PORTLAND, ME – Trailing by a run into the top of the eighth inning, the New Hampshire Fisher Cats (4-7, 33-47) knocked three solo homers and downed the Portland Sea Dogs (4-7, 39-39) at Hadlock Field on Saturday night, 4-2. After left fielder Devonte Brown tied the game with a solo homer in the eighth, third baseman Charles McAdoo and shortstop Cade Doughty followed suit with two home runs to propel the Fisher Cats over the Sea Dogs for the third time this week.
Fisher Cats reliever Pat Gallagher (W, 1-0) allowed back-to-back base hits in the bottom of the seventh inning before retiring nine batters in a row en route to his first career Double-A win, capped by a strikeout.
Today’s top takeaways:
- RHP Juaron Watts-Brown fans six, tosses five innings for the first time since June 11
- INF Charles McAdoo doubles and belts go-ahead homer to extend on-base streak to 26 games
- RHP Pat Gallagher collects first career Double-A win
- INF Cade Doughty notches second homer of season
- OF Devonte Brown crushes game-tying homer in eighth
- First New Hampshirewin when trailing after seven, previously 0-40
Portland starter and Red Sox rehabber Hunter Dobbins fanned eight batters and allowed one earned run on two hits in five innings of work. Dobbins fired 62 pitches with 44 strikes before David Sandlin (L, 4-4) took over for Portland in the top of the sixth inning. Sandlin collected five strikeouts and allowed three earned runs on five hits to take the loss.
New Hampshire starter Juaron Watts-Brown delivered five innings with one earned run on four hits and six punchouts. Saturday’s start was Watts-Brown’s first to reach the five-inning mark since June 11, when the Fisher Cats defeated Reading, 5-4.
New Hampshire’s first run came across in the top of the second inning when McAdoo launched a double and was plated on Doughty’s single to give the Cats an early 1-0 lead. McAdoo has reached in 26 straight games and has a hit in each of his last 10, hitting .375 with four homers and eight runs batted in in that span of games.
Portland responded in the bottom of the third inning when third baseman Ahbram Liendo singled and swiped second to set up left fielder Masataka Yoshida’s single to knot the score at 1-1. Yoshida would strike again in the bottom of the seventh on a another single that plated Liendo from second and gave the Sea Dogs a 2-1 advantage.
Deadlocked at 2-2 in the top of the ninth inning, McAdoo attacked the first pitch he saw and sent it to left-center field to put the Cats in front, 3-2. Two batters later, Doughty drilled a solo blast over the Maine Monster in left field to extend New Hampshire’s lead to 4-2. Gallagher ended Saturday’s game with his lone strikeout to pick up his first Double-A win.