Failure is too much a part of baseball to always be seeking redemption.

Be a goldfish, have a short memory, focus on the moment at hand. That’s what coaches preach and players must learn. Do that, and sometimes you are rewarded.

The Portland Sea Dogs rallied late Thursday night to beat the Richmond Flying Squirrels, 6-4, before a crowd of 6,444 at Hadlock Field.

The victory came in large part because Blaze Jordan, Phillip Sikes and Matthew Lugo all delivered in their final turn at bat, after each previously stranded two runners in scoring position with Portland trailing by a run.

In a three-run eighth, Jordan and Sikes singled and Lugo followed with a blast over the Maine Monster in left field. Two innings earlier, the Sea Dogs put runners on second and third with none out, but Jordan whiffed, Sikes popped up and Lugo struck out.

“We fail so much in baseball and we put so much effort in it,” Lugo said. “So when we get to succeed … it feels amazing.”

The Sea Dogs have won two of three so far on their longest homestand of the season. Thursday also marked the Double-A debut of pitching prospect Angel Bastardo, a 21-year-old Venezuelan who led the South Atlantic League in strikeouts before being promoted from High-A Greenville earlier this week.

Because he signed at 16, Bastardo is eligible for the Rule 5 Draft this winter. That means the Red Sox must decide whether to add him to their 40-man roster or risk another club taking a flyer on him.

Showing a lively fastball in the mid-90s and an effective changeup, Bastardo held Richmond in check until the fourth and departed after six innings, trailing 3-2. Five of the six hits against him went for extra bases, including a home run by Victor Bericoto. Bastardo struck out four and walked only two.

“Obviously you’re amped up, it’s your first Double-A start,” said Sea Dogs Manager Chad Epperson. “He was able to hold down the emotion. To give us six innings and give us a chance to come back and win the ballgame, it was awesome.”

Watching intently from Section 106 behind home plate was Gus Quattlebaum, the Red Sox vice president of scouting development and integration. Curious to see how Bastardo would respond on eight days’ rest and competing at a higher level, Quattlebaum grinned.

“He could not have responded better, honestly,” said the scout. “He was even keeled. He filled the (strike) zone. He didn’t try to do too much. I came away very impressed.”

The Sea Dogs staked Bastardo to a 2-0 lead in the third inning. Alex Binelas belted his 15th home run, and Tyler Esplin doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly by Nick Yorke.

Richmond pulled ahead 4-2 before the Sea Dogs scratched back a run in the seventh on a two-out RBI single from Corey Rosier.

That set up the redemptive eighth for the home team. Jordan singled to left and was immediately replaced by pinch runner Tyler McDonough. An errant pickoff attempt sailed into the right-field corner, and McDonough was able to race all the way around the bases to score the tying run.

“You could just feel it in the crowd and the noise,” said Sikes, who followed with another single. “Right when I saw the ball come out of the catcher’s hand, I knew (McDonough) was going to be on third or score.”

Lugo followed with his fourth home run of the season to make it 6-4.

Alex Hoppe struck out two in a perfect ninth for his first save.

NOTES: A roster spot became available for Bastardo when the Red Sox promoted another right-handed pitching prospect, Grant Gambrell, to Triple-A Worcester. Gambrell went 6-3 with a 3.42 ERA in 15 starts for the Sea Dogs after joining them in May from Greenville.

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