PORTLAND — Home cooking and an unusual dessert made it a tasty Eastern League All-Star Classic for Portland Sea Dogs faithful Wednesday night at Hadlock Field.
Portland’s delegates to the midsummer showcase delivered early and authoritatively for the East in a 5-4 win over the West before a capacity crowd of 7,368.
Most of those spectators stayed to watch an ending they probably will never see again.
With the game tied at 4 after nine innings, the rules called for a “home run derby shootout,” with coaches from each team pitching to three sluggers selected by the manager.
East skipper Billy McMillon of the Sea Dogs went with Brock Stassi and Brian Pointer of Reading and K.C. Hobson of New Hampshire. His counterpart, Jose Alguacil, chose Dan Gamache of Altoona, Dean Green of Erie and Ricky Oropesa of Richmond.
“The fans were into it. Both sides were into it,” McMillon said. “But it was a little nerve-wracking there.”
After a fruitless series of swings by all six players, the derby went to sudden death. The league’s top sluggers were a combined 0-for-21 before Pointer ended it with a no-doubter to the right field pavilion.
“That was pretty awesome seeing it go out, ending the thing, a little saga here at the end,” Pointer said. “I’m just happy just that we won and happy to walk it off. That was crazy. This is my first all-star game, and to have a home run derby to walk it off is pretty unusual and pretty cool.”
Marco Hernandez crushed the only conventional home run of the game to just about the same spot as the game-winner, a two-run bomb in the second inning.
The Sea Dogs’ shortstop said he didn’t lobby to be one of the East’s designated free swingers in the shootout.
“No, for me, that would be dumb,” Hernandez said. “That’s amazing. Tie game, nine innings, to end it that way, I’ve never seen that.”
Pointer, the East’s designated hitter, was 1-for-3 with a walk during the actual game.
“We were all scratching and clawing to get in there,” Pointer said. “I’ve had a good record here, so I got the opportunity. I knew it was gone. It was a good feeling.”
Hernandez was 2-for-2 and scored two runs from the leadoff slot. Portland third baseman Jantzen Witte added an RBI.
The Sea Dogs had pitching and defense covered, too.
William Cuevas started for the East and breezed through a 1-2-3 inning. Madison Younginer worked a scoreless sixth, with Carlos Asuaje on the receiving end of an inning double play.
Later, after the East’s lead evaporated in a disastrous top of the seventh inning, southpaw reliever Robby Scott entered the game and coaxed a broken-bat grounder from Oropesa to escape a bases-loaded fracas. Scott also worked a perfect eighth.
It was overdue cause to cheer for the home crowd, which has remained a league leader in attendance despite the last-place Sea Dogs’ struggles in the win column.
The West worked its way back into it with a three-run, game-tying rally in the top of the seventh. The wheels came off at the expense of New Britain reliever Austin House, who was touched up for three consecutive hits to start the frame before issuing three successive walks with two out.
Pedro Severino’s single, a Wynton Bernard triple and a hit by Anthony Gallas cut the gap to 4-3. House benefited from a sacrifice and a bounce out before walking Quincy Latimore and Gamache.
After Josh Bell missed a grand slam by inches down the right field line, House served him ball four for the tying run.
Hernandez singled off Joe Biagini to lead off the bottom of the first for the East. He scampered to third on Josh Rodriguez’s base hit and scored on Witte’s groundout to second base.
His towering blast to right field punctuated a three-run second.
“We were in it for this moment tonight. To celebrate,” Rodriguez said. “If we lost, fine, but it turned out right.”
Brandon Nimmo jump-started the second with a leadoff double. He moved up on a Pointer groundout and scored on Jake Cave’s sacrifice fly.
Dwight Smith Jr., who had a 25-game on-base streak for New Hampshire earlier this season, followed with a single to set the table for Hernandez’s clout and a 4-0 lead.
The West got one back in the third with the help of a one-out error and a single by Max Moroff. Rando Moreno plated the run with a groundout.
That was the first of six consecutive outs, including a whiff and two caught looking, by the East staff.
Younginer worked around Bell’s one-out double in the sixth after he was caught leaning on Oropesa’s low, shallow fly ball to Smith in left. Smith’s throw to Asuaje pegged Bell by a step.
West pitchers retired the final seven East hitters in regulation.
Gallas (2-for-4) of the West and Hernandez were the only repeat hitters.
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