The Portland Sea Dogs (23-30) rallied past the Richmond Flying Squirrels (24-26) in the ninth inning and walked off with a, 4-3, win in the middle game of a three-game series at Hadlock Field on Wednesday night. Richmond led nearly the entire night, but failed in their bid to return to .500 for the first time since April 15th.
Trailing 3-1 to the bottom of the ninth inning, the Sea Dogs plated three runs off of right-hander Pedro Rodriguez to steal the victory. Blake Tekotte started the uprising with a one-out single. Marco Hernandez followed and sliced a double into left field to put the tying runs in scoring position. Carlos Asuaje then tied the game with a two-run single to center field. The Squirrels elected to intentionally walk Jantzen Witte before David Chester sent a ground ball to third base. It was a tough play for Mitch Delfino, but the ball glanced off his mitt into short-left field. Asuaje scored the winning run in walk-off fashion on the error. Rodriguez (2-3) took the loss for the Squirrels, who lost for the first time when leading after eight innings (1-21).
The Squirrels cracked the scoreboard first, plating an unearned run in the third. Jackson Williams started the inning with a leadoff single to left field. Kelby Tomlinson followed and reached when righty Luis Diaz misplayed his bunt-attempt. Rando Moreno then bunted the runners up. Mac Williamson couldn’t bring them in, but Devin Harris sent a ground ball to third base. Witte elected to try to tag out Tomlinson. The rundown lasted long enough that Williams scored for a 1-0 lead.
Richmond expanded their lead with a pair of runs off Diaz in the fifth. Williams led off the inning with a double cranked through the left-center field alley. Tomlinson followed and lined a single to right field to put runners at the corners. Tomlinson promptly swiped second base. Moreno then looped a soft-single into left field. Both runners scored for a 3-0 advantage.
Diaz departed during the sixth inning, charged with three runs, two earned, over 5 2/3 innings. He permitted seven hits, walked two and struck out three.
Meanwhile, Marte cruised into the sixth inning, having limited the Sea Dogs to just two hits. He encountered trouble in the sixth however, and was lifted with the bases loaded and out in favor of right-hander Edwin Quirarte. Quirarte induced an inning-ending double-play from Jonathan Roof to keep the Richmond lead intact.
Marte worked 5 2/3 innings and was not charged with a run. He permitted five hits, walked one and struck out three. He did not factor in the decision.
Quirarte stayed in the ballgame and turned in a scoreless seventh inning as well. Right-hander Joan Gregorio started the eighth inning on the hill, but walked Witte to start the frame and then conceded a single Chester. Richmond turned to lefty Phil McCormick who got the first two outs. However, Aneury Tavarez sent a single to right field. Witte scored, but Harris threw out Chester at the plate to end the inning with Richmond leading, 3-1.
Right-hander Madison Younginer worked a perfect 2 1/3 innings to keep the Sea Dogs in the game. Right-hander Jorge Marban (1-0) worked a scoreless ninth to earn the win, his first.
The finale of the three-game series is scheduled for 11 a.m. at Hadlock Field on Thursday morning. LHP Adalberto Mejia (0-0, —) is expected to be activated to make the start for Richmond against Portland RHP Mike Augliera (2-8, 4.44). The Flying Squirrels Pregame Warmup will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Fox Sports 910 and FoxSportsRichmond.com.
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