Portland Sea Dogs Playoff Bound with 12-7 Victory

Bridgewater Township, New Jersey – The Portland Sea Dogs (72-61, 43-22) clinched the Eastern League Northeast Division second-half title, securing their spot in the playoffs with a 12-7 win over the first-half winning Somerset Patriots (81-51, 37-26) on Wednesday at TD Bank Ballpark.

The Sea Dogs return to the playoffs for the first time since 2014 and will face the Somerset Patriots in the Northeast Division Championship Series next week, beginning on Tuesday, September 20th at Hadlock Field.

The Patriots brought in the first score of the game in the bottom of the first against Sea Dogs starter Brian Van Belle. Harison Bader reached on a throwing error with one out. Austin Wells singled down to right field and an Izzy Wilson error allowed Bader to score, giving the Patriots a 1-0 lead.

Portland answered in the top of the third inning against Somerset starter Randy Vazquez. Wilson led off with a base hit and stole second. One out later, Wilyer Abreu launched a two-run homer to right. It was the third home run in Portland for Abreu this season and gave the Sea Dogs a 2-1 lead. Ceddanne Rafaela collected a base hit, and later in the inning, Niko Kavadas drove him in to make it 3-1.

Bader answered in the bottom of the third with a solo homer, making it a one-run game, 3-2. The Sea Dogs offense erupted for four runs in the top of the fourth. Tyler Dearden hit a solo shot, Abreu had an RBI single, and after a pitching change, Christian Koss hit a solo homer to extend the lead to 7-2.

Once again, the Patriots fought back in the bottom half of the fourth. Andres Chaparro bashed a one-out single and, with two outs, Jeisson Rosario homered to right-center. It was his 10th homer of the season and brought the game within three runs, 7-4.

Dearden and the Sea Dogs added to their lead again in the top of the fifth. Alex Binelas led off with a single and moved to third on two separate wild pitches by major league rehabber Miguel Castro. Tyler Dearden singled to right, scoring Binelas, and giving the Sea Dogs an 8-4 advantage.

The Sea Dogs continued to add on in the top of the seventh. With the bases loaded, Rafaela crushed a grand slam to center. It was his 12th homer of the season and lengthened the Sea Dogs lead to 12-4. Somerset added two runs on a Trey Sweeney two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh and a Wells homer in the bottom of the ninth, but Brett Kennedy locked down the 12-7 win and the playoff berth for Portland.

Jacob Wallace (8-2, 3.88 ERA) tossed 1.0 scoreless innings, walking two and striking out one in his eighth win of the season. Vazquez (2-7, 3.90 ERA) hurled 2.2 innings, surrendering three runs on four hits, walking one, and striking out two in the loss.

The Sea Dogs and Patriots play the third game of a six-game series on Thursday with a 6:35 PM first pitch. Portland sends LHP Kyle Hart (2-1, 4.95 ERA) to the mound against Somerset RHP Barrett Loseke (7-2, 3.25 ERA).

Tickets for the playoffs are on sale now and can be purchased at Hadlock Field or online at www.seadogs.com.