April 21, 2024 Sea Dogs Game Notes
April 21, 2024 - Eastern League (EL)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
SEA DOGS TAKE THE SERIES ON SATURDAY The Portland Sea Dogs (8-4) take the series over the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (7-7) with a 6-2 win on Saturday afternoon. Matthew Lugo went two-for-two while driving in four of Portland's runs. He launched his third home run of the season to center field in the sixth. Hunter Dobbins earned his first win of the season while Felix Cepeda earned his third save. Phillip Sikes put Portland on the board first in the bottom of the second with a single to score Blaze Jordan before advancing to second on a throwing error by the shortstop, Michael Turconi. New Hampshire countered in the sixth with an RBI single off the bat of Zach Britton to tie the game at one. In the bottom of the inning, Sikes hit his first double of the season off the Maine Monster to score Mickey Gasper and put Portland back on top. Lugo crushed his third home run of the season to center field to bring home Sikes with him and extend a 4-1 lead. Turconi hit an RBI single in the top of the eighth inning to cut the Portland lead in half. Lugo recorded his second hit of the day in the bottom of the eighth after cranking a double (2) to center field. The two-run double scored Nick Yorke and Gasper to propel the Sea Dogs to a 6-2 win.
'DOGS DEJA VU The Portland Sea Dogs have won in walk-off fashion on April 19th for the last three years after a walk- off win last night. On April 19, 2022 Devlin Granberg finishes a triple shy of the cycle in a walk-off 6-5 victory against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies at Hadlock Field. He led off the bottom of the ninth inning with a double then scored on a walk-off fielding error by the Rumble Ponies. Last season, The Portland Sea Dogs walked off with a 4-3 win in 10 innings over the Reading Fightin Phils on a Wednesday night at Hadlock Field. With the game tied through nine, for the first time in 2023, Portland would go into extra innings. Despite Reading threatening with runners on the corners in the top of the tenth, Brendan Nail was lights out to keep the Fightins at bay. Corey Rosier represented the zombie runner for the Sea Dogs in the bottom of the tenth. A ground-out hit by Yorke would allow Rosier to advance on the play and put the winning run ninety feet away An RBI fielder's choice hit by Tyler McDonough would be enough to allow Rosier to score and Portland walked it off, 4-3.
LUGO IN HIGH LEVERAGE Matthew Lugo has driven in nine of Portland's eighteen runs this series with the New Hampshire Fisher Cats. He enters the finale sporting a .500 batting average against Fisher Cats pitching while going six- for-twelve with two runs scores, two doubles, one triple, one home run, four walks, and three strikeouts. He has a .625 OBP this series. Lugo went 2-for-4 with a bases-loaded triple in the 8th inning to break a 2-2 tie leading the Portland Sea Dogs to a 5-2 win on Wednesday before delivering the decisive hit on Thursday night with a double to drive in the first run of the game in the seventh inning. Yesterday, he drove in four of Portland's six runs on the day, highlighted by a two-run homer which marked his third this season. He now ties Eddinson Paulino for the team-lead.
HOME RUN HITTERS Portland launched twelve homers across six games in Reading last week. Eddinson Paulino and Matthew Lugo now lead the team with three on the season. Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel have each hit a pair while Nick Decker, Max Ferguson, Marcelo Mayer, Nick Yorke, and Mickey Gapser all have tallied one. Portland is sits in third in all of Double-A with fifteen total while ranking second in the Eastern League, just behind the Patriots who have nineteen.
MAYER ON FIRE Marcelo Mayer rode a ten-game hitting streak along with a ten-game on base streak from 4/7-4/19 which marked the longest in the Eastern League. The top prospect has tallied a .326 average with a .347 OBP over eleven games this season. Across those eleven games, he has tallied eight runs, fifteen hits, three doubles, one homer, six RBI and a pair of stolen bags. He leads Sea Dogs batters in runs and hits coming into the day.
AMONGST BASEBALL'S BEST According to a recent ranking by Baseball America, the Portland Sea Dogs rank second in the "1O Most Talented Minor League Baseball Teams for 2024". Portland comes in just behind the Norfolk Tides (Orioles AAA) who rank first. The Sea Dogs are the only other team besides the Tides to have three Top 100 Prospects on their roster.
PROMISING PROSPECTS IN PORTLAND The top three prospects in Boston's system (according to MLB.com and Baseball America) will begin the season in Portland with Marcelo Mayer (1), Roman Anthony (2), and Kyle Teel (3) headling the Opening Day Roster. Mayer appeared in 43 games with Portland in 2023 prior to a shoulder injury that ended his season in early August. Both Anthony and Teel were promoted to Portland for the final 10 games of last season. In their first glimpses of Double-A, Anthony hit .343 with four doubles, one homer, and three stolen bases while Teel recorded a .363 average with six doubles, two home runs, and three stolen bases. All three prospects were invited to Winter Weekend with the Red Sox in 2023 while also earning invitations to the inaugural Spring Breakout Game. Teel was named to the Spring Breakout First Team at the catcher position.
THIS DAY IN SEA DOGS HISTORY: April 21, 2022 - Hudson Potts drives in five runs in a four-for-five night for the Sea Dogs. He clubbed two home runs with a single and double in Portland's 12-5 win over the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.
PITCHING PREVIEW RHP Angel Bastardo will take the mound for the Sea Dogs in the finale. He last pitched on 4/14 in Reading where he tossed 4.2 innings allowing three runs on two hits while walking five and striking out three. He has held opponents to a .094 average. He has yet to face New Hampshire in his career.
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- April 21, 2024 Sea Dogs Game Notes - Portland Sea Dogs
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