PORTLAND — If there were any silver linings to be found for the Portland Sea Dogs on a raw July (and since when did those two words go together) night in which they suffered twin 3-1 losses to the New Britain Rock Cats, it would be in the starting pitching.
The Dogs received strong performances from hurlers Junichi Tazawa and Ryne Lawson, but the hitters didn’t follow suit.
Portland was two-hit by a trio of Rock Cat pitchers in the opener, and fared little better in Game 2.
Both Dogs starters deserved a better fate, especially Lawson, who threw a complete seven-inning game in the nightcap.
“That was one of the strongest pitching performances we’ve had,” said Portland skipper Arnie Beyeler.
Tarawa (7-5), making a return from a stint on the disabled list, showed signs of brilliance, but not invincibility.
New Britain, the Eastern League’s top hitting club, scraped up three runs against him, but just one of those was earned.
On the plus side, and it was a big plus, Tazawa showed great command around the plate.
He fanned six Rock Cats — striking out the side in the first — and didn’t walk a batter. Indeed, he never ran a three-ball count during his five full frames of work.
“Getting the first pitch strike is very important,” said Tazawa through interpreter Yoshi Otani. “If I do it, I can limit my pitches.”
Three of the six hits Tazawa sprinkled were opposite-field flairs to left.
Two of those, a third inning lead off single by Toby Gardenhire followed by a double by Brandon Roberts, accounted for the Rock Cats’ first run.
“Those were unlucky for me,” Tazawa said. “But still, my (pitches) were high. So I need to improve that.”
New Britain punched across two unearned runs in the fourth to make it 3-0.
The Sea Dogs, meanwhile, had trouble getting to New Britain’s Frank Mata, who was making just his second start in 224 professional appearances.
Mata mowed down the first 10 Dogs until Argenis Diaz laced a one-out single in the fourth into left field.
Diaz eventually was doubled in by designated hitter Jon Still, cutting the deficit to 3-1.
Portland was held hitless the rest of the way.
The Dogs fell behind early on in the nightcap, when starter Ryne Lawson was touched for two first-inning runs.
Lawson quickly settled down and retired 17 of the next 19 batters he faced.
“I had good command of my fastball,” said Lawson (1-7). “Working both sides of the plate. Mixing in a few sliders. It’s always a matter of trusting your stuff.”
Portland got one run back in the bottom of the fourth, after loading the bases with one away.
Still drew a lead off walk, and eventually scored on Reid Engel’s drive to shallow left.
That was as close as the Dogs could come.
CHIN MUSIC: Days off during the season often at a premium, and three days off in July are a once in a season occurance. However, four Sea Dogs will be passing up the chance to enjoy some R ”˜n’ R when the Eastern League takes its annual All-Star hiatus, two weeks from now.
Instead, the quartet — 1B Lars Anderson, 3B Jorge Jimenez, and RHPs Tazawa and T.J. Large — will all take part in the league’s midseason classic in Trenton, N.J.
For Large, who is enjoying the finest season of his five-year professional career, the All-Star nod is particularly gratifying.
“It’s awesome,” said Large, who has put up glittering (3-0, 0.96) numbers. “It’s exciting and pretty rewarding. It shows hard work does pay off.
“Still, it’s a Double-A All-Star Game, not a Major League one. That’s what everybody wants to be. Yet it’s really cool. I’m excited for it.”
The first pitch was delayed by 30 minutes, due to rain in the area. ”¦ The official game time temperature for the opener on this July evening was a balmy 59 degrees, and dropped to 57 by the nightcap. Which prompts the question: “How can you have ”˜the boys of summer’ when summer won’t show up?
The teams will meet again tonight (7 p.m.), with Adam Mills (3-5, 5.75) set to battle New Britain’s Cole DeVries (5-6, 2.96), in a clash of right handers.
— Contact Dan Hickling at 282-1535 ext. 318 or dhickling@journaltribune.com.
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