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Portland holds Reading to one run for the second straight night as Dave Gassner gets his first win.

By KEVIN THOMAS, Staff Writer July 6, 2008

Sandwiched between the starts of Michael Bowden on Friday and Kris Johnson today, the Portland Sea Dogs sent Dave Gassner to the mound Saturday night.No longer a prospect, Gassner, 29, showed he can still throw an effective pitch or two.

Gassner held the Reading Phillies to one run in six innings to pace Portland to a 5-1 victory before 7,109 at Hadlock Field.

Relievers Chad Rhoades and Mike James held Reading hitless for the last three innings.

The offense came courtesy of Mickey Hall and Tony Granadillo, who had an RBI double and solo home run, respectively, in the third inning, and Jeff Corsaletti, who hit a three-run homer in the eighth.

But the story was pitching, as Portland allowed the Phillies just one run for the second straight night. Gassner got his first win for the Sea Dogs. He is 1-4 with a 5.79 ERA since the Boston Red Sox signed him from an independent team in June.

Gassner, a left-hander, who made two starts for the Minnesota Twins in 2005, was injured most of 2006 and pitched for the Twins’ Triple-A team in 2007. He joined the Cincinnati Reds in spring training, but ended up with the independent York Revolution in Pennsylvania.

“It was a reality check,” Gassner said. “That’s how the game of baseball goes. But there are a lot of ex-big leaguers there and minor league free agents who could not land a job.

“I just wanted to throw a lot of strikes, get a lot of outs and get out of there.”

Gassner does throw strikes, and his control is a major reason the Red Sox signed him. He has walked only seven batters in six starts, including none Saturday.

“I located in the zone and they were getting out,”Gassner said. “The last couple of games, I threw a lot of strikes but (the hits) were falling. Today, they weren’t.”

Gassner allowed an RBI double by Mike Eylward in the second inning, the only inning in which he gave up more than one hit.

“He kept the ball down and was very effective,” Sea Dogs Manager Arnie Beyeler said. “He’s had some tough luck, but tonight he minimized (the threats).”Portland (48-37) took a 2-1 lead in the third.

Back-to-back doubles by Ryan Khoury and Hall tied it, but Hall was thrown out trying for a triple. Granadillo followed with his drive off a fastball from Edgar Garcia (0-1), clearing three tiers of signs in center field.

Garcia, one of the Phillies’ top pitching prospects, made a fine Double-A debut, allowing five hits and two runs in six innings.

Reliever Joe Bisenius walked the first two batters in the eighth but got ahead of Corsaletti, 0-2. Corsaletti took a ball and fouled off three pitches before crushing a fastball over the right-field wall.

“He threw me a lot of sliders,” Corsaletti said. “I just hung in there until he made a mistake, and he left a fastball over the plate.”

Rhoades walked three in two innings but also struck out five. James pitched a perfect ninth.

The Sea Dogs moved into sole possession of second place in the Eastern League’s Northern Division, 31⁄2 games behind Trenton and a game ahead of Binghamton, which lost 2-1 to Akron.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:kthomas@pressherald.com