PORTLAND – Life without Lars began Friday night for the Portland Sea Dogs, and the team swung the bats just fine without the big lefty.
With first baseman Lars Anderson promoted to Triple-A Pawtucket, the Sea Dogs managed 15 hits for a 13-4 win over New Britain at Hadlock Field.
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While the hits did much damage, New Britain pitchers sunk themselves with 10 walks, four bringing in runs with the bases loaded during a 10-run seventh inning.
“They helped us out a little bit,” Portland Manager Arnie Beyeler said of the walks, “and our guys were smart enough to take advantage of it.”
Besides the walks, the seventh inning featured four hits, including a three-run Luis Exposito triple and a Yamaico Navarro RBI triple. Every player had at least one hit.
“Good team effort,” Exposito said.
Portland improved to 11-9 while New Britain dropped to an Eastern League-worst 4-16, losing its sixth straight.
Ryne Lawson (1-2) picked up the win with two innings of relief.
But the applause goes to starter Stephen Fife, who allowed two runs, one earned, on three hits and two walks over six innings. He lowered his ERA to 2.66.
“I struggled to find a good rhythm,” Fife said. “I just wanted to stay in the zone and compete. I found a rhythm midway in the fourth and showcased all three pitches (fastball, curve, change-up) for strikes.”
New Britain starter David Bromberg entered with a 1.00 ERA, the second-best in the league behind Stephen Strasburg of Harrisburg (0.52).
Bromberg also allowed two runs, one earned, over six innings, yielding nine hits and two walks.
He was in line for a win when New Britain scored twice off Lawson for a 4-2 lead in the top of the seventh. But the bullpen betrayed him.
Joe Testa (0-3) loaded the bases on a Ryan Kalish single and two walks. Former Sea Dogs reliever Chris Province was summoned. Province, an all-star for Portland last year, was traded in the offseason to the Twins in the Boof Bonser deal.
Province got Navarro to hit into an RBI groundout, but the next six batters reached — Jose Iglesias (intentional walk), Chih-Hsien Chiang (RBI walk), Will Vazquez (RBI single), and then Nate Spears, Che-Hsuan Lin and Kalish (all RBI walks).
Henry Arias relieved and Exposito crushed a ball to the right-center warning track for his triple. Navarro’s triple followed one batter later.
Vazquez, called up from Class A to help fill the roster, played first base and went 2 for 4 with two runs and two RBI.
Catcher Juan Apodaca served as the DH, went 1 for 3 and is batting .391. Iglesias upped his average to .288 with two hits.
NOTES: Anderson started for Pawtucket on Friday night and went 0 for 2 with two walks. Pawtucket and former Sea Dogs catcher Mark Wagner broke the hamate bone in his left hand and will require surgery, according to the Providence Journal. The paid attendance was 6,996 … Rock Cats Manager Jeff Smith is another former Sea Dogs player returning to Hadlock. Smith, 34, played nine years in the minors, including 10 games with the Sea Dogs in 2003.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
kthomas@pressherald.com
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