a six-game streak stopped.

-- Right-hander Casey Fien has not allowed a run in his first four appearances with Triple-A Toledo. Fien, the former SeaWolves' closer who was promoted to the Mud Hens on July 27, has thrown five scoreless inning for Toledo and is 1-0, allowing four hits with six strikeouts and one walk.

Harrisburg pitcher Andrew Kown sat with his new teammates in the right field visitor’s bullpen at Jerry Uht Park as they prepared to begin their pre-game stretching routine 2½ hours before the start of Monday’s game against the SeaWolves.
Less than two weeks ago, Kown was ready to come off the Erie SeaWolves’ disabled list, hopeful that his right shoulder strain problem was behind him and eager to put up some good numbers the remainder of the season.
Kown’s 1½-year tenure with the SeaWolves ended on July 22 when the Tigers gave the 6-foot 7-inch, 210-pound native of Marietta, Ga., his unconditional release. Kown, 25, signed a minor league contract with the Washington Nationals last week and was assigned to the Senators, who are visiting Erie for a three-game series through Wednesday.
“I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Erie and I have nothing but good memories from here, not all of them pitching, but I enjoyed the town and what it had for me,’’ Kown said. “I’m glad to be back in whatever capacity it’s in. The Nationals are giving me a shot to put numbers up in a league I was in, so I can’t ask for much more than that.’’
With the SeaWolves this season, Kown was 5-9 with a 5.38 ERA in 17 games. Before his release, Kown spent two weeks on Erie’s disabled list due to a right shoulder strain.
“It was unfortunate I did get released because I enjoyed my time with the Tigers,’’ Kown said. “I was spotty here and there putting up some good numbers, and I was hoping to put a good rest of the season together with Erie, but they had to make some decisions and I was the guy to go. I would have loved a chance to come back out and prove myself after being on the disabled list.’’
Kown’s release from Erie was just one of 23 roster moves the SeaWolves have undergone since the Eastern League all-star break.
SeaWolves manager Tom Brookens said the Tigers felt Kown would top out at Double-A.
“This is a tough game,’’ Brookens said. “It wasn’t that he’s not a decent pitcher. He certainly is, but at this point in our organization, we decided to go a different direction.
With all the movement we’ve had, and we have some good arms down in Lakeland, when we feel this guy tops out at maybe the Double-A level, then they get moved on to make room for some of the new arms coming up to see what they can do. I wish him all the best. I don’t want him beating us by any means, but I hope he gets to the big leagues with the Nationals.’’
Kown has inherited bullpen duty with the Senators. He made his debut with them on Saturday against the Akron Aeros and threw one inning, allowing two runs.
“I did have some other interests, but the Nationals seemed like my best shot at getting right back to Double-A and having a chance to compete,’’ Kown said.
Kown went 6-8 with a 4.13 ERA in 27 games (19 starts) with the SeaWolves in 2007.
“I don’t know that much about him, but we’re going to get him some work and he’s going to be in the middle of the bullpen for us,’’ Harrisburg manager John Stearns said. “He’s a key guy and he’s going to be fine.’’

SeaWolves right-hander Guillermo Moscoso, 24, is scheduled to start on Sunday against the Reading Phillies in his Double-A debut.
Moscoso, a native of Maracay, Venezuela, was promoted to the SeaWolves on Wednesday from advanced Single-A Lakeland. He appeared in 15 games with the Flying Tigers this season, including six starts, and was 2-3 with a 2.42 ERA and one save.
Last season, as a member of the short-season Oneonta Tigers, Moscoso threw only the second nine-inning perfect game in New York-Penn League history in a July 15 start against Batavia.
The only other nine-inning NY-P perfect game was thrown by Erie’s John Herbert in 1956.

Eastern League preview
Reading Phillies (47-64) at Erie SeaWolves (48-64)
Today-Saturday, 7:05 p.m.; Sunday, 1:05 p.m.
Jerry Uht Park

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After defeating the Akron Aeros 11-5 on Tuesday at Canal Park, the Erie SeaWolves were busy on the transaction front.
The club released starting right-hander Ben Fritz and transferred right-handed starter Lauren Gagnier to low Single-A West Michigan. Their spots on the roster will be taken by right-handed starter Scot Drucker, whom the Detroit Tigers signed from the independent Grand Prairie AirHogs over the weekend, and right-hander Guillermo
In 18 games, including 14 starts, Fritz was 3-5 with a 6.40 ERA.
Moscoso, who was promoted to the SeaWolves from advanced Single-A Lakeland.
Moscoso was 2-3 with a 2.42 ERA and one save in 15 games, including six starts, at Lakeland.
Gagnier began the season at West Michigan, then was promoted to Triple-A Toledo, where he made several starts. He was transferred to Erie on July 8, where he went 2-2, with both wins coming against the Eastern League Southern Division-leading Akron Aeros.
This batch of moves follows three moves on Sunday, in which Erie closer Casey Fien and shortstop Danny Worth were promoted to Triple-A Toledo, and West Michigan reliever Rudy Darrow was promoted to Erie.

The SeaWolves will be losing closer Casey Fien and shortstop Danny Worth indefinitely. Both players were promoted to the Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens on Sunday after Erie’s 10-1 loss to the Bowie Baysox at Jerry Uht Park.
The team also announced that utility player Caonabo Cosme has been activated from the disabled list. Erie also will receive right-handed reliever Rudy Darrow from low Single-A West Michigan.
Toledo third baseman/designated hitter Mike Hessman and right-handed closer Blaine Neal, who leads the International League with 25 saves, are leaving the Mud Hens to compete with the U.S. baseball team at the Beijing Olympics.
Fien (3-3, 2.96), who is seventh in the Eastern League in saves with 12, has been the club’s most consistent reliever this season, appearing in 40 games.
“Coming into this year, I just wanted to be able to do my job whenever it was asked,’’ Fien said. “I’m going to take this opportunity and run with it. For a closer, you have to throw strikes and I have been throwing strikes. I’ve been getting outs here, so I think they think I can get the job done in Toledo.’’
Fien began the season in a setup role, but inherited closing duties in early May after right-hander Freddy Dolsi was promoted to the Detroit Tigers and right-hander Brett Jensen underwent Tommy John elbow surgery.
“Fien has been outstanding for us,’’ SeaWolves manager Tom Brookens said. “Ever since June, he has been rock solid. I don’t know what role they’ll use him in up there, and it really doesn’t matter. He just needs to go up and continue doing what he’s doing. I don’t expect him to be back here and I don’t want him back. Let him go up there and do the job.’’
Fien and Worth will be leaving an Erie team that’s been in fifth or last place in the EL Southern Division since mid-May for a Toledo team that is competing for a pennant. The Mud Hens were in second place in the International League West Division on Sunday, four games behind first-place Louisville.
“I bet the environment is totally different there and everyone is focused,’’ Fien said. “I’m not saying that we aren’t focused here, but there it’s going to be a little more intense because you’re going to be playoff-bound and they have a great team up there.’’
Worth came off of the disabled list on Monday after missing three weeks because of pain and stiffness in his throwing shoulder. Worth has five homers, 33 RBIs and a .254 average in 79 games this season.
Cosme has been on Erie’s disabled list since June 27 due to a back strain. He’s hit .250 with one homer and seven RBIs in 23 games this season.
With West Michigan, Darrow was 4-2 with a 1.85 ERA and four saves in 33 games. In 48 2/3 innings, Darrow has allowed 39 hits and 13 runs (10 earned) with 43 strikeouts and 15 walks.
In another personnel move, the Detroit Tigers purchased the contract of right-handed starting pitcher Scot Drucker from the independent Grand Prairie AirHogs and assigned him to the SeaWolves, according to a report on Grand Prairie’s Web site.
Brookens, however, said after Sunday’s game he was unaware of that move and was awaiting word from the Tigers.
Grand Prairie, a member of the 10-team American Association of Independent Professional Baseball league, is managed by former SeaWolves hitting instructor Pete Incaviglia.
Drucker, 26, a native of Miami, was 8-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 15 starts for Grand Prairie this season. He had 57 strikeouts and 20 walks in 93 1/3 innings. He limited opponents to a .224 batting average, and his ERA ranked second in the league.
Drucker was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 13th round of the 2004 draft and pitched in their organization for three years. He is Grand Prairie’s first-ever player to be signed by an affiliated team.

The Detroit Tigers purchased the contract of right-handed starting pitcher Scot Drucker from the independend Grand Prairie AirHogs and assigned him to the SeaWolves.
Grand Prairie, a member of the 10-team American Association of Independent Professional Baseball league, is managed by former SeaWolves hitting instructor Pete Incaviglia.
Drucker, 26, a native of Miami, was 8-3 with a 2.41 ERA in 15 starts for Grand Prairie this season. He had 57 strikeouts and 20 walks in 93 1/3 innings. He limited opponents to a .224 batting average, and his ERA ranked second in the league.
Drucker was selected by the Oakland Athletics in the 13th round of the 2004 draft and pitched in their organization for three years.

SeaWolves left fielder Wilkin Ramirez remains day-to-day as he recovers from a strained quad that’s forced him to miss the last 10 games.
Ramirez, who was selected to the Futures All-Star Game in New York City and the Eastern League All-Star Game, was placed on the seven-day disabled list on Monday, retroactive to July 17.
“He took a lot of live extra hitting (Friday), and I think he’s going to be probably ready at the end of the weekend,’’ SeaWolves manager Tom Brookens said. “He could possibly come off the disabled list (today) as far as his actual seven days are up, but I would think he’ll be ready for the Akron series on Monday.’’

Triple-A Toledo Mud Hens slugging third baseman Mike Hessman and closer Blaine Neal have been selected to the 23-man U.S. Olympic Team that will compete in the Summer Games in Beijing, China.
Hessman, who has appeared in the last two International League All-Star Games, ranks third in all of the minors with 30 homers.
Neal leads the International League with 24 saves.
The U.S. Team is comprised of 14 Triple-A players, seven from Double-A, one from Single-A and one from the collegiate level. Any player not on an active 25-man major league roster at the time of selection was eligible.
Three Eastern League players are on the U.S. roster – Akron Aeros outfielder Matt LaPorta and Reading Phillies shortstop Jason Donald and catcher Lou Marson.
Opening ceremonies are on Aug. 8. Team USA plays Korea on Aug. 13 in an opening-round game. The medal rounds begin Aug. 23, a day before the closing ceremonies.
Team USA did not qualify for the Olympics in 2004.