MANCHESTER, N.H. — For the first time this season, Portland dropped both games of a doubleheader. The ninth postponed game of the season on Monday night led to the two games on Tuesday, when the Sea Dogs (20-20) dropped two decisions to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats.
“It’s our first doubleheader win of the season, so that’s pretty good,” said Fisher Cats manager Gary Allenson. ” (Jon) Harris had his second best start and pitched real well, Portland has a good hitting ball club.”
In both contests, two-run home runs were the Sea Dogs’ downfall, with the Fisher Cats blasting bombs to go ahead in each game.
Jon Harris went six innings and surrendered just one run for the Fisher Cats (16-28) to carry New Hampshire to a 5-1 victory in the first game of the twinbill. New Hampshire third baseman Emilio Guerrero blasted an opposite field two run bomb in the bottom of the second to give the Fisher Cats a 2-0 lead.
Nick Longhi blasted his third home run of the season in the third inning to cut the lead to one, his first home run since April 22nd.
The Sea Dogs were in trouble again in the bottom of the fifth as Fisher Cats DH Tim Lopes singled in a run to chase starting pitcher Travis Lakins from the game. First baseman Ryan McBroom made it 5-1 with a fielder’s choice in the two-run inning.
New Hampshire’s Dusty Isaacs threw a wild pitch in the top of the seventh to score Portland’s Joseph Monge. Monge nearly scored from first on a double by Josh Tobias, but was sent back to third on the ground rule. That was it for the Portland scoring, and the Sea Dogs would finish with two runs.
Lakins pitched 4.1 innings and gave up five runs on seven hits.
“Their guy pitched well,” Allenson said of Lakins. “We were fortunate to get five runs.”
Game two opened with a bang for the Sea Dogs, but home runs downed them once again in a 3-2 defeat. Third baseman Mike Olt doubling in Cole Sturgeon to take a 1-0 lead in the second inning. Portland shortstop Tzu-Wei Lin extended his on base streak to 23 straight games with a single in the first inning.
New Hampshire center fielder Jonathan Davis took Taylor Grover deep in the bottom of the third with a two run shot to go ahead 2-1. Grover was making his third start of the season, all of which were in the second game of a doubleheader.
Lin drove in the tying run in the top of the 7th with a fielder’ choice to make the score 2-2. It took until the bottom of the eighth for Richard Urena to hit a sac fly off of Luis Ysla with the bases loaded for the Fisher Cats.
The Sea Dogs will continue their road trip with a 10:35 a.m. start in New Hampshire on Wednesday, and return home on Friday against Trenton.
“You just have to move around enough to get loose,” Allenson said. “It’s a quick turnaround, but it is for both ball clubs.”
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