When Pedro Castellanos was promoted from the Portland Sea Dogs to Triple-A Worcester on June 24, it created a hole in the middle of Portland’s lineup.

Coming out of a three-month slump to start the season, outfielder Izzy Wilson has helped fill that hole.

In 10 games in July, Wilson has three home runs and 14 RBI, scoring 11 runs. The Sea Dogs go into the midseason break with a 13-5 record in the second half of the season, which gives them a two-game lead over the Hartford Yard Goats in the Eastern League’s North Division. The second-half winner will join the first-half champion Somerset Patriots in the playoffs.

The Sea Dogs return from their break Friday at New Hampshire. Their chances of staying near the top of the standings would be aided considerably if Wilson remains a force in the middle of the lineup.

Wilson was named the Eastern League Player of the Week for July 4-11 after hitting .474 (9 for 19) with two doubles, a triple, a home run, seven runs scored and eight RBI. He followed up by going 4 for 4 with two home runs and five RBI last Tuesday against the Somerset Patriots, including a winning home run in the ninth inning as the Sea Dogs extended their winning streak to eight. It was Wilson’s fifth consecutive multihit game.

“Tool-wise, the tools are there. It’s about being more focused and being more consistent, which is what I’ve been doing lately, and hopefully that will bring good results,” the 24-year-old Wilson said Friday prior to a 5-0 win over Somerset.

Wilson’s hot streak came after the longest slump of his professional career.

Over the first three months of this season, Wilson hit .122 (17 for 139), with two home runs and eight RBI.

“He put some good work in the cage with (hitting coach Doug Clark). They made a couple of adjustments, one with his hands and one with his lower half, and he was able to translate it pretty quickly into the game,” said Chad Epperson, Portland’s manager.

“You look at his numbers from last year, and you see that up to that point something was off.”

If Wilson was rattled by his early season struggles, he didn’t let on.

“I’ve been putting in the work, and obviously when you put in the work, you get good results. … It’s not the first time I’ve been in this situation and gotten out of it. I just keep battling and forget about what happened the first half (of the season). I need to try my best in the second half and help my team win,” Wilson said.

Added Epperson: “It’s there. A lot of times when you start scuffling early, you start trying to do a little too much, and you fall into bad routines as far as your swing goes. You’ve got to kind of hit reset, and he did. Kudos to him for making the adjustment.”

Wilson, a native of St. Martin in the Netherlands Antilles, signed with the Atlanta Braves in 2015 at age 17. In 2021, he had career highs in home runs (21) and RBI (53) for the Rocket City Trash Pandas, the Double-A affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels. As a free agent in the offseason, he signed with the Boston Red Sox, his fourth organization after stints with the Braves, Rays and Angels. Portland is the ninth stop in Wilson’s minor league journey.

“It wasn’t about getting out of the Angels. It was more business-wise, you know? I was looking for better opportunities and looking for a spot where I could fit in and help a team win,” Wilson said. “(Boston’s) a winning team, winning atmosphere, and as a baseball player, that’s where you want to be. You want an atmosphere where everybody’s trying to win. Everybody’s doing their best to help the team in Boston and win a championship.”

Wilson left home at 14 to move to the Dominican Republic and play more competitive baseball. Before reporting to Red Sox minor league camp this spring in Fort Myers, Florida, Wilson played in the Dominican Winter League for Leones del Escogido, where one of his teammates was future Hall of Famer Albert Pujols.

“Being around guys who have been in the big leagues for 10 years, it’s a good experience learning from them. It was a good experience having (Pujols) around, picking his mind,” Wilson said.

Epperson would like to be able to say he saw Wilson’s hot streak coming, but he can’t. The manager just knows Wilson worked day after day to get himself back on track.

“I’m not that good. Some people may be able to. I know when you put in the work. You can come in here and put in the work, but if you don’t trust it in the game and buy into it, then you’re spinning your wheels,” Epperson said. “You just saw the approach was better. Even some foul balls (Wilson) was hitting, you were like, there’s the swing. He stuck with it and started getting good results.”

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