PORTLAND

Teddy Stankiewicz’s numbers are a bit misleading.

The Portland Sea Dogs starter entered Friday night’s game against the Binghamton Mets with a 2-7 record and a 5.08 ERA. And, according to manager Carlos Febles, he also entered it with a chip on his shoulder.

Over the course of a long summer for the Sea Dogs (36- 64), Stankiewicz hasn’t always received a ton of help on the mound. But on Friday, his team-leading 11th quality start was backed up with ample run support and a strong showing from the bullpen as he led the way in a 9-3 win.

“For me, I like to pitch with a chip on the shoulder,” Stankiewicz said. “Motivation one and number two it’s just being aggressive. It’s definitely nice to have a chip on your shoulder.”

Stankiewicz started in a groove, facing the minimum through four innings. In the second frame, he shook off a ball off the ankle and forced a double play to quickly erase the potential danger. In all, he worked six innings, giving up three runs on five hits and no walks. His six strikeouts tied a season-high.

“The main thing was just trying to get my slider tighter and harder,” Stankiewicz said. “To get more of a swing-and-miss pitch. So that was working a little better for me tonight and my fastball was good.”

“His fastball looked pretty good,” Febles said. “Got some swings and misses with it and got some good velocity. In the end, he gave us six quality innings.”

Binghamton (47-62) eventually got to Stankiewicz in the fifth, when Jayce Boyd launched a two-out, two-run homer to left-center field to bring the score to 5-2. Amed Rosario added another two-out RBI in the sixth, but it was all the B-Mets mustered.

Austin Maddox worked two unblemished innings of relief (two strikeouts) before Luis Ysla beat an impeding thunderstorm and closed the game out in the ninth.

Getting better

With the playoffs out of reach for the Sea Dogs, Stankiewicz is one of many players that are balancing their own development with helping the team win. After 11 quality starts and now just three wins to show for it, he said it was nice for it “to all come together” on Friday.

For Stankiewicz, helping the team win and his own development go hand-in-hand.

“If you do your thing, you’re going to mold the team,” he said. “Whatever you do for yourself is going to contribute to the team. You can still be a team player by doing what you need to do and getting what you need done.”

Another player with a lot on his plate is outfielder Andrew Benintendi, who is currently the Boston Red Sox’s third-ranked prospect according to mlb.com. For the first time in his professional career, Benintendi was placed in left field on Friday night — a move that may be preparing him for the Green Monster at Fenway

Park. He was tested early, with three of the first four outs of the game hit to left field, but even on the third play, where he tracked back and collided with the wall after squeezing the ball, he looked up to the test.

“Every time you put somebody in a different position, they’re trying to find a way to find you and they did,” Febles said. “But he did a good job and he didn’t seem intimidated by the wall. He went back a couple times on fly balls and made nice plays. He looks very comfortable there.”

“It was new, but I’ve been working on it in early work and batting practice and things like that,” Benintendi said. “It didn’t feel too uncomfortable out there, so it went pretty well.”

With the Red Sox keeping a close eye on him, Benintendi’s position change got much more attention than it normally might.

“I don’t think about it,” Benintendi said of his label as a top prospect. “I can only control so much. I’m going to trust the process and the guys that make those decisions.”

The 5-foot-10 outfielder also played his part in the Stankiewicz run support on Friday, going 2-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. With two runs already on the board for the Sea Dogs in the bottom of the third, Benintendi followed up an RBI double from Mauricio Dubon with a two-out RBI single that made the score 4-0. In the next at-bat, cleanup man Nate Freiman roped the Sea Dogs’ fifth straight hit down the left-field line to score Benintendi.

Benintendi also helped propel another big inning for Portland in the seventh, where he dragged a flawless bunt down the first-base line and beat the toss to first. After he and Dubon advanced a base on a wild pitch, Freiman tallied another RBI that forced the B-Mets’ second pitching change of the night.

Ryan Court added an RBI single through the middle and Cole Sturgeon made the score 9-3 after a two-RBI double sprayed into right field.

Binghamton knuckleballer Mickey Jannis lasted just 3 1/3 innings, giving up five earned runs and walking three.

Even with the season in its current state, Benintendi is focused on the team and getting better. Rather than dwelling on a future in Boston, he’s using the time to get himself ready for the promotion.

“Just trying to get better every single day,” Benintendi said. “It’s pretty cliche’, but there’s always something you can work on and our record may not be the best, but we’re always trying to find something to work on. Just taking it a day at a time and trying to develop each and every day.”

For Febles, the underwhelming season on paper (36-64 after Friday’s win) has been anything but on the field, and his players are progressing at a fine pace.

“Believe it or not, it’s been fun,” Febles said. “We have a group of guys that work their tails off and it hasn’t translated to the games, but at the end of the day, all I ask the guys to do is work hard. That’s how you’re going to get better. This is the minor leagues — you’re here to develop players. I think the guys are getting better as the season’s gone along.”

Sea Dogs 9, B-Mets 3

Friday night at Hadlock Field in
Portland
B-Mets — 000 021 000 — 3-7-1
Portland — 000 400 40X — 9-12-0
(B) Mickey Jannis, Rainy Lara (3),
Luis Mateo (8) and Colton Plaia; (P)
Teddy Stankiewicz, Austin Maddox
(7), Luis Ysla (9) and Jake Romanski.
Doubles — (B) Matt Oberste; (P)
Mauricio Dubon, Cole Sturgeon.
Home runs — (B) Jayce Boyd.
Repeat Hitters — (P) Mauricio
Dubon, Andrew Benintendi, Cole
Sturgeon.
Records — B-Mets 47-62, Sea Dogs
36-64.
Up next for the Sea Dogs — Tonight
at home against the Trenton Thunder,
7 p.m..