NEW BRITAIN, Conn. — Tim Roberson hit for the cycle, including a grand slam in the seventh and a go-ahead triple in the 10th, and the Portland Sea Dogs rallied from six runs down to cool off the league-leading Rock Cats with a 13-11 victory at New Britain Stadium on Friday night.

Roberson drove in six runs and became the third Sea Dog to hit for the cycle, as Portland snapped the Rock Cats’ 13-game winning streak.

Roberson’s grand slam to dead center kick-started the Sea Dogs’ rally, capping a five-run inning that pulled the Sea Dogs within one.

Roberson then singled and scored on Marco Hernandez’s tying two-run single off New Britain closer Austin House in the ninth.

In the 10th, Roberson followed back-to-back one-out singles by Jantzen Witte and Oscar Tejeda with a triple to center off Kraig Sitton (0-1).

Pat Light retired the last five Rock Cats, including three on strikeouts, to improve to 1-1.

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New Britain came in as one of the hottest teams in baseball, having won 24 of 26 to sit comfortably atop the Eastern League’s Eastern Division.

It looked like the Rock Cats were on the way to a 14th straight win when they scored seven runs off Portland starter Mike McCarthy in the first three innings. They led 10-4 after six innings, before Roberson really got going.

Roberson, who also doubled in the third, joined Cesar Crespo in 2000 and Corey Keylor in 2007 as the only Sea Dogs to hit for the cycle.

Tejeda was 3 for 4 with three RBI, and Mike Miller led off the game with his first home run of the season for Portland.

Pat Valaika homered for New Britain, and David Dahl extended his hitting streak to 11 games.


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