Eduardo Rodriguez gave up six runs in a three-inning rehab start Thursday night, and the Portland Sea Dogs couldn’t recover in a 9-5 loss to the New Hampshire Fisher Cats at Hadlock Field.
Rodriguez, the Boston Red Sox left-hander who is recovering from a knee injury, allowed two runs in the first inning and four in the second before striking out the side in a scoreless third. He allowed nine hits, including a leadoff homer by Jonathan Davis.
The Sea Dogs, meanwhile, couldn’t do much against New Hampshire starter Jon Harris (3-8). Harris went seven innings, giving up five hits and two runs, one unearned.
Portland did get a total of five hits from two of its all-stars. Danny Mars went 3 for 4 with a walk, and Rafael Devers was 2 for 4 with two doubles, a run and two RBI.
Both players were selected to the Eastern League All-Star Game on July 12 in Manchester, New Hampshire. Devers also was invited Thursday to participate in the Futures Game on July 9 in Miami. He’s batting .301 with 19 doubles and a career-high 16 home runs.
Mars upped his team-leading average to .317, sixth-best in the league.
“He just finds a way,” Sea Dogs Manager Carlos Febles said of Mars. “He keeps his hands in and the barrel in the zone. The ability to do that is amazing.”
Jeremy Barfield homered in a three-run ninth inning, Jake Romanski had two hits, and Mike Olt hit an RBI double in the first inning.
But the Sea Dogs trailed from the beginning, as Rodriguez gave up four hits in each of the first two innings.
It was an uphill climb from there. After six innings, it was 9-1.
Portland got an unearned run in the seventh. In the ninth, Barfield led off with his sixth homer in 31 games since joining the team. Three of the next four batters – Romanski, Cole Sturgeon and Mars – singled, prompting a pitching change.
With two outs, Devers doubled to left-center, scoring two runs. New Hampshire made another pitching change, and Andrew Case and got a flyout to earn his third save.
The Sea Dogs (35-39) travel to Hartford for a four-game series. They return home for a game on July 4 against New Hampshire that will feature fireworks.
NOTES: The announced paid attendance was 4,961. … Devers will be making his second appearance in the Futures Game, having gone in 2015. He will be joined former teammates Yoan Moncada (now with the White Sox organization) and Mauricio Dubon (Brewers). Former Sea Dogs players Charles Johnson and Edgar Renteria will be the managers.
Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:
kthomas@pressherald.com
Twitter: ClearTheBases
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