Portland, Maine – After finishing fourth in the first half, the Portland Sea Dogs had a hot start to the second half of the season, and are currently competing for the top spot in the Northeast Division of the Eastern League.
A lot of the success for the Sea Dogs has come from new additions to the roster. Bryan Mata is ranked as the No. 8 prospect in the Boston Red Sox system and has been lights out on the mound. Through his first five starts for the Sea Dogs, Mata worked a 2.16 ERA and struck out 30 in his first 25.0 innings.
Nick Northcut was promoted from High-A Greenville while the Sea Dogs were in Hartford. At the time of his promotion, he ranked second through all levels of Minor League Baseball with 26 home runs through 77 games with Greenville. Northcut blasted two homers in his first series with the Sea Dogs against the Yard Goats.
David Hamilton continues to be a force on the basepaths. With 49 stolen bases, Hamilton leads all teams in Double-A and has the third-most amount of stolen bases in Portland’s franchise history. The single-season record for stolen bases in Sea Dogs history is 64 which was set by Julio Ramirez in 1999.
Ceddanne Rafaela has continued to make jaw-dropping catches on defense, and impressive performances at the plate for Portland. After returning from participating in the SiriusXM Futures Game, Rafaela continues to be among the leaders through all levels of Minor League Baseball with extra-base hits.
In addition to a tight playoff race, the Sea Dogs have a multitude of promotions for the whole family. Saturday, August 6th is Star Wars Night which will feature specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off to benefit Make-A-Wish Maine. Fans are encouraged to dress up to join members of the 501st Legion – New England Garrison, Mandalorian Mercs-Wampa Clan, and R2-D2. The first 1,000 fans through the gates on Tuesday, August 9th will receive a Jarren Duran Bobblehead presented by Fortinet.
The highly anticipated Maine Bean Suppahs will make their debut on Saturday, August 13th at 6:00pm. Celebrate the centuries-old New England gathering tradition as the Sea Dogs rebrand as the Bean Suppahs with specialty jerseys and an actual Bean Suppah event in the Coca-Cola Picnic Area.
The Sea Dogs will celebrate Women in Sports Night on Thursday, August 25th with a pregame event beginning at 4:15pm in the Corporate Corner picnic area. The meet and greet will feature several women in baseball including Portland’s play-by-play broadcaster Emma Tiedemann and Development Coach Katie Krall. Each speaker will then speak for 10-15 minutes about the importance of sports and how it has impacted their lives with questions from the audience after.
This season’s Fan Appreciation Game will take place on Saturday, September 10th at 1:00pm. It is the most iconic promotion every season with a pre-game presentation with the Sea Dogs wearing specialty 1920s Portland uniforms and emerging from a cornfield. The Sea Dogs will host two remaining fireworks shows on Friday, August 5th, and August 26th.
Tickets can be purchased online at www.seadogs.com or at Hadlock Field. Fans can also secure their seats by calling 207-879-9500.
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