BOWIE, Md. — The Portland Sea Dogs had a rare power surge Sunday, hitting three home runs against the Bowie Baysox. Entering the game, Portland had hit just 24 home runs in 62 games.

It wasn’t enough.

Portland lost for the eighth time in 10 games, losing 6-3 to Bowie in the series finale.

Center fielder Dave Sappelt, second baseman Oscar Tejeda and first baseman David Chester all homered for the Sea Dogs, but Portland struck out seven times in the final three innings against Bowie’s bullpen.

“They have nasty stuff,” Sappelt said of Baysox relievers Ashur Tolliver and Andrew Triggs.

Portland (25-38), which returns home to face Binghamton in a three-game series starting Tuesday, lost two of three against Bowie and is 5-1 against the Baysox this season.

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Bowie improved to 34-28.

The last time Portland hit three home runs in a game was in an 8-2 win against Reading on May 25. On Sunday, the Sea Dogs managed just two other hits.

“We couldn’t get that big hit with runners on,” said Sea Dogs Manager Billy McMillon, whose team was 0 for 4 with runners in scoring position. “Three homers – that is encouraging. We have to start limiting them to scoring crooked numbers.”

Bowie grabbed a 4-3 lead in the sixth on a two-run home run by Trey Mancini on the first pitch by reliever Simon Mercedes, who came on in relief of Justin Haley.

In five-plus innings of work, Haley allowed five hits and three runs. Haley left after walking the leadoff batter in the sixth.

“I was thinking when I took him out he can’t get the loss and was in line for the win,” McMillon said of Haley, who remained 1-8 while his ERA came down from 6.04 to 5.98. “I hope he was encouraged by the outing.”

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The Baysox got two insurance runs in the eighth to make it 6-3 on an RBI double by Brandon Snyder, who played for the Red Sox in 2013, and a sacrifice fly by Mancini.

Chester broke a 2-2 tie with a one-out solo homer – the third of the day for Portland – in the fifth off Bowie starter Terry Doyle (6-1).

It was the fourth homer of the year for Chester, who entered the game hitting .164.

“He made a couple of mistakes and we took advantage,” Sappelt said of Doyle.

“They were not too costly for his team. They swung the bats well.”

Bowie had tied the game 2-2 with a two-run homer in the fourth by Rossmel Perez against Haley.

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The Sea Dogs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on a solo home run by Tejeda, who went deep for the second time this season.

Sappelt homered for the second straight day, hitting a solo shot in the second to give Portland a 1-0 lead. Sappelt hit a solo homer in the 11th inning Saturday night to give Portland a 4-3 win.

Doyle gave up three runs – all on solo homers – in six innings before lefty reliever Tolliver came on to start the seventh. Tolliver threw two scoreless innings, striking out four. Triggs struck out the side in the ninth to earn his second save of the season.

NOTES: The Sea Dogs will fly home Monday from Baltimore. … Portland is 6-12 in one-run games this year. … Sea Dogs shortstop Marco Hernandez, who had seven hits in the first two games of the series, was hitless in four trips Sunday. He began the day third in the league in batting at .327 and is now at .319. “He has been really consistent lately,” McMillon said. “He is hitting the ball all over the place. It is really nice to see.”


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