With top Philadelphia Phillies pitching prospect Aaron Nola on the mound, Hadlock Field fans had a chance to watch a pitching masterpiece Monday.
And they did.
Tuesday's Game
WHO: Portland Sea Dogs (Joe Gunkel 1-0) at Binghamton Mets (Gabriel Ynoa 2-2)
WHEN: 6:35 p.m.
Mike Augliera pitched a beauty.
Augliera allowed four hits over seven shutout innings as the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Reading Fightin’ Phils 8-2 before a crowd of 5,211.
Carlos Asuaje homered twice for Portland. David Chester added a home run.
Augliera (2-7) stayed in control with his fastball, slider and change-up. He needed only 70 pitches, 49 strikes, walking one and striking out four.
“I was able to keep the ball down, mix it in and out, and add in some off-speed,” said Augliera, who lowered his ERA to 4.44 (2.35 in May).
Augliera could have pitched longer but Manager Billy McMillon said, “He’s had some tough luck and I thought this was an opportunity to get him out on a high note.”
Augliera was a fifth-round draft pick out of Binghamton University in 2012. He received a $25,000 signing bonus in comparison to Nola’s $3.3 million bonus. Nola was the seventh overall pick last year out of Louisiana State.
Nola has been dominant in the Eastern League, except at Hadlock Field. His first game this season was here on April 11, and Portland scored four runs in 42/3 innings. Since then Nola had allowed a total of three runs in seven starts, none fewer than six innings.
“He’s a good pitcher and he commands the zone,” said Marco Hernandez, who was 2 for 3 with a double, RBI and walk for Portland. “You have to stay up the middle with him.
Asuaje got Portland a lead in the third with a solo home run to right-center.
In the fifth, Anuery Tavarez led off with a double for Portland. With one out, Danny Bethea fought off an inside slider to single to center, scoring Tavarez. Hernandez doubled in Bethea.
“Good pitcher,” Bethea said. “He commands the zone so we knew we needed to get our pitch and drive it. We had good approaches.”
Nola’s ERA rose to 1.87 – 6.49 in two starts against Portland, 0.94 in seven starts against everyone else.
The Sea Dogs jumped on reliever Lee Ridenhour for five runs in the seventh – a two-run Chester homer and a three-run shot by Asuaje.
Asuaje has gone 6 for 12 the last three games, bumping up his average to .287.
“This was a good series for him,” McMillon said. “He’s doing better with the weather getting warmer. And he’s getting on page with (hitting coach Dave Joppie), working with him in the cage.”
That was plenty of support for Augliera, who kept the game moving with his pace and command.
“He just located every pitch,” Bethea said. “I put up my glove and he was hitting it.”
The shutout ended when Reading got two in the ninth off Simon Mercedes, including a Cam Perkins home run.
The Sea Dogs (19-26) left after the game for a six-day road trip starting Tuesday night in Binghamton. They return to Hadlock Field next Tuesday, June 2. The Phils (23-20) move on to New Hampshire.
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