'Dogs drop the series opener, 5-3 in Akron

Akron, Ohio - The Akron RubberDucks (31-31) received back-to-back homers with two outs in the eighth inning, and defeated the Portland Sea Dogs (29-33), 5-3, Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 7,815 fans at Canal Park.

Eric Haase snapped a 3-3 tie with a solo-homer off losing pitcher Taylor Grover (1-2). Following Haase's big fly, Tyler Krieger hit an inside-the-park to left-center field. Grover allowed just those runs on three hits over 3.1 innings pitched. 
Mitch Brown (1-1) allowed the tying run in the eighth inning on a run-scoring single to Mike Olt, but earned the win for Akron. 
Portland took an early 2-0 lead against Akron starter Thomas Pannone. In the first, Jeremy Barfield nailed a two-out RBI double. In the second, Deiner Lopez knocked in a run by reaching on a third baseman's error.
Akron chipped away in the fourth on a run-scoring fielder's choice by Tyler Krieger. In the fifth, Jacob Dahlstrand yielded a two-run homer to Luigi Rodriguez, giving the RubberDucks a 3-2 lead.
Jake Romanski finished 3-for-4, his first multi-hit game of the season. Rafael Devers went 1-for-4 with a double.
The Sea Dogs and Akron RubberDucks (Indians affiliate) continue their three-game series on Saturday night at Canal Park with a 7:05 PM first pitch. RHP Kevin McAvoy (1-4, 5.54) makes his 11th start of the season. LHP Tanner Tully makes his Double-A debut for Akron.
Listen live on the U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network beginning at 6:50 PM and watch on MiLB.TV starting at 7:00 PM. 
Tickets for Portland's next homestand on June 23-29 are available at seadogs.com or 207-879-9500.