Couch Completes Game 1, Dogs Win 9-4
TRENTON, N.J. - The Portland Sea Dogs (37-18) trailed after the first, but took advantage of three errors and scored five in the fourth en route to the 9-4 win over the Trenton Thunder (30-26) in game one of a split doubleheader, Saturday afternoon at Arm & Hammer Park. The win marks a franchise-high 22nd for the 'Dogs in the month of May.
Portland picked up a run in the first courtesy of a Matt Spring single that plated Mookie Betts and gave the visitors the early lead. Trenton came out and notched two against Keith Couch in the bottom half on two hits and an error, which put them in front 2-1.
The Sea Dogs had a golden chance to break the game open as they loaded the bases with nobody out in the second. Sean Coyle and Bo Greenwell began the rally with singles and Heiker Meneses hit a sac bunt, but reached on a throwing error to put the three on with no outs against Graham Stoneburner.
The righty battled back against the potent Portland lineup and bounced back to strikeout Peter Hissey, got Betts to ground out into a force at home and caught Deven Marrero looking to get out of the jam unscathed.
Couch (7-0) tossed a perfect second and pitched around a two-out single in the third before his offense rallied in the fourth.
Coyle sparked the rally by reaching on a two base error on the third baseman Tyler Austin and again Greenwell followed and reached on an error by Austin, which put runners at the corners with nobody out.
Meneses tied the game with a single to right-center that hit the pitcher and brought home Coyle to make it 2-2. Hissey followed with a go-ahead single that scored Greenwell before Betts capped off the inning with a two-run triple to center, which upped the lead to 6-1 in favor of Portland.
Trenton wouldn't go away quietly against Couch and responded with another pair of its own in the bottom half of the fourth. Robert Refsnyder and Tayler Austin hit back-to-back singles to open the frame and with one out Tyson Blaser doubled home a run and Ali Castillo followed with an RBI groundout to cut the Portland lead to 6-4.
Stoneburner (2-2) went back out of the sixth, but couldn't make it out of the inning as he gave up a walk to Betts and a single to Marrero before Cesar Cabral was called upon in relief. The new pitcher induced a groundout to first, but the runners moved to second and third for Spring. The catcher walked, but ball four was a wild pitch and Betts scampered in from third to make it 7-4.
The 'Dogs added two more runs in the seventh and final frame on a Betts single to left, which scored Greenwell and Derrik Gibson to up the lead to 9-4. Gibson was inserted into the ballgame after Hissey was hit in the head by a Cabral pitch.
Couch took the five-run advantage into the bottom of the seventh and induced groundouts off the bats of Mason Williams and Ben Gamel for the first two outs and struck out Tyler Austin to end the game. The righty went the distance and allowed four runs, two earned, on eight hits; he did not walk a batter and struck out five. The complete game was the sixth of Couch's career and fourth in a Sea Dogs uniform.
The Sea Dogs and Trenton Thunder continue their four-game, three-day series with game two of the split doubleheader at 7:05 PM from Arm & Hammer Park. RHP Mike McCarthy (3-2, 4.91) will make the start for the 'Dogs and will square off against RHP Jeremy Bleich (4-4, 3.47) of the Thunder. Radio coverage begins at 6:45 PM for game two on the WPEI U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network and www.seadogs.com. Coverage begins at 6:55 PM on MiLB.tv.