TODAY'S GAME
WHO: Sea Dogs (Dustin Richardson 7-8) vs. New Britain Rock Cats (Kyle Aselton 6-6)
WHEN: 7 p.m.
WHERE: Hadlock Field
TICKETS: 1,500 remain
MAGIC NUMBER
4 – Combination of Sea Dogs wins and Binghamton losses that puts the Sea Dogs in the playoffs
If the Portland Sea Dogs swing the bats the way they did on Tuesday, they will be strutting toward their fourth straight playoff appearance.
The Sea Dogs banged out 21 hits in a doubleheader sweep of New Britain at Hadlock Field, beating the Rock Cats 6-4 and 7-2.
With the sweep and Binghamton's 4-3 loss in New Hampshire, Portland (72-62) moved three games ahead of the Mets (70-66) for the second playoff spot in the Eastern League Northern Division.
With six games to go, the Sea Dogs' magic number to clinch a playoff spot is four (the combination of Portland wins and Binghamton losses).
In Tuesday's sweep, several Sea Dogs stood out.
Shortstop Argenis Diaz, who is on the Red Sox 40-man roster because of his superior defense, showed some power with a 5-for-7 night, including a double, home run, two RBI and four runs. He improved his batting average to .287.
Third baseman Jorge Jimenez bumped his average up to .274 by going 5 for 8, including a two-run triple in the second game.
Zach Daeges, batting a team-high .316, knocked in four runs, going 4 for 7 with a double and triple. Daeges has 34 doubles, two short of Brandon Moss' franchise record set in 2006.
Lars Anderson, hitting .308, went 2 for 4 and also reached on three walks.
Josh Reddick added a two-run homer, his sixth.
Portland pitchers contributed, too. Mike James (5-4) relieved in the first game and extended his streak of consecutive scoreless appearances to eight with two shutout innings, and closer Daniel Bard lowered his ERA to 1.99 with a perfect seventh inning for his seventh save.
In the second game, Dave Gassner (8-5) extended his franchise-record win streak to seven starts, allowing four hits in six innings. Chad Rhoades finished it with a 1-2-3 seventh.
The one blemish for Portland was that outfielder Mickey Hall was hit in the head with a pitch in the second inning of the first game. He played right field for one more inning, but his headache worsened and he was replaced as a precaution.
Hall's exit left Portland with only two outfielders because Bryan Pritz (sore hamstring) went on the disabled list Monday and was replaced on the roster by pitcher Clay Buchholz.
Second baseman Iggy Suarez moved to right field – his first outfield stint since high school – and infielder Tony Granadillo came off the bench. Suarez also played right field in the second game.
NOTES: The Boston Red Sox released Portland reliever Carlos Vasquez, 25, who was a minor league free agent. He had an 8.39 ERA in 19 outings. Catcher John Otness (sprained knee) was activated from the disabled list and started the second game. He replaced Juan Apodaca, who went on the DL with a strained calf. Three Sea Dogs have been named to the prospect-filled Arizona Fall League: starter Ryne Lawson, reliever T.J. Large and catcher Mark Wagner. Former Sea Dogs reliever Beau Vaughan is also going. Two former Sea Dogs received honors in Triple-A. Jeff Bailey (.301, 25 home runs) was named International League MVP, and Charlie Zink (14-5, 2.92 ERA) was pitcher of the year.
Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:
kthomas@pressherald.com
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