The Portland Sea Dogs opened a five-game Eastern League series Thursday night with five home runs in a 12-6 victory against the Hartford Yard Goats.
Since then, it’s been lights out – for the Yard Goats’ pitchers, that is.
Friday, Portland managed seven hits as Hartford swept a doubleheader, 2-0 and 7-1.
Saturday night, Yency Almonte and D.J. Johnson combined to limit the Sea Dogs to eight harmless singles in a 5-0 win before 7,059 at Hadlock Field.
“The last couple days, we haven’t been able to get it going,” Portland Manager Carlos Febles said, “but we knew we had a tough task. (Hartford) has some good arms.”
Almonte pitched seven solid innings to run his record to 5-3. He held the Sea Dogs to five singles, struck out seven and walked two.
Johnson allowed three hits in two innings to earn his third save.
Portland received strong pitching from Roenis Elias, a 28-year-old left-hander sent down from Triple-A Pawtucket on a rehab assignment, and Teddy Stankiewicz, who allowed two runs in 52/3 innings of relief.
Elias (0-1) came out of spring training with an injury to his left oblique muscle.
“It’s an injury that can take a week or it can take two months to recover from,” Febles said.
Elias gave up one hit, but it was big one. Josh Fuentes led off the third inning with a drive to left that measured 402 feet.
“(Elias) threw the baseball very well,” Febles said. “I don’t think he had a feel for the curveball. He threw his fastball and slider well, but he left a pitch up in the zone and he paid for it.”
Elias, on a 50-pitch limit, left with two outs in the third after throwing 47 pitches.
Stankiewicz, who was originally scheduled to start the game, took over for Elias and held the Yard Goats in check until the seventh. With one out, Max White and Fuentes slammed back-to-back triples for a 2-0 lead.
Fuentes, who went 4 for 4 in Friday night’s second game, leads the Yard Goats with 51 RBI.
Hartford added three runs in the ninth on a single by Correlle Prime, a double by Fuentes, Anthony Phillips’ run-producing single, a groundout and Brendan Rodgers’ infield hit.
NOTES: In 2010, Elias signed with Seattle after defecting from Cuba. He came to the Boston Red Sox as a part of a 2015 trade that sent Wade Miley to Mariners. In parts of four major league seasons, primarily as a starter, Elias had a 15-21 record with a 4.21 ERA and 243 strikeouts in 2862/3 innings. … Elias joins Brock Holt, Eduardo Rodriguez and Josh Rutledge as Red Sox players who have rehabbed with Portland this season. Previously, Elias logged a total of 12 innings for Class A Lowell and Salem. … It was the first career relief appearance for Stankiewicz, who has started 100 minor-league games. … Portland catcher Jake Romanski caught Brian Mundell trying to move up on a bobbled ball to end the sixth inning. On Friday, he threw out a runner trying to steal second and picked another runner off first.
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