Aaron Civale enjoyed his return to New England, and it was not only because of the wonderous 75-degree Friday night in Portland

Civale, from East Windsor, Connecticut, and Northeastern University, combined with Akron’s bullpen to stymie the Portland Sea Dogs in the RubberDucks’ 8-2 victory before 7,069 at Hadlock Field.

Civale pitched four shutout innings, allowing two hits – his outing limited after just coming off the disabled list with shoulder soreness.

Civale, 22, was a third-round draft pick of the Indians in 2016. Red Sox fans may remember him from a 2015 spring-training exhibition between Northeastern and Boston, when Civale struck out David Ortiz, Hanley Ramirez, Xander Bogaerts and Mike Napoli.

In 2016, Civale set a Northeastern record with 121 strikeouts and the Indians scooped him up. Now he’s in Double-A with a 2.23 ERA in seven starts (34 strikeouts/four walks in 36 innings). This was his first start in five weeks.

“Feels great. So good to be back out there,” said Civale, who was pitching in front of his parents and friends.

The pitching matchup was a mismatch, with Civale, rated the Indians’ 10th-best prospect by mlb.com, against Portland right-hander Durin O’Linger, a non-drafted free agent filling in for the night.

With scheduled starter Teddy Stankiewicz sent to Triple-A Pawtucket, O’Linger, 24, was beckoned from advanced Class A Salem, where he’s made five relief appearances. He allowed seven runs (six earned) over 21/3 innings.

Down 2-0, O’Linger recorded his only strikeout to begin the third inning, but then Bobby Bradley – the Indians’ No. 4 prospect – crushed his 10th home run of the season. The next four batters reached – two singles and two walks – and O’Linger was done after 65 pitches.

Meanwhile, Civale needed 59 pitches, using his five-pitch mix, striking out two and walking none. He induced eight groundouts and two flyouts.

The Sea Dogs got one run in the sixth when Danny Mars led off with a stand-up triple. He scored on Chad De La Guerra’s groundout.

De La Guerra got another RBI in the eighth, scoring Austin Rei on a fielder’s choice. Akron’s Dominick DeMasi (5-1) relieved for four innings for the win.

The Portland pen of Daniel McGrath, Adam Lau, Travis Lakins and Trevor Kelley allowed one run on five hits, striking out nine.

NOTES: Sea Dogs first baseman Josh Ockimey was a late scratch from the lineup because of back spasms. … In Stankiewicz’s Triple-A debut, he gave up six runs in two-plus innings. In the third inning he allowed two singles, a walk and a grand slam before being pulled. … One former Portland pitcher (Justin Haley) replaced another (Jalen Beeks) on the Red Sox roster as Beeks was optioned to Pawtucket. … O’Linger may be one of the more academically accomplished Sea Dogs. A magna cum laude graduate from Davidson, Olinger was headed to the University of Florida pharmacy school before the Red Sox signed him as an undrafted free agent last June. … One of the season’s popular promotions is Sunday when fans with tickets are welcome to play catch in the Hadlock outfield between 10-11:15 a.m. The game is at 1 p.m.

Kevin Thomas can be reached at 791-7411 or:

kthomas@pressherald.com

Twitter: @ClearTheBases