PORTLAND, Maine – Two of the best starting pitchers in the Eastern League became afterthoughts on Wednesday night as the Portland Sea Dogs defeated the New Hampshire Fisher Cats in a 10-9 shootout.
New Hampshire’s first lead of the night came in the top of the first, coming off a Max Pentecost RBI single that brought home Bo Bichette. The Fisher Cats would regain the lead in the second following Jantzen Witte’s first pitch line drive RBI in the bottom of the second, but that Portland answered again, an answer loud enough that nothing else proved to be its equal for the rest of the evening.
That answer came in the form of a Chad De La Guerra three-run home run, his 15th of the year. De La Guerra’s blast preceded a Luke Tendler homer in the third and then three more Portland runs in the fourth, a lead that proved comfortable until home runs from Pentecost and Santiago Espinal in the fifth.
However, the Fisher Cats left the tying run on base, with fielding issues by Pentecost allowing two more runs to come across the plate in the seventh. New Hampshire would respond with two more runs of their own in the eighth, spearheaded by Forest Wall’s triple, but again they would be unable to convert, stranding another two runners in what proved to be their final opportunity.
Every single Fisher Cat batter had at least one hit, while seven of Portland’s starting nine ended with at least one hit as well. Among the combined 29 hits collected over the course of the evening, Jeremy Rivera and Esteban Quiroz led the way for Portland with 3-for-5 nights while Espinal also submitted a 3-for-5 night for New Hampshire.
Fisher Cats starting pitcher Jordan Romano gave up a season high 10 hits and eight earned runs before leaving at the end of the fourth. Portland’s Matthew Kent also struggled, allowing seven earned runs off 12 hits in five innings of work.
Still, Kent got the win, climbing to 11-8 while Romano fell to the same record. Josh Taylor threw a perfect ninth for Portland to get his seventh save of the season.
Between the loss and Trenton’s win against Altoona, New Hampshire’s divisional lead is now just half a game with five games left in the regular season.
The Fisher Cats hope to increase that lead as their final contest in Maine this season awaits on Thursday, sending Hector Perez (0-2, 3.86 ERA) against Portland’s Kyle Hart (7-9, 3.60 ERA).
