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

Middlebrooks the difference for Dogs

Will Middlebrooks goes 3 for 5 with a double and two RBI as Portland gets 15 hits in a win over Erie.

By Kevin Thomas kthomas@mainetoday.com
Staff Writer

PORTLAND — On Thursday, Will Middlebrooks watched his childhood buddy, Ryan Mallett, play quarterback for the New England Patriots in their exhibition in Foxborough, Mass.

Someday, if the projections come true, Middlebrooks will be playing pro ball in Massachusetts, before several thousands of fans.

For now, Middlebrooks will settle for playing in front of 7,047 at Hadlock Field, where he continues to shine for the Portland Sea Dogs.

Middlebrooks went 3 for 5 with a double and two RBI to lead Portland to an 8-4 victory over the Erie SeaWolves on Saturday night. He is now batting .305 with 76 RBI. He has rarely slumped all season.

"I felt good. Nothing's changed. The same approach," Middlebrooks said.

While Middlebrooks said it was great to watch Mallett play for the Patriots, he did not start picturing himself at Fenway Park playing for the Red Sox.

"I'm not going to get ahead of myself," Middlebrooks said. "One day at a time."

With each day, he seems to get better.

"He's really starting to polish his game," Portland Manager Kevin Boles said. "He's been pretty consistent all year."

With a 15-hit attack, several Sea Dogs chipped in. Matt Spring homered and doubled. Ryan Khoury scored three runs after two hits and a walk. Jeremy Hazelbaker (2 for 3) stole two bases.

Alex Hassan doubled twice. Ronald Bermudez was 2 for 4 with an RBI.

The pitching was bittersweet for starter Alex Wilson, who could not get out of the fifth and, therefore, did not get the win.

Wilson cruised through four innings (two hits, no runs, six strikeouts), often using his vaunted slider.

In the fifth, Wilson gave up three runs on five singles -- three infield hits, a bloop to center and a grounder to left. With two outs, Wilson walked a batter to load the bases, and his evening was done after 96 pitches.

"The slider was a very effective pitch for me, " said Wilson, who remained 9-4, with his ERA rising to 3.05. In the fifth inning, "a ball never went more than 120 feet, and it just didn't bounce my way."

Boles said Wilson "really had quality stuff" and said some of those infield hits should have been outs. "We needed to take better care of the baseball behind him."

Reliever Kyle Fernandez (2-4) was near perfect, retiring 10 of 11 batters with 37 pitches (29 strikes).

Blake Maxwell pitched the ninth, allowing a run on two hits while striking out two.

The Sea Dogs improved to 50-69 and play their last game this season against Erie at 1 p.m. today.

NOTES: Middlebrooks moved into a tie for first among Eastern League RBI leaders with former teammate Chih-Hsien Chiang and Harrisburg's Tyler Moore, all with 76. ... Hazelbaker produced a run by himself in the second inning. He reached on a bunt single and stole second. When he also stole third, the catcher's throw sailed into left field, and he came home on the error. Hazelbaker is 27 for 32 in stolen-base attempts. ... Of Spring's 18 hits, four are home runs and eight are doubles. ... Hassan leads the team in doubles (31) and OPS (.876).

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

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: ClearTheBases