The Portland Sea Dogs were headed to Kennebunkport Beach for their annual lobster bake after the game Thursday.
Justin Haley planned to heartily enjoy the meal.
“It will taste a lot better now,” Haley said.
Haley could savor the lobster as much as he did his performance Thursday in a 2-1 victory over the Erie SeaWolves before 6,747 at Hadlock Field.
Haley (5-13) turned in his finest start of the season, holding Erie to one hit and no walks over seven innings. He struck out six.
“Everything felt good today,” said Haley, whose ERA dropped to 5.08. “This year I’ve struggled staying in the groove. I’ve had glimpses of it. It was nice to get in a groove and stay there.”
Haley retired the last 16 batters he faced, using a fastball around 93-94 mph, with a change-up, and occasional slider and curve.
“He had great control of his fastball – in and out, up and down. That was key for him,” said Sea Dogs catcher Luis Martinez.
Connor Harrell homered off reliever Williams Jerez in the eighth inning for Erie.
Portland took a 1-0 lead in the second. Henry Ramos doubled and scored on Keury De La Cruz’s single.
The Sea Dogs did the same in the third, with Tzu-Wei Lin stroking the double and scoring on Sam Travis’ single.
Otherwise, Erie starter Tommy Collier (3-2) pitched well, going seven innings.
The Sea Dogs improved to 43-75 while Erie dropped to 46-70.
NOTES: Travis went 2 for 4 and is batting .302 in 45 games. Despite his short time here, he is fifth on the team in RBI (24) and second in OPS (.780). … Before Thursday’s game, which featured several camps and recreation centers in attendance, a three-legged race was held among the kids. Sea Dogs outfielders Manuel Margot and Aneury Tavarez joined in. They bailed out soon after the start. … The Hadlock video board remained out of commission Thursday because of Tuesday’s rain. Sea Dogs officials are hoping it will be ready Friday night. … The Akron RubberDucks will make their only Hadlock appearance this weekend, starting at 7 p.m. Friday. The Ducks feature outfielder Bradley Zimmer, the Cleveland Indians’ No. 2 prospect. … Baseball America is releasing its annual poll results of the “best tools in the minor leagues” this week. No Sea Dogs made the list. In the Triple-A International league – former Sea Dogs Henry Owens (best change-up) and Jackie Bradley Jr. (best defensive outfielder) were named. … Two former Portland catchers – Dan Butler (Nationals) and Tim Federowicz (Padres) – were recently removed from the 40-man roster and assigned to Triple-A. … Another former Sea Dogs catcher, George Kottaras, signed a minor-league contract with Toronto.
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