The eagerly, anxiously awaited first pitch at Hadlock Field was delivered at 6:03 p.m. Tuesday.
That pitch – the first one witnessed at Hadlock since 2019 because of the pandemic-canceled 2020 season – sizzled in at 93 mph, a fastball from Portland Sea Dogs righthander Andrew Politi.
New Hampshire Fisher Cats prospect Austin Martin sent it into right field just as quickly, the ball coming off the bat at 99 mph; trendy statistics provided by one of the new, information-overload scoreboards at Hadlock.
Martin’s single was the first of many New Hampshire hits as the Sea Dogs’ season opener slumped into a Fisher Cats’ 11-2 romp, before a sellout attendance of 1,835.
Hadlock’s capacity, which was expected to be reduced from 7,368 to 2,087 for social distance purposes, was cut down even more when the left field bleachers were unavailable because there was no safety glass installed between the bleachers and the visitors’ bullpen (the glass is on backorder).
Safety is the prevalent theme for these baseball games.
On the field, the plot revolved around poor command from Portland pitchers, and mostly quiet bats from Sea Dogs hitters.
“A game we can learn from,” said first-year Sea Dogs Manager Corey Wimberly who, like most minor leaguer players and coaches, was dormant last season. “It was good to get the guys out there.”
Two top Red Sox prospects, touted first baseman Triston Casas and center fielder Jeisson Rosario, each recorded two singles with one RBI apiece.
Portland used six pitchers. Combined, they threw 194 pitches, for 115 strikes, allowing 16 hits, while issuing seven walks, hitting two batters, and throwing three wild pitches. All of which accounted for the 3:33 game time.
“They just got the momentum and it seemed we could not come back,” Wimberly said.
Wimberly thought his pitchers performed better than what the boxscore indicated, saying they had “some tough misses” and there were “some catchable plays behind them.”
In the Fisher Cats’ three-run third inning, two key hits to left field were misplayed by Pedro Castellanos, who is new to the position.
“He is transitioning from first base,” Wimberly said. “He’s a work in progress He’s in a new ballpark and had some tough reads.”
The Sea Dogs mounted few threats until the eighth when reliever Fitz Stadler allowed a walk and the two RBI singles, by Casas and Rosario.
Casas, Boston’s top prospect, went 2 for 4, muscling two soft line drive singles into the outfield, along with two swinging strikeouts.
New Hampshire starter Zach Logue, who lost three starts to the Sea Dogs in 2019, got the win with five scoreless frames, allowing four hits.
Politi took the loss, allowing four earned runs on seven hits and two walks. It was the Double-A debut for Politi, ranked 26th among Red Sox prospects by mlb.com.
While this Sea Dogs teams features some top prospects, the Fisher Cats are loaded with talent. New Hampshire may not match its 2018 squad (Vlad Guerrero Jr. Bo Bichette and Cavan Biggio), but Martin is one of several top Blue Jays prospects in Double-A. Martin, a center fielder, was drafted only last year, the fifth overall pick, out of Vanderbilt, signing for $7-million.
Martin went 2 for 4 with a walk and hit-batsman. Catcher Gabriel Moreno recorded three hits and two RBI. Designated hitter Brock Lunquist, a veteran of the 2019 Fisher Cats team, had the only homer, blast off Zach Schellenger’s 92 mph fastball.
Durbin Feltman, who pitched for Portland in 2019, was the Sea Dogs’ final pitcher. With a 92 mph fastball and his slider, he gave up a single and an unearned run, while striking out three.
NOTES: Wednesday’s game features two prospects who were traded. Portland’s Frank German came to the Red Sox from the Yankees (in the Adam Ottavino deal), and New Hampshire’s Simeon Woods-Richardson was sent by the Mets to the Blue Jays in the Marcus Stroman trade. He is considered Toronto’s No. 4 prospect … The first 500 fans attending Wednesday’s game will receive a Bobby Dalbec bobblehead doll.
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