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Adam Mills, who won his last eight starts for Portland, is on his way to Pawtucket after getting promoted on Sunday.

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Portland shortstop Yamaico Navarro forces out Bowie baserunner Josh Bell before relaying to first base to complete a double play during Sunday’s 8-2 Sea Dogs’ win.

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Ryan Kalish of the Sea Dogs crosses the plate before Bowie catcher Steve Torrealba can make the tag during Portland’s 8-2 win Sunday at Hadlock Field that completed a three-game sweep.

PORTLAND — The Portland Sea Dogs finished this homestand Sunday with their fifth straight victory, 8-2 over Bowie, and moved into second place in the Eastern League Northern Division.

Portland (56-57) goes on the road this week and will try to stay in second – and secure a playoff spot.

But the Sea Dogs will be without ace Adam Mills (10-5), who was promoted to Pawtucket after the game.

Still, Portland possesses enough pitching, including starter Jared Plummer (8-6). He symbolized the Sea Dogs' turnaround this past week.

Plummer began the six-game homestand last Tuesday with a terrible outing, giving up eight runs in a loss.

Since then, Portland has enjoyed its winning streak, capped by Sunday's win over Bowie, before a sold-out crowd of 6,378 at Hadlock Field.

Plummer plowed through the BaySox, allowing one walk, one hit and no runs through six innings. Three outs came on the ground, three by strikeouts and nine on harmless fly balls.

"Sometimes we got to get kicked down a little bit to bring us back," Plummer said. "This game will humble you a lot. I tried to put (last Tuesday) in the past and the results showed today."

Plummer did not give up a hit until Josh Bell's single off the right-field wall with one out in the fourth inning. He needed only 78 pitches over six innings, but was yanked to give the bullpen some work.

"From the first pitch on, I was concentrating on every pitch, and pitch location," Plummer said. "The fastball was working for me. It's easy to pitch when you get run support."

Portland pounded 12 hits, led by Ryan Kalish, Jorge Jimenez and Daniel Nava.

Kalish went 4 for 4 with a walk and his eighth home run, a solo shot over three layers of signs in right center, in the first inning. Kalish, who was batting .194 on June 16, is since batting .313 (60 for 192).

"I've been trying to stick to an approach that I've had, and it's been working," Kalish said.

And his approach?

"Just hit the ball hard rather than think 'I need to get a hit,' " he said.

Kalish scored four runs, including a heads-up play in the seventh. With Kalish on third base, Jon Still struck out, but the third strike hit the dirt. While Still was being thrown out at first, Kalish raced home, and beat the throw back to catcher Steve Torrealba.

Jimenez continues to be Portland's best overall hitter this season, going 3 for 5 with two doubles and two RBI. He raised his average to .296.

Nava is batting .400, but has been with the Sea Dogs only four games since his promotion from Class A.

He went 2 for 4 with a double, triple, and three RBI.

The victory marked Portland's first three-game series sweep at home since last August.

"The guys played really hard this homestand and I think the record shows that," Sea Dogs Manager Arnie Beyeler said.

Portland moved into second place after Trenton (56-58) lost at home Sunday in 11 innings, 2-1 to Harrisburg. Trenton is tied with New Britain (56-58) for third place, a half-game behind the Sea Dogs.

The top two teams in each division make the league playoffs. Connecticut (66-48) is comfortably in first place, 9 1/2 games ahead of Portland.

Mills, who won his last eight starts, didn't know a promotion was coming, but "I was hoping something would happen."

No replacement was announced, but Kason Gabbard could come back after his rehab stint in Lowell.

NOTES: Lars Anderson's troublesome hamstring kept him out of another game Sunday ... Sunday's sellout was the seventh straight at Hadlock ...

The Sea Dogs fly to Pittsburgh today and then bus to Altoona, for a three-game series starting Tuesday against the Curve. Then come three games in Bowie, Md., before flying back to Portland ...

The Sea Dogs return to Hadlock Aug. 18 for a 7 p.m. game against Reading ... The Aug. 19 game has been bumped up an hour to 6 p.m. because of a re-scheduled fireworks show.

Staff Writer Kevin Thomas can be contacted at 791-6411 or at:

kthomas@pressherald.com