PORTLAND, Maine – Both pitching staffs dominated, with New Hampshire Starter Joey Murray and Portland’s Bryan Mata both lasting seven innings.
The difference was Jarren Duran’s leadoff triple for Portland in the bottom of the first, enough to come home on a Tommy Joseph sacrifice fly two at-bats later.
A pair of singles in the second from Jeremy Rivera and Nick Lovullo in the second transformed into Portland’s other run and would be the last hits Portland obtained on the night.
As impressive as Murray’s night was after Lovullo’s hit, Mata did not allow another hit after Logan Warmoth’s leadoff single in the top of the first, giving up just five walks after that.
Mata climbed to 4-6, striking out five batters in a row at one point on his way to a nine-strikeout night.
Murray fell to 2-4 while Durban Feltman earned his fifth save of the year after retiring the Fisher Cats in the eighth and ninth.
Saturday was the final night game of the year for New Hampshire, as the two teams return on Sunday for a 1 p.m. tilt. New Hampshire will send Yennsy Diaz (10-0, 3.87 ERA) against Portland’s Daniel McGrath (7-1, 1.68 ERA).