If Portland Sea Dogs hitters were star-struck Saturday night, they didn’t show it.

New York Mets right-hander Matt Harvey, a former All-Star who is working his way back from a stress injury to his scapula, was in town for his latest minor-league rehab start with the Binghamton Rumble Ponies.

But the Sea Dogs scored three runs with Harvey on the mound and tagged two more onto his final line shortly after he exited the game in the fifth inning.

Still, it took a four-run outburst in the eighth for the Sea Dogs to finally shake the Rumble Ponies for a 9-5 win at Hadlock Field.

Danny Mars hit a tiebreaking double in the eighth and Chad De La Guerra added his second two-run double of the night as the Sea Dogs, who had scored only seven runs combined in their previous six games, sent nine batters to the plate.

“We just kept swinging,” De La Guerra said. “We’ve been a little unlucky lately. Balls we’ve been hitting pretty well haven’t been falling. Today they finally fell for us.”

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Harvey got a no-decision in his second rehab start for the Rumble Ponies and fourth overall. He has been on the Mets’ disabled list since June 16.

Harvey was originally scheduled to pitch Saturday for the Mets’ High-A affiliate in St. Lucie, Florida. But the threat of inclement weather there prompted the Mets to jet him to Portland to start for their Double-A affiliate instead.

“I was watching him pitch in the World Series two years ago,” said De La Guerra, who went 2 for 5 with four RBI. “Obviously he is rehabbing, so there is stuff he’s working on. Still, it was definitely an awesome experience to face someone like that.”

The Sea Dogs took an early lead when De La Guerra ripped a two-run double off the right-field wall in the third inning. They made it 3-2 in the fourth when Josh Ockimey doubled off Harvey, then scored two batters later on a single by Cole Sturgeon.

Harvey hit a batter with his 72nd pitch. With Harvey watching from the dugout, Ockimey hit a bases-loaded double to make it 5-2.

In 4 2/3 innings, Harvey allowed five runs, three of them earned, on five hits. He struck out two and walked one.

“It was all right,” Harvey said. “Getting up close to 75 (pitches) and still feeling strong and like I could go more was the biggest task. All in all that’s definitely a plus for me, getting up to that many pitches and not having any pain or any discomfort.”

Despite already being out of the Eastern League playoff chase as their season winds down, the Sea Dogs found some satisfaction by finally scoring a bunch of runs, five of them against a pitcher who a few years ago was regarded as one of the best in the majors.

“I remember watching him on TV in 2014 when I was coming out of high school,” said Ockimey, who went 3 for 4. “It was kind of fun facing a guy like that.”


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