EL1 New Hampshire Fisher Cats

Fisher Cats edge Sea Dogs, 7-6, on record-setting night

August 29, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
New Hampshire Fisher Cats News Release


Manchester, NH- On a Saturday night where a standing-room-only crowd of 8,601 gave the New Hampshire Fisher Cats a franchise-record 374,006 fans for the 2009 season, Todd Donovan had two hits, two runs and two stolen bases, and Trystan Magnuson pitched 2.2 shutout innings of emergency relief in a 7-6 victory over the Portland Sea Dogs at Merchantsauto.com Stadium.

The Fisher Cats (60-72) got out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first against Kris Johnson. Donovan (2-for-4, BB, 2 SB, 2 R) walked and scored his first run of the night on a triple to the right-centerfield gap by Darin Mastroianni (2-for-4, 3B, 2 RBI, 2 R, SB). Brad Emaus (0-for-1, BB, 2 SF, 2 RBI) followed with a sacrifice fly to score Mastroianni.

The Sea Dogs (62-69) drew even in the top of the second. Adrian Martin surrendered solo home runs to Luis Exposito (2-for-3, HR, 2B, BB), his third, and Jason Place (3-for-4, HR, 2 R), his fourth, before leaving the game with two outs after taking an Iggy Suarez (2-for-4, SB) line drive off his right leg.

Magnuson (1-0) entered the game and promptly retired the first seven batters he faced. The right-hander fanned three and allowed a pair of singles in his 2.2 innings to notch his first Double-A win.

New Hampshire recaptured the lead in the home half of the third against Johnson. Donovan reached on an error and stole second; Mastroianni tacked on his second RBI of the night with a single to left, advanced to second on Portland's second error of the inning, stole third base and scored on Emaus's second sac fly of the night. David Cooper (2-for-4, 2 R) then singled up the middle, and Nick Gorneault (2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI) went opposite field for his eighth homer, a two-run shot that increased the Fisher Cats' lead to 6-2.

Johnson allowed one more run before his night ended in the fifth. Cooper reached on an infield hit and came around to score when Al Quintana (1-for-4, 2B, RBI) belted a double to the left-centerfield gap for a 7-2 lead.

Johnson (0-2) was reached for seven runs -six earned- on nine hits in 4.1 innings to absorb the loss. The left-hander recorded seven strikeouts and yielded one walk.

Portland made things interesting, scoring two runs against Tim Collins in the seventh inning, courtesy of a run-scoring double by Ryan Kalish (1-for-4, 2B, BB, RBI, R) and an RBI ground out by Jorge Jimenez that scored Daniel Nava (0-for-3, 2 BB, R), who walked, trimming the Fishers' lead to 7-4.

Jimenez (1-for-5, HR, 3 RBI) tagged Danny Farquhar for a two-run homer, his team-leading 13th, that cleared the access road in right with two outs in the top of the ninth, making it a 7-6 game. It was the first home run allowed by the New Hampshire closer in 32 appearances this season. Farquhar bounced back to catch Jon Still (0-for-5) looking, striking out the side for his 12th save in 15 chances, and giving New Hampshire its second straight victory over Portland in the five-game series.

On Sunday, the Fisher Cats and Sea Dogs will play a twi-night doubleheader, with the first of two seven-inning games getting underway at 4:05pm at Merchantsauto.com Stadium, followed by the nightcap 30 minutes after the conclusion of game one. Boston Red Sox right-hander Daisuke Matsuzaka (0-0, 0.00) is expected to start the opening game for Portland on a Major League rehabilitation assignment. He'll be opposed by New Hampshire left-hander Luis Perez (8-11, 3.69).

In game two, the Sea Dogs send left-hander Felix Doubront (8-5, 3.27) to the bump against Fisher Cats lefty Nate Starner (1-1, 4.18). The BayRing Pre-Game Show begins at 3:45pm on the WGIR Fisher Cats Radio Network with Mike Murphy.

An Atlas Fireworks Show follows the Sunday doubleheader. Fans holding tickets on Sunday get to attend both games of the doubleheader, and gates open at 1:00pm for Season Ticket Holders and 1:30pm for the general public.

Even though Saturday's game was played, the Fisher Cats announced that any fans with Saturday, August 29, 2009, tickets -used or unused- would be able to exchange them for tickets to either the Monday, August 31 home regular season finale vs the Sea Dogs, or for a home game in April 2010. For more information, visit www.nhfishercats.com or call (603) 641-2005.

Check out the New Hampshire Fisher Cats Statistics



Eastern League Stories from August 29, 2009


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