September 3, 2022 Sea Dogs Game Notes
September 3, 2022 – Eastern League (EL) – Portland Sea Dogs News Release
SERIES SECURED – The Portland Sea Dogs capture their fourth win of the series, 5-4 over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats on Friday. New Hampshire drove in the first run of the game in the bottom of the first against Portland starter Thaddeus Ward. Davis Schneider led off with a single. He stole second base, and Elih Marrero made a throwing error, allowing Schneider to reach third. Luis De Los Santos drove in Schneider with a groundout, giving the Fisher Cats a 1-0 lead. The Sea Dogs responded with two runs in the top of the second against Fisher Cats starter Paxton Schultz. Niko Kavadas led off with a walk, and one out later, Izzy Wilson reached on a free pass of his own. Tyler Dearden singled to right field but Fisher Cats right fielder, Sebastian Espino, was able to catch Kavadas at home plate. Elih Marrero plated Wilson with a base hit and David Hamilton made it back-to-back RBI singles, scoring Dearden, giving Portland a 2-1 lead. The Fisher Cats tied the game in the bottom of the second inning with Ward still on the mound. With one out, Sebastian Espino launched a solo home run to left center, tying the game 2-2. Portland regained the lead in the top of the fourth with Schultz still pitching. Wilson led off with a single and stole second base. Dearden walked and Elih Marrero grounded into a double play, moving Wilson to third. Wilson came home on a wild pitch, giving the Sea Dogs a 3-2 lead. New Hampshire tied the game in the bottom of the seventh. With one out, Karl Ellison, Cam Eden, and Schneider walked to load the bases. Luis De Los Santos grounded into a fielder’s choice, scoring Ellison to tie the game 3-3. Both teams were scoreless through the ninth, forcing extra innings. The Sea Dogs scored two runs in the top of the 10th. Christian Koss was the extra-innings runner at second base and came home to score on a single from Stephen Scott, giving the Sea Dogs a 4-3 lead. Later in the inning, Wilson tripled home Scott, putting Portland up 5-3. The Fisher Cats scored one more run in the bottom of the inning on a De Los Santos RBI single, but Brett Kennedy shut the door on a 5-4 win.
MAINTAINING THE LEAD – Portland is still sitting in first place in the Northeast Division. They lead the Somerset Patriots by 2.0 games and the Hartford Yard Goats by 5.5. The Sea Dogs have won six-straight games and have only gained a game and a half on Somerset, who has lost in Binghamton, along with a rainout that has yet to be rescheduled.
WALKING THROUGH IT – The Sea Dogs have taken the first four games of the series against New Hampshire, and there has been one part of the game that has been more consistent than others. Portland hitters have walked 33 times throughout the four games. While averaging 8.25 walks per game, the Sea Dogs have pushed in five or more runs in each game this series. Three of the game have seen nine or more runs scored for Portland.
SIX-STRAIGHT WINS – After taking the final two games against Hartford, the Sea Dogs have snowballed those wins into a six-game winning streak. During this streak, Portland has outscored their opponents 39 to 20. The longest streak of the season for the Sea Dogs is eight games and was set from July 3 to July 12. The offense was also potent during that stretch, scoring double-digit runs five times over their longest streak of the season.
THIS DATE IN SEA DOGS HISTORY – September 3, 1994 – Vic Darensbourg becomes the first pitcher in Sea Dogs history to win 10 games in a season with 8.2 innings of 3-hit shutout ball and 7 strikeouts in Portland’s 2-0 win over Reading.
PITCHING MATCHUP – After having one of his toughest outings of the season on August 23, Brian Van Belle bounced back against the Yard Goats on August 28. Both of his last two starts came in the Tuesday and Sunday games at Hadlock Field against Hartford, with his first only lasting 0.2 innings, allowing four runs (three earned). In the Sunday finale, Van Belle spun 5.0, one-run innings, striking out five and walking two.
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