Among the fastest workers at Hadlock Field on Wednesday night were those updating the video board.
After putting together a montage of Mookie Betts highlights from Tuesday night, complete with his three home runs and diving catch, the crew hustled to add Betts’ two home runs in his first two at-bats Wednesday.
The montage was shown before the eighth inning and gave fans something to cheer about. On the Hadlock turf, the Portland Sea Dogs were routed 12-2 by the Reading Fightin Phils.
The Phils blew the game open with a seven-run fourth inning against Sea Dogs starter Teddy Stankiewicz (1-5).
It’s been two years since Betts blew through the Eastern League, playing 54 games for Portland before his promotion.
On Wednesday, a center fielder with Betts-like charisma appeared in Portland.
Roman Quinn, like Betts, hit back-to-back leadoff home runs Tuesday and Wednesday for Reading.
Quinn, only 5-foot-10 and 170 pounds, enjoyed a 3-for-4 night with two doubles, three runs and four RBI.
“He’s got a lot of tools,” Reading Manager Dusty Wathan said. “Power. He can run. Good arm in the outfield. He’s an exciting player for us right now.”
Quinn, who has 24 stolen bases, is batting .284 with a .360 on-base percentage and .421 slugging average.
Like Betts, Quinn is young (just turned 23), a converted infielder and a high draft pick (second round) who gave up a college scholarship (Florida State) to go pro.
Unlike Betts, Quinn hasn’t been able to stay healthy. The past three seasons have featured a broken wrist, torn Achilles tendon and tear in his left hip flexor.
Quinn began the game with a blast over the wall in right-center.
Stankiewicz pitched out of jams in the next two innings. In the second, with the bases loaded and one out, he induced a double play. In the third, after a one-out triple by Jesmuel Valentin, Stankiewicz got a strikeout – finished with a nice change-up and 93 mph fastball combination – and a groundout.
Portland tied the game in the third on a Wendell Rijo single and Tzu-Wei Lin RBI double.
But in the fourth, Stankiewicz dug a hole too deep. He began with a walk and, with one out, gave up four straight doubles. After a single and a flyout, Christian Marrero – cousin of former Sea Dogs shortstop Deven Marrero – crushed a two-run homer for an 8-1 lead.
“It looked like (Stankiewicz) got into a good rhythm, and then that fourth inning,” Sea Dogs Manager Carlos Febles said. “He started working behind in the count and that’s when problems started for him. One of those games.”
Indeed, Stankiewicz (ERA 4.31) has now started 10 games. In eight of them, he has allowed two earned runs or fewer. In the other two, he’s given up eight runs in each.
Portland’s other run came in the fourth on Anuery Tavarez’s sacrifice fly after singles by Nate Freiman and Ryan Court.
NOTES: The announced paid attendance was 3,744. … Reliever Simon Mercedes was sent down to advanced Class A Salem after compiling an 8.22 ERA in 15 appearances with Portland. … Replacing Mercedes is right-hander Austin Maddox, a third-round draft pick in 2012 out of the University of Florida. He had a 3.33 ERA with Salem. … Andrew Benintendi went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts, dropping his average to .196 after 13 games … Portland (18-34) and Reading (35-18) play again at 11 a.m. Thursday at Hadlock Field.
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