April 26, 2026 Sea Dogs Game Notes
Published on April 26, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
ORGANIZATIONAL SHAKE-UP Kyle Sasala has been named Acting Manager of the Portland Sea Dogs by the Boston Red Sox. Following yesterday's game in Portland, former Manager Chad Epperson was named to the Red Sox' coaching staff as Interim Third Base Coach. Kyle Sasala is in his third season on the Portland staff and was this year's Defensive Coach. Chad Epperson will serve as the Boston Red Sox' Interim Third Base Coach. Epperson, 54, has served as Manager of Double-A Portland since 2022, where he was the longest-tenured manager in team history and has a career record with the Sea Dogs of 300-266. In 2025, he surpassed Arnie Beyeler as winningest manager in the history of the Sea Dogs franchise.
WALK IT OFF!! For the second time this series, the Sea Dogs walked off a win against the Yard Goats. Down 3-2 in the bottom of the ninth on Saturday, Franklin Arias pinch hit for Ahbram Liendo, and sent a game-winning home run over the right field wall into the Hartford bullpen. On Thursday night, Arias hit a game-tying 2-run homer to left field, as Portland eventually walked it off in the tenth inning, 5-4, their first extra-inning game of the season.
FRANKLIN IS ON FIRE Franklin Arias hit his seventh home run of the season Saturday, with all of them coming in his last nine games played. Arias leads Portland in nearly every statistical hitting category, including AVG (.420), On Base Percentage (.492), Slugging (.920), Hits (21), RBI (17) and Home Runs (7). Arias leads all qualified AA hitters in OPS and is tied for fewest strikeouts with just five on the season.
DIDN'T SKIP A BEAT Max Ferguson was on the Injured List from 4/8 to 4/16. In his first game back, he blasted the Sea Dogs' first grand slam of the season. Ferguson is on an eleven game hit streak with at least one hit in every game he's played this season, including three doubles, three home runs, and nine RBI. Ferguson has three multi-hit games this season, including Thursday night's walk-off performance where he didn't enter until the ninth inning.
EXTRA BASE BONANZA The Sea Dogs have recorded 17 extra base hits during this series against Hartford, passing their previous season high of 16 vs Altoona. Nine of the 17 extra base hits have come off the bats of Franklin Arias or Max Ferguson.
THIS DAY IN SEA DOGS HISTORY April 26, 2008 - Michael Bowden (1-2) recorded his first win of the season, firing six scoreless frames and fanning a career-high 11 batters as the Sea Dogs rolled over the Binghamton Mets 12-1 on Saturday afternoon. Bowden retired the first 11 batters faced and allowed only one runner to reach scoring position.
ON THE MOUND LHP Hayden Mullins (1-1, 4.63 ERA) will make his fourth start of the season, coming off his best outing last week at Altoona. On April 19, Mullins pitched 6.0 scoreless innings, allowing just three hits while striking out eight batters. Mullins was the 2025 Portland Sea Dogs Pitcher of the Year, and entered the 2026 season ranked as a top 30 prospect in the Red Sox system by both Baseball America and MLB.com, checking in at no. 22 and no. 15 respectively.
Eastern League Stories from April 26, 2026
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- Mitchell's Homer Lifts Ducks to 10-5 Finale Win at Chesapeake - Akron RubberDucks
- Rumble Ponies Split Series-Ending Doubleheader with SeaWolves - Binghamton Rumble Ponies
- SeaWolves Split Doubleheader, Take Series in Binghamton - Erie SeaWolves
- Chaney Notches Second Quality Start, Richmond hands Somerset 4-3 loss in Extras - Somerset Patriots
- Harber, Squirrels Walk off Patriots in Extras - Richmond Flying Squirrels
- Senators Drop Series Finale from Curve, Fall 5-4 - Harrisburg Senators
- Yard Goats Drop Another One-Run Game in Portland - Hartford Yard Goats
- Sea Dogs Toss Ninth No-Hitter in Franchise History - Portland Sea Dogs
- Alfonzo's Double Sends Curve to 5-4 Win - Altoona Curve
- April 26, 2026 Sea Dogs Game Notes - Portland Sea Dogs
- Kyle Sasala Named Acting Manager of the Portland Sea Dogs - Portland Sea Dogs
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