Garcia delivers extra-inning victory for Sea Dogs
Portland, ME - The Portland Sea Dogs (22-22) walked off the Reading Fightin Phils (21-24) 4-3 in ten innings on Sunday afternoon, battling through rain for their fifth win of the week. Johanfran Garcia was the hero of the day, delivering a walk-off single to center field, just deep enough
Portland, ME - The Portland Sea Dogs (22-22) walked off the Reading Fightin Phils (21-24) 4-3 in ten innings on Sunday afternoon, battling through rain for their fifth win of the week.
Johanfran Garcia was the hero of the day, delivering a walk-off single to center field, just deep enough to bring Will Turner home to score from second. The Sea Dogs’ five wins this week are their most in any series this season, and put them just two games back of the first-place Fisher Cats in the Northeast division of the Eastern League.
Ronald Rosario hit his second home run of the season to start the scoring in the second inning, before he scored again to double the Sea Dogs’ lead in the fourth inning. After leading off with a double, marking his eighth multi-hit game of the season, Rosario came home on a Tyler McDonough two-out triple, extending the lead 2-0.
Reading’s Dylan Campbell answered with a single swing of the bat in the fifth inning. With Bryson Ware on base, Campbell smashed a home run more than 400 feet to straightaway center field, tying the game 2-2.
The teams were stuck in a stalemate through nine innings before Reading finally broke through with an Austin Murr RBI triple in the tenth inning, taking a 3-2 lead.
Trailing by a run, Franklin Arias ripped a ball to the right-center gap that rolled all the way to the wall, sliding into third for an RBI triple of his own. McDonough scored on the play and tied the game, 3-3.
Will Turner reached on a fielder’s choice as Arias was thrown out at the plate, leaving one on with two out. Brooks Brannon battled through an eight-pitch at-bat to draw a walk, pushing Turner into scoring position. Moments later, Garcia came through with his walkoff single, the exclamation point on an excellent week at home in Portland.
RHP Cooper Adams (4-3, 5.53 ERA) earned the win, allowing one run on three hits in 2.0 innings of work. RHP Evan Gates (0-3, 3.60 ERA) was tagged with the loss, allowing two runs, one earned, on two hits and a walk in 1.2 innings pitched.
The Sea Dogs now go on the road for a six-game series against the Mets’ Double-A affiliate, the Binghamton Rumble Ponies (16-29). The Rumble Ponies split their series this week with three wins apiece against the Richmond Flying Squirrels (31-12). Tuesday night’s game will begin at 6:07 pm.