Ninth-inning lead relinquished as Fisher Cats walked off

PORTLAND, M.E — The New Hampshire Fisher Cats, the Double-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays, could not hold their two-run lead in the ninth, falling on a walk-off bases loaded walk on Tuesday night by a score of 9-8 against the Portland Sea Dogs from Hadlock Field.

After an error by Portland (12-4, 52-33) third baseman Chase Meidroth off the bat of Leo Jimenez that brought home two runs, New Hampshire (4-10, 39-43) held an 8-6 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth.

With right-hander Connor Cooke (1-2) pitching, Nathan Hickey lined an RBI single to make it a one-run game and Tyler McDonough, down to his final out, blooped a game-tying double off the glove of left-fielder Trevor Schwecke to tie the score 8-8.

After an intentional walk of Pablo Reyes loaded the bases, Nick Yorke drew a walk against Gabriel Ponce on a full count pitch to bring home the winning run.

It’s the eighth walk-off loss for the Fisher Cats this year and the fourth against the Sea Dogs. New Hampshire has yet to win on a walk-off this season.

New Hampshire trailed by as much as four after giving up five runs in the first three innings but took a 6-5 lead in the sixth. Rainer Nunez blasted his third Double-A homer with a two-run shot off the batter’s eye. Miguel Hiraldo’s RBI single into center made it a one-run game and Will Robertson stole home after Hiraldo stole second to tie the score. Andres Sosa collected his first Double-A RBI with a bloop single into shallow center to give New Hampshire the lead.

The Fisher Cats used six relievers in the contest after starting left-hander Jimmy Robbins recorded only two outs. Right-hander Andrew Bash threw three scoreless innings with five strikeouts and left-hander Mason Fluharty threw a scoreless seventh inning of relief.

The Fisher Cats continue their road trip tomorrow night against the Portland Sea Dogs at 6:00 pm. RHP Adam Kloffenstein (4-4, 3.08 ERA) will get the start for New Hampshire against RHP Isaac Coffey (3-0, 3.93 ERA) for Portland.

The next home stand for the Fisher Cats begins on Tuesday, July 25 against the Hartford Yard Goats. Promotions for the week include Manchester Chicken Tenders night Thursday and postgame Atlas Fireworks, A Night of Pure Imagination Friday, presented by New England Ford Dealers, 90s Night Saturday presented by N-H Healthy Families with postgame Hyundai fireworks, and a Fisher Cats flag giveaway Sunday, courtesy of Delta Dental, with Kids Run the Bases Postgame, sponsored by the N-H Liquor Commission Division of Enforcement.

Tickets are available 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.