The final Portland Sea Dogs home game of 2017 ended like most of them, with a loss. But the Sea Dogs put up a fight before losing to the Trenton Thunder 4-3 in 11 innings Sunday afternoon, before a sold-out Hadlock Field crowd of 7,368.

Not only did the full house see a cliffhanger, but the fans also watched Red Sox catcher Ryan Hanigan make a rehab appearance (as the designated hitter). He went 2 for 3 with a walk.

The highlight of Sunday came on the first pitch from Trenton starter Daniel Camarena. It was an 89 mph fastball and Yoan Moncada crushed it.

Moncada’s blast was his 11th home run in 43 Double-A games. It left his bat at 98 mph and traveled an estimated 383 feet. And it’s important to point out that Camarena is a left-hander.

Moncada is a switch hitter, but he is batting .179 against lefties, with seven walks and 19 strikeouts. But since Aug. 11, Moncada is batting .333 (3 for 9, with a double, home run, four walks and five strikeouts) against left-handers.

“The main thing is he hasn’t faced much left-handers,” Portland Manager Carlos Febles said. “Lately he’s been much better. He’s staying on the ball a little longer. It paid off day.”

Advertisement

The homer was Moncada’s only hit Sunday. Overall, he is still batting .286 with a .388 on-base percentage and .554 slugging average (.941 OPS).

Moncada again played at third base, his new position, and looked fine until the 11th inning. Jose Rosario hit a bouncer. Moncada initially backed up and then charged, trying to short-hop it. The ball got by him and Rosario raced to second base for a two-base error.

“He got caught in between,” Febles said.

Francisco Diaz followed with a bunt to pitcher Austin Maddox (3-2), who tried to get the out at third, but Rosario was safe. Michael O’Neill walked and Portland pulled its infield in. Abiatal Avelino singled off the glove of diving second baseman Ryan Court, to drive in two and give Trenton a 4-2 lead.

In the bottom of the 11th, Aneury Tavarez walked and Court was hit by a pitch with no out. The Sea Dogs managed one run on Rainel Rosario’s RBI ground out, but that was all.

Portland’s Jalen Beeks made a quality start, allowing two runs on four hits and two walks, while striking out five in six innings. His one hiccup was a Mark Payton two-run homer in the third inning.

Advertisement

The Sea Dogs tied the game at 2-2 with a run in the eighth. Tzu-Wei Lin led off with a double to deep center. Tavarez singled him in with a line drive to left field.

With Portland’s bullpen limited after Saturday’s 15-inning game, reliever Jake Drehoff followed Beeks and pitched 32/3 scoreless innings, his longest outing this year.

“He kept us there,” Febles said. “We asked him more than we normally ask out of him.”

The Sea Dogs (53-78) will finish their season on the road, beginning with a game Monday in Reading, Pennsylvania. Trenton (83-51) plays in New Hampshire on Monday.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.