Early hole too big, Fisher Cats lose by one

Portland, Maine – The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (0-2/31-40) fell by one run, 6-5, to the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox, 2-0/32-39) on Wednesday night in their second straight one-run defeat. The Fisher Cats are 9-13 in games decided by one run this season.

First baseman Spencer Horwitz extended his latest hit streak to eight games with a 2-for-4 night. Horwitz has hits in 21 of his last 22 starts and is batting .390 this month, the top June average in all of Double-A. In the sixth inning, he doubled in deep left-center field to bring home Rafael Lantigua, who doubled before him. The RBI cut the Fisher Cats deficit to 4-1.

One batter later, Orelvis Martinez crushed a first pitch changeup over the “Maine Monster” in left field to bring the Fisher Cats within one, 4-3. According to TrackMan in Portland, the ball was hit at 104 mph off the bat and travelled 424 feet. The blast was Martinez’s 17th of the season, the most on the team.

The three-run sixth inning was not the last time New Hampshire would make a comeback in the game. After two more Portland runs in the seventh, the Fisher Cats responded with two runs in the eighth. Horwitz scored on a fielding error, and Zac Cook brought home a run on a sacrifice fly. Cook is 4-for-6 so far in the Portland series and has six RBIs in his last five games.

New Hampshire could not overcome an early 4-0 hole, though, and they lost, 6-5. Adam Kloffenstein (L, 0-2) was tagged for a career-high 10 hits. On the other side, Portland’s Brian Van Belle (2-1) earned the win with 5.0 innings of work, and he struck out 10. Sea Dogs second baseman David Hamilton led the way at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI.

New Hampshire continues their series against Portland at Hadlock Field tomorrow, June 29 with first pitch at 6:00 p.m. Boston Red Sox ace Chris Sale is scheduled to make a MLB rehab for the Sea Dogs.

The Fisher Cats return to Delta Dental Stadium July 4 through July 10 against the Hartford Yard Goats (Colorado Rockies). New Hampshire will play their only Monday game of the season of July 4 and will celebrate with The Biggest Fireworks Show in Fisher Cats History. Tickets can be found at NHFisherCats.com, via email at [email protected], over the phone at (603) 641-2005, or in-person at the Fisher Cats box office at 1 Line Drive in Manchester.