Saez Swats First Double-A Homer

PORTLAND, MAINE - The New Hampshire Fisher Cats rallied in the top of the ninth but came up short Tuesday night, losing 5-3 to the Portland Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field.

The Fisher Cats (18-19) dropped their second straight game after ripping off a seven-game winning streak, falling a game below .500. The Sea Dogs (15-25) won their second straight, and are poised to repay the Fisher Cats for a sweep at New Hampshire's hands last week. The Fisher Cats bullpen allowed runs to score for the first time since May 8.

New Hampshire assumed the early lead in the top of the first against Portland starter Keith Couch (W, 2-0). Roemon Fields dropped down a bunt for a base hit to lead things off, swiped second, and then moved up to third on a fly out by Jon Berti. Dwight Smith, Jr. hit a high chopper for an RBI groundout, plating Fields and making it 1-0 New Hampshire.

Portland struck back in the bottom of the third against New Hampshire starting pitcher John Anderson (L, 2-4). Tzu-Wei Lin cracked a one-out single, and moved to second on a walk drawn by Sean Coyle. Andrew Benintendi then laced a single up the middle to score Lin, knotting things up at 1-1.

The Sea Dogs surged ahead in the bottom of the fifth inning. With two outs, Coyle banged a double off the Maine Monster in left, and Benintendi smashed one of his own off the right-center field wall to score Coyle. Nate Freiman then sliced a two-bagger up the third-base line, plating Benintendi and extending Portland's lead to 3-1.

In the seventh, Portland rudely welcomed new reliever John Stilson. Lin singled to lead things off, and Henry Ramos punched his own base hit through the right side of the infield. Stilson plunked Coyle to load the bases with no outs. With Benintendi at the plate, Stilson fired a wild pitch, scoring Lin. After he fanned Benintendi, Stilson allowed Freiman to hit a sacrifice fly that brought in Ramos to make it 5-1 in favor of Portland.

New Hampshire made some noise in the top of the ninth against Portland reliever Simon Mercedes. With two outs, K.C. Hobson drew a walk, and Jorge Saez blasted a fastball over the left-field fence for a two-run homer. It was Saez's first homer at the Double-A level, and it trimmed Portland's lead to 5-3. However, Ian Parmley bounced out in the next at-bat, ending the game.

Anderson was the hard-luck loser, allowing three runs on seven hits and two walks in six innings of action. He struck out one. Stinson surrendered two runs on two hits while fanning two in his only inning of work. Daniel Schlereth fired a perfect frame of relief with two strikeouts for New Hampshire.

The Fisher Cats will try to avoid being swept Wednesday night in the series finale against Portland. Righty Jason Bergen takes the hill for New Hampshire against Portland right-hander Justin Haley. First pitch is at 6:00 p.m., and Ben Gellman has the call starting at 5:45 p.m. on the Fisher Cats Radio Network.