Rivas Shuts Down Sea Dogs As Somerset Stuns with Win in Extras
EL Somerset Patriots

Rivas Shuts Down Sea Dogs As Somerset Stuns with Win in Extras

Published on June 17, 2026 under Eastern League (EL)
Somerset Patriots News Release


Somerset Patriots pitcher Xavier Rivas delivers
Somerset Patriots pitcher Xavier Rivas delivers
(Somerset Patriots)

The Somerset Patriots stormed back to beat the Portland Sea Dogs 5-4 in 10 innings at Hadlock Field in Portland, ME on Wednesday evening.

With four games remaining in the first half, the Patriots are 1.0 game behind first place Hartford in the Northeast Division at the time of the game's conclusion.

Somerset rallied with three two-out runs to tie the game 4-4 in the ninth after having the bases empty with two outs in the frame. Somerset's three ninth inning runs tied a season-high, before Jace Avina scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning off a Coby Morales groundout.

The 5-4 win marked Somerset's fourth straight one-run game, moving them to 13-12 in 25 one-run games, which are the second-most in the Eastern League. The win also advanced Somerset to 3-3 in extra innings this season and 3-20 when trailing after eight innings. The result also marked Somerset's seventh straight game decided by three runs or less, bringing its record to 23-18 in such games.

Garrett Martin recorded Somerset's Double-A leading 104th home run this season with a solo shot in the fourth inning. The Patriots have hit homers in 11 of their last 12 games, 27 of their last 31 games and 51-of-65 games this season. Their 104 home runs this season are the most through 65 games in Double-A during the Research Tool Era (since 2005). The Patriots' 220 HR pace through 65 games is on track to beat the Double-A Research Tool Era record set by Somerset in 2022 with 205 home runs.

The Patriots collected at least one extra base hit in the game for a franchise record 65th straight game, signaling the longest active streak in Minor League Baseball.

Somerset pitchers combined for at least 14 strikeouts for the 12th time this season. Somerset's 687 strikeouts lead Double-A, while the Patriots' .278 K% ranks fifth among all full season MiLB teams.

LHP Xavier Rivas (5.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 2 BB, 8 K) tossed a career-high 5.2 no-hit innings, punching out six batters with his splitter and two with his slider for eight total strikeouts. Rivas was the first Patriot pitcher to record that many no-hit innings since Brendan Beck completed 6.0 no-hit innings on 4/15/25 at Altoona. Rivas' 5.2 no-hit innings are the most ever by a Patriot left-handed pitcher.

Rivas struck out five batters across his first two innings, including punchouts to Red Sox No. 1 prospect Franklin Arias and Romy Gonzalez on a MLB rehab assignment. Rivas struck out six batters the first time through the order. Rivas hasn't allowed an earned run across his last 11.0 innings pitched dating back to his start at Harrisburg on June 4. Across his last three outings, Rivas has tallied a 1.32 ERA, 1-0 record, 0.88 WHIP and .130 BAA with 20 K to 6 BB in 13.2 IP.

RHP Ben Grable (1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) spun two strikeouts in a perfect ninth inning, before picking up two outs in the tenth inning. Across his last six outings, Grable hasn't allowed an earned run in 6.0 IP. Dating back to May 22, Grable has tallied a 0.93 ERA, 0.72 WHIP, .094 BAA with 15 K to 4 BB in 9.2 IP across nine outings.

CF Garrett Martin (2-for-4, HR, 2B, 3 RBI, R) powered his 20th HR of the season with a solo shot off Red Sox rehabbing LHP Patrick Sandoval in the fourth inning. Martin's 20 HR lead the Eastern League and the Yankees farm system. They rank second in Double-A and are tied for fourth-most in MiLB.

Martin joined Dérmis Garcia, Oswaldo Cabrera and Tyler Hardman as the fourth unique Patriot to reach the 20-homer mark in a single season. Martin's homer marked his 34th career home run as a Somerset Patriot, surpassing Max Burt's 33 homers for sole possession of fourth-most all-time. Martin is two homers shy of Spencer Jones' 36 homers for third-most in franchise history. Martin's 20 HR in Somerset's first 65 games are the most ever by a Patriot in franchise history. They are the most by an Eastern League batter in that span since Kerry Carpenter's 22 HR in Erie's first 65 games in 2022. Martin's 52 RBI lead the Eastern League and Yankees farm system, while ranking fifth in Double-A.

DH Jace Avina (1-for-3, 2 BB, R) recorded his first hit since being placed on the 7-day IL on June 3 with a single in the fourth. He scored the game-winning run in the 10th inning as the placed runner. Avina has reached base safely in 30 of his last 31 games, slashing .339/.425/.685 in that span, raising his season-long OPS from .629 to .943.

RF DJ Gladney (0-for-4, BB) extended his active on base streak to a team-leading 16 games with a walk in the 10th inning. During the streak, Gladney is 17-for-62 (.274/.338/.661) with 6 HR, 11 XBH, 18 RBI, 12 R and 6 BB.

2B Connor McGinnis (1-for-3, BB, R) singled in the seventh inning to extend his active on-base streak to 12 games. McGinnis' 12-game on-base streak is the longest single-season on-base streak in his career. During the streak, he is slashing .238/.319/.310 with a homer, seven RBI and four walks.

Check out the Somerset Patriots Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



Images from this story

Somerset Patriots pitcher Xavier Rivas delivers
Somerset Patriots pitcher Xavier Rivas delivers
   



Eastern League Stories from June 17, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central