Portland stopped by the Thunder, lose 10-6
September 1, 2009 - Eastern League (EL1)
Portland Sea Dogs News Release
(Portland, ME) - The Portland Sea Dogs (63-72) rallied for three runs in the ninth inning but LF Daniel Nava flied out with the bases loaded, giving the Trenton Thunder (67-68) a 10-6 victory in the series opener on Tuesday night at Hadlock Field. Portland was eliminated from the Northern Division playoffs for the first time since falling short in 2004. The Thunder remains a game behind the Rock Cats for second place as New Britain defeated Reading 1-0.
Portland's defense continued to struggle, allowing four unearned runs due to four errors - 3 committed by 1B Lars Anderson. The Sea Dogs out-hit the Yankees' affiliate 15-12 but left 13 runners on base.
RHP Lance Pendleton (1-2) worked six quality innings on six hits and two runs to earn his first Double-A win. RHP Ryne Lawson (3-12) was touched for seven hits and six runs (four earned) over 4.2 IP to take the loss for Portland.
DH Jon Still gave Portland a 1-0 lead in the first inning on single to left field, scoring CF Ryan Kalish (doubled). C P.J. Pilittere tied the game with a run-scoring double to left-center field. The Thunder scored two unearned runs in the third inning on 2 errors by Anderson. 1B Chris Malec nailed a 2-run single after a missed catch of a foul ball by Anderson up the first base line. The Sea Dogs grabbed one run back in the third inning on a sac-fly by Kalish, who finished the game 3-for-4, 2 RBI.
The visitors added 3 runs in the fifth inning on DH Richie Robnett's 2-run single and a run-scoring fielder's choice by Pilittere. Trenton scored four runs off RHP Josh Papelbon (2 IP, 4 H, 4 R, 2 ER, BB, SO) over the final two innings on four hits. Papelbon, the younger brother of Jonathan, made his Double-A debut for the Sea Dogs.
In the bottom of the ninth inning, the Sea Dogs scored three runs with 2-outs off RHP Jose Valdez. C Luis Exposito extended his hitting streak to 10 games with an RBI single to left field. RF Jason Place and SS Iggy Suarez produced RBI singles to bring Portland within four at 10-6. Nava represented the tying run when he flied out to shallow left-center field.
The Sea Dogs and Thunder play game 2 of their series on Wednesday night at Hadlock Field beginning at 6:00 PM. Catch all the action on the U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network beginning at 5:30 PM with the Pre-Game Show built by CorrectDeck.
Notes...RHP Chad Rhoades worked 2.1 IP ion one hit, one walk and three strikeouts...Kalish had 3 hits after going 5-for-30 on the roadtrip...RF Edward Gonzalez was the only starter in the game not to reach...The Thunder went 4-for-22 with runners-in-scoring position...On Wednesday night the Sea Dogs will induct a former Sea Dog into their Hall-of-Fame.
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