Jake Thompson wins his debut with Reading

TRENTON - Jake Thompson spent five hours of his Tuesday afternoon on a chartered bus in a traffic jam. Double-A Reading's usual 90-minute trip to Trenton's Arm & Hammer Park was delayed by an accident on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The righthander's first outing after being acquired from Texas as part of the Cole Hamels trade was off to a great start.

"It was one of those typical minor-league days. Everyone grabbed a bag off the bus and we said, 'Let's go get 'em, boys,' " said manager Dusty Wathan after Thompson pitched seven strong innings in Reading's 7-1 win over the Thunder.

Thompson, 21, killed the time by playing cards and watching movies. Whatever he did, it seemed to work. He allowed one run on six hits. He threw only 75 pitches, 51 of which were for strikes. Thompson, who was ranked as Texas' No. 1 pitching prospect, recorded 13 of his 21 outs on ground balls. He struck out one batter and walked none. His low-90s fastball was matched with a sharp-breaking slider.

"Usually, I'm a pretty big ground ball guy," Thompson said. "Tonight, I got a little bit more. I usually strike out some guys, but I got a bunch of ground balls instead. I'll take it."

It was the second straight summer that Thompson found himself playing for a new team. Detroit traded him last July to Texas. Thompson lasted just four innings in his first start with Texas' double-A affiliate. The pitcher said he was "really, really nervous" that night. He made an added effort to stay calm on Tuesday.

"I didn't try to blow people away with fastballs," Thompson said. "I wasn't really going after strikeouts. I was trying to generate weak contact, and I was able to do that."

Nick Williams, who came with Thompson from Texas, also debuted. The 21-year-old played center field and batted leadoff. Wathan said he plans to keep him in both of those roles. Williams went 2 for 5 with one strikeout. He led off the game with a single to right and later showed off his strong arm on a throw to third base. Williams has experience in all three outfield positions.

"They're all the same," Williams said. "They say left is the hardest, but left I got really used to. I feel comfortable in center. I like center because you can take charge. But in the end, I'll play anywhere."