They not only had lost eight straight games, but the Portland Sea Dogs had yet to hit a home run this season at Hadlock Field.
Did anyone figure that Jose Vinicio would break Portland out of its slump?
Vinicio, a 145-pound shortstop, had not homered since 2013, when he hit one for low-Class A Greenville.
Yet there was Vinicio swatting a fastball into Hadlock’s right-field pavilion in the fifth inning, the first of three Sea Dogs home runs as Portland beat the Reading Fightin Phils 6-3 Saturday afternoon.
“I wasn’t trying to hit a home run,” Vinicio said. “I got ahead in the count, and I made a good swing.”
Bryce Brentz and Jake Romanski also went deep for the Sea Dogs as Portland improved to 7-16.
“The long ball was the story of the day,” Portland Manager Carlos Febles said. “Nice to see that – a most-needed win for the club. And we pitched well.”
Justin Haley (1-2) matched a career-high with nine strikeouts. He allowed one run on four hits and one walk over five innings. The only drawback was going only five innings (84 pitches), but his pitch count should lengthen as the season goes on.
“He had a put-away slider today,” said Romanski, the catcher, “so when he got ahead, he could (get the strikeout). He located right where I wanted it.”
Boston Red Sox reliever Carson Smith, making his second straight rehab appearance in Portland, pitched a 1-2-3 sixth inning with one strikeout, using only nine pitches (six strikes). Smith is scheduled to be in Boston on Sunday. He could be activated as early as Tuesday.
“Nice to get a couple outs (Friday) and see how I responded today. I felt great,” said Smith, who has been out with a forearm strain. “Great to know I could go out there and be strong.”
Smith’s fastball ranged from 91-93 mph, and his slider was moving well.
The Sea Dogs got to Reading starter Nick Pivetta (1-2) for four runs over six innings – Henry Ramos’ RBI triple in the third, Vinicio’s homer, and then Brentz and Romanski going back-to-back over the left-field wall in the sixth for a 4-1 lead.
Portland got more insurance in the seventh on Tzu-Wei Lin’s two-run single.
Sea Dogs reliever Williams Jerez allowed two runs on three hits and two walks. Chandler Shepherd pitched two hitless innings, with three strikeouts, for his second save.
The Sea Dogs and Reading (14-8) finish their series with a 1 p.m. game Sunday.
NOTES: Romanski went 2 for 3 and leads the team with a .328 batting average and .753 OPS. He is also second in the Eastern League in batting. … Haley’s ERA dropped to 3.09. … Pivetta was one of the players the Phillies acquired from the Nationals in the Jonathan Papelbon trade. … The announced paid attendance was 4,973.
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