The New Hamsphire Fisher Cats pounced for six runs in the first two innings and beat the Portland Sea Dogs 11-4 Friday night before a sellout crowd of 7,368 at Hadlock Field.
Ryan Schimpf hit two home runs for the Fisher Cats (38-40).
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WHO: Portland Sea Dogs (William Cuevas 7-4) at Binghamton Mets (Michael Fulmer 2-1)
WHEN: 7:05 p.m. Saturday
Keury De La Cruz doubled in two runs for the Sea Dogs. Sam Travis and Marco Hernandez added RBI singles.
One standout for the Sea Dogs was reliever Simon Mercedes, who ate up four innings after starter Heri Quevedo (0-5) did not make it out of the second inning.
After the Sea Dogs and Fisher Cats played a 16-inning game Thursday, both teams needed their starters to go far.
But Quevedo, 25 and in his third year in the Red Sox system, showed little command with his 60 pitches (only 29 strikes). He gave up six runs on five hits and six walks over 1 2/3 innings, seeing his ERA spike to 8.86.
Mercedes gave up three runs (two earned) but his value was durability, preserving a gassed Sea Dogs bullpen. Miguel Celestino (2 1/3 innings, two runs) and John Cornely (a 1-2-3 ninth) finished it.
New Hampshire starter Casey Lawrence (7-8) gave the Fisher Cats six innings, allowing four runs (three earned) on nine hits and one walk.
Down 7-0, Portland got on the board in the fourth. Travis walked. Manuel Margot lined a single to left, and De La Cruz doubled both in with a ball off the left field wall.
Travis singled in new catcher Alixson Suarez in the fifth. Hernandez singled in Aneury Tavarez in the sixth.
The Sea Dogs have lost eight of their last 10 games. Their 29-52 record is the second-worst of any minor league team at the Double-A or Triple-A level (the Triple-A Syracuse Chiefs are 28-54).
NOTES: After the game, the Sea Dogs boarded a bus for Binghamton, New York. After a three-game series with the Mets, Portland heads to Reading, Pennsylvania, for three games. The Sea Dogs return to Hadlock Field on July 10. … Another former Sea Dogs player reached the majors Friday when reliever Noe Ramirez was called up to Boston. … Catcher Tim Roberson (hand fracture) remains on the disabled list, although the cast has been removed from his right hand. Meanwhile, Suarez is up from Lowell to fill in. He doubled in is second Double-A at-bat.
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