PORTLAND – Kyle Weiland, Mitch Herold and Bryce Cox combined on a five-hitter as the Portland Sea Dogs slipped by the Erie SeaWolves 1-0 Tuesday night before 4,513 at Hadlock Field.

Portland (34-29) got its lone run in the fifth inning on Matt Sheely’s two-out RBI double, sending the SeaWolves (26-37) to their eighth straight loss.

Weiland (3-4) pitched for the first time in 11 days after coming off the disabled list Tuesday. He showed no rust, holding Erie to four hits and two walks while striking out five over 51/3 innings.

Weiland was around the strike zone all night, throwing 92 pitches, 63 for strikes. Of the 23 batters he faced, 19 got a first-pitch strike.

“The first goal of every game is to establish the fastball,” Weiland said. “I really didn’t have a great secondary pitch, so I focused on going in and out with the fastball.”

Weiland’s ERA dropped to 4.00 with his fourth scoreless outing. In his last three starts, he’s allowed 11 hits and two runs.

“(Weiland) hadn’t pitched in a while and he came out and pounded the (strike) zone. He was very aggressive,” Sea Dogs Manager Arnie Beyeler said.

In the bottom of the fifth, Yamaico Navarro singled to left field and advanced to second base when the ball was misplayed. He raced to third on Chih-Hsien Chiang’s fly ball to center field.

After a strikeout, Sheely came to the plate. He swatted a fastball from Duane Below (2-6) to left-center field, scoring Navarro.

“It was looking for a fastball,” Sheely said. “Just wanted a pitch to drive and I got one.

“One of those games where both pitchers were throwing a lot of strikes. Good game.”

Although Herold did not earn a save, he rescued Weiland in the sixth inning. After yielding a one-out walk and a double, Weiland exited with runners on second and third.

Herold came in and struck out two batters to end the inning.

“(Herold) did the job of the night, to leave those guys on in a one-run ballgame,” Beyeler said. “All they had to do was put a ball in play (with one out) and the game is tied up.”

Herold pitched 21/3 innings, allowing a single and no walks.

Cox got the last out of the eighth and pitched a perfect ninth. He needed only nine pitches (seven strikes) to record his team-leading ninth save.

NOTES: Red Sox pitching prospect Alex Wilson officially was added to the Sea Dogs’ roster. He will make his Double-A debut with tonight’s start. To make room for Wilson in the rotation, Ryne Miller was sent to the bullpen.

Shortstop Jose Iglesias remains on the disabled list with a deep bruise on his right hand. He is expected to go to Boston today to get the injury re-evaluated. “He’s better today,” Beyeler said. “But it’s a severe bone bruise. It’s going to need some time.”

Catcher Luis Exposito had two of Portland’s five hits.

Second baseman Nate Spears, who leads the team with 59 games played, got a day off Tuesday, although he did coach first base.

Both Trenton (39-23) and New Hampshire (40-25) also won games Tuesday, so Portland remained 51/2 and 5 games, respectively, behind those teams in the Eastern League Eastern Division standings.

According to reports out of Boston and espn.com, former Sea Dogs ace Felix Doubront is expected to make his major league debut with the Red Sox on Friday.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at: kthomas@pressherald.com