Final score: Reading 4, Trenton 2

Synopsis: Brett Marshall allowed three solo homers and an RBI groundout, and the Thunder got only a two-run bomb from Ramon Flores in a postseason-opening loss at a half-full FirstEnergy Stadium.

Bright spots: Flores' home run, obviously. The blast was his second in as many games in Double-A. The two homers account for a third of his total all season with Tampa. I guess you just can't predict baseball.

- Mark Montgomery fanned a pair in his scoreless eighth inning.

- Zoilo Almonte drew a four-pitch walk off of Eastern League saves leader Justin Friend to lead off the ninth. For a guy who drew just 25 walks all year and just two in his last 38 at-bats, that was an oddity indeed.

- Adonis Garcia notched a pair of hits in his first playoff game.

- David Adams had the team's other extra-base hit, a double in the fourth inning after Flores had homered.

A look into the future: If you're looking for Tyler Austin to make his postseason debut tomorrow -- on his 21st birthday -- don't. Manager Tony Franklin said afterward that he'd be throwing out today's lineup again on Thursday.

Bad luck dragon: Trenton had itself set up for a big inning again in the sixth after Austin Hyatt, who had thrown eight straight balls to J.R. Murphy and Addison Maruszak, was hooked in favor of Tyler Knigge, who had allowed seven runs -- five earned -- in just five frames this season against Trenton. Kevin Mahoney scorched a ball toward Troy Hanzawa, who dropped to a knee and snared the liner before quickly shoveling the ball to second to double up Maruszak and end the inning. 

Picks to click: Here are my game story and notebook from Wednesday.