PORTLAND — They scored 24 runs in their previous two games, but the Sea Dogs could not come close to maintaining that pace.
Portland managed eight hits Thursday night but scored just twice in a 6-2 loss to the Trenton Thunder at Hadlock Field.
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Thunder starter Manny Banuelos (3-1) carried a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Sea Dogs catcher Matt Spring broke it up with a home run in his Hadlock Field debut.
But Portland threatened little after that.
Portland starter Chris Balcom-Miller was locked into a scoreless duel with Banuelos until allowing four runs in the fourth.
Balcom-Miller (1-3) gave up four hard-hit ground balls in the inning. All four skipped past diving infielders.
“There were just some balls that got through,” Sea Dogs Manager Kevin Boles said.
Those four hits plus a walk and an error by Balcom-Miller gave Trenton a 4-0 lead.
Ahead in the count early in the game, Balcom-Miller also got a little wild, with three walks and one hit batter, but he pitched a scoreless fifth to end his outing. His ERA bumped up to 3.80.
“I thought he pitched well,” Boles said. “He ended up walking three and having a hit batter, but he pitched down in the zone. He showed a real good feel for a change-up.”
Spring, a minor league free agent signed out of the Tampa Bay Rays organization, was promoted to Portland June 13 to replace the promoted Ryan Lavarnway.
Spring led off the fifth inning by swatting a Banuelos fastball over the message board in left-center field.
Jeremy Hazelbaker singled to score Oscar Tejeda later in the inning to pull the Sea Dogs within 4-2, but that was as close as they got.
Banuelos was relieved by Pat Venditte, the ambidextrous pitcher who throws right-handed against right-handed batters and lefty against left-handers, and he went three scoreless innings. Kei Igawa closed with a scoreless ninth.
Portland (25-44) does not play Trenton (41-31) again this season. The Sea Dogs leave today for a three-game series at Manchester, N.H., then return Monday for a seven-game homestand.
NOTES: Junichi Tazawa will be placed on the Sea Dogs’ roster in the next few days. Tazawa, 25, who made 18 starts for Portland in 2009 before eventually reaching the majors, returned Thursday to Hadlock Field. He missed all of last season after Tommy John elbow surgery and was on a rehab assignment with Class A Salem. Tazawa said he likely would pitch Monday against New Britain. …
The Sea Dogs will have another major leaguer joining them. According to media reports out of Boston, Red Sox reliever Bobby Jenks will make a rehab start for Portland in its game Saturday night against Manchester. …
Two Sea Dogs have been named to the All-Stars Futures Game in Phoenix on July 10. Outfielder Chih-Hsien Chiang, 23, will play for the World team and third baseman Will Middlebrooks was placed on the U.S. roster. Chiang is batting .307. Middlebrooks, batting .294, currently is on the disabled list with a sore elbow, but he has begun throwing again and is expected to be ready to play soon. …
Sea Dogs reliever Cesar Cabral retired the four batters he faced Thursday night, two by strikeout. …
Spring and Alex Hassan each had two hits, Hassan bumping his average to .330. …
The announced paid attendance was 5,013.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: ClearTheBases
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