It was already Aug. 3, and Jeremy Barfield had not hit a home run this month.

Maybe Portland Sea Dogs fans are getting a little spoiled, but Barfield delivered again Thursday afternoon. His solo blast over the left-field wall in the eighth inning broke a tie and gave Portland an 11-10 victory over the Richmond Flying Squirrels at Hadlock Field.

Barfield, who set a franchise record for home runs in one month with 12 in July, hit a high fastball an estimated 401 feet. He now has 19 home runs in 64 games with Portland.

“I knew he was coming with a fastball,” said Barfield. “You got to be patient with those guys. I wasn’t getting a lot to hit. Had to make sure I didn’t chase.”

Barfield was 1 for 3 with a walk and was also hit by pitch. He’s on 13-game hitting streak and is batting .306.

The Sea Dogs (51-57) also got home runs from Michael Chavis and Henry Urrutia (grand slam).

Portland led 6-1, trailed 9-6, then led 10-9 before Richmond tied the game in the sixth.

Taylor Grover (3-5) got the win with two hitless innings of relief. Bobby Poyner picked up his fifth save with a 1-2-3 ninth.

“The bullpen came in and did their job,” said Sea Dog Manager Carlos Febles, also noting Josh Smith’s effort (one run in 22/3 innings).”

Chavis went 2 for 4. His home run was his 10th in 38 games with the Sea Dogs and 27th overall this season, counting 17 for Class A Salem. That ties Chavis for the most home runs in the minor leagues.

Chavis, 21, was 9 when Urrutia became a pro player in Cuba. Urrutia, 30, has played parts of two seasons with the Baltimore Orioles. When Baltimore released him in May, the Red Sox signed him.

His slam over the fence in left-center gave the Sea Dogs a 6-1 lead in the third inning.

Sea Dogs starter Teddy Stankiewicz allowed one hit – a Jeff Arnold home run – through three innings but could not contain the damage in a hard-luck fourth. He allowed three singles (a misplayed popup, a dribbler and a grounder that beat the shift) before a strikeout. Then the next five batters reached, including Caleb Gindl’s three-run triple that chased Stankiewicz.

Portland came back with four runs in the fifth, including a Chavis RBI double and an RBI single by Urrutia. Richmond (47-62) tied it in the sixth on a double by Hunter Cole and a single by C.J. Hinojosa.

NOTES: The announced paid attendance was 6,569. … Poyner’s ERA is 0.32 in 18 games. … For the second time in three games, there was a delay because a foul ball broke a stadium light. Mike Olt did the honors this time. The now-experienced Sea Dogs crew, which took 17 minutes to clean up the glass on Tuesday, needed only five minutes on Thursday. … Richmond reliever Stephen Johnson was activated off the disabled list Thursday and entered in the fifth inning. But he did not finish his warmups and left because of an undisclosed injury. … Bob Tewksbury was at Hadlock, working with the Flying Squirrels in his capacity as the San Francisco Giants’ mental performance coach. Tewksbury, 56, a former All-Star pitcher from Concord, New Hampshire, held the same position for the Red Sox for 11 years. … The Bowie Baysox come to town Friday with the league’s best offense (.288 average, .783 OPS).

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-6411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: ClearTheBases

Related Stories