Fisher Cats Suffer Rare Shutout on Thursday

Manchester, NH - Despite two hits from Bo Bichette, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Blue Jays Double-A affiliate) were handed a 6-0 loss by the Portland Sea Dogs (Boston Red Sox) on Thursday night at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium.
The Fisher Cats magic number to clinch their first playoff berth since 2011 is still at 2; if New Hampshire wins tomorrow night at home against Binghamton (New York Mets) and gets a loss from the Reading Fightin' Phils (Philadelphia Phillies), the celebration is on. 
Portland scored a run in the top of the first inning. Jeremy Rivera singled to start the game, advancing to second when Michael Chavis was hit-by-pitch. An RBI single by Luke Tendler made it 1-0.
The Sea Dogs extended the lead to 2-0 in the top of fourth inning when Danny Mars singled and Deiner Lopez doubled him home.
Portland broke the game open with back-to-back two-run frames. Luke Tendler hit a two-run shot in the fifth, and Jeremy Rivera hit an RBI single followed by a Chad De La Guerrera run-scoring double in the sixth. 
The Fisher Cats hit two singles to start the fourth inning, and loaded the bases with one out in the seventh, but eventually took their third shutout loss of the season (the fewest in the league). 
Bo Bichette (2-for-4) had New Hampshire's only multi-hit game. Sea Dogs starter Matt Kent (W, 10-8) tossed seven shutout innings with eight strikeouts. 

New Hampshire opens a three-game series at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium on Friday at 7:05 p.m. against the Binghamton Rumble Ponies. Join us as we're giving away FREE Fisher Cats footballs presented By Eastern Propane & Oil to the first 1,000 fans. For more information, and for tickets, visit www.nhfishercats.com.