Maine news, sports, weather from Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram, Portland, Maine

April 16, 2012

A day to forget for Sea Dogs

Starting pitcher Chris Balcom-Miller gets knocked out early, and Portland's bats are mostly silent in a loss to Binghamton.

By Kevin Thomas kthomas@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PORTLAND - Sunny and 69 degrees. A pretty good day for April baseball at Hadlock Field.

Beautiful weather.

The baseball? Not so pretty for the hometown team. The Binghamton Mets beat the Portland Sea Dogs in all phases for a 9-2 victory.

For those who stayed until the end, the Sea Dogs put together four hits and two runs in the bottom of the ninth. Ronald Bermudez and Bryce Brentz each recorded an RBI.

Portland got a scare in the fourth inning when Juan Carlos Linares injured his right leg while sliding into second base.

Last May, Linares tore ligaments in his ankle when sliding into second and was lost for the season. This time, Linares left the field on his own feet. The early diagnosis was a tight right hamstring.

When the season began, the Sea Dogs had an abundance of outfielders. But Peter Hissey suffered a broken left hand Friday when he was hit by a pitch. Bermudez replaced Linares.

The Sea Dogs needed a lot more than one replacement to generate a win Sunday.

Portland put its No. 1 starter, right-hander Chris Balcom-Miller (1-1), on the mound. When Binghamton's second batter, Matt Den Dekker, blasted a home run over the double-tiered wall in center field, it was a sign that Balcom-Miller was off.

"One of those days. The ball was up," said Balcom-Miller, whose outing was not helped by a missing nail on his right middle finger.

Balcom-Miller did not make it out of the second inning. Through 12/3 innings, he threw 57 pitches, allowing five hits, five runs (four earned) and three walks.

"He just didn't look right," Sea Dogs Manager Kevin Boles said. "He left some pitches up in the zone. Didn't have command of his fastball.

"A little different from the first two starts (two runs over 11 innings), but he's been competing well."

Reliever Michael Lee ate up 41/3 innings, allowing six hits and one unearned run. Eammon Portice gave up three runs while striking out five over the final three innings.

Portice struggled in the ninth. With Portland trailing 9-0, utility infielder Jon Hee was warming up in the bullpen. But Portice got out of the jam with a double-play grounder.

Mets right-hander Greg Peavey (2-0) made his second Double-A start and maintained his 0.00 ERA. He gave up four hits and a walk over five innings, striking out four.

Peavey, 23, was drafted out of high school by the Yankees in 2007, but turned them down and attended Oregon State. The Mets grabbed him in the sixth round of the 2010 draft.

Portland got to Binghamton's third pitcher, Erik Turgeon, for a mini-rally in the ninth. Kolbrin Vitek singled -- keeping his on-base streak alive at 11 games. Bermudez doubled him home, and Brentz singled in Bermudez.

NOTES: Catcher Matt Spring was promoted to Pawtucket and Jayson Hernandez came off the disabled list to replace him. Sunday's announced attendance was 4,088. Mets third baseman Jefry Marte left the game after one inning with a tight hamstring.

Staff writer Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: ClearTheBases

 

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