The Result
Sea Dogs - 8 to 3

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
6 wins - 12 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing first base
Batting #5

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - double, 1 x RBI, 1 x run scored, 1 x walk

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - in the dirt
Foul ball
Ball - low
"Bounding ball" towards second base
Out 4-to-3
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - none down
First pitch hitting and a fly ball into the rightfield alley
Out F9
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Foul ball - back
Hit "pretty well" - high fly ball to straight-away centrefield and to the edge of the warning track
Out F8
Fourth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Called strike
Ball - low and outside - and the runner stole to second base
Called strike
Ball - low
Ball - outside - "a borderline call"
Ball
Walk
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Fifth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Ball - inside
Foul ball - in the batter's box
Driven into the gap and to the fence in left-centrefield
Double
......and 1 x RBI
Went to third base on the throw to home plate
Scored on a wild pitch

Heard during the game
(1) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said that "he has had a rough road trip, being just 2-for-17 with two walks" (this covers five games) and "he hasn't had an extra-base hit in the last seven games" (incorrect, as he had a double in the game on Sunday 25th April)
After grounding out to second base, he said that "Roneberg's struggles continue"

(2) In the bottom of the second inning and with a runner at second base, the next Phillies batter drove the ball hard towards shortstop - the play was made at first base but the runner was given 'safe' as the umpire said that Brett did not have contact with first base
Describing the play afterwards, the commentator said that Brett, as a lefthander, stretches for the ball with his right leg extended - in this case the throw across to Brett was a little off line and he said that he had to change feet but "it looked from here that Roneberg had kept his foot on the base, but the umpire is in a better position to see"
He also said that "Roneberg is in-the-face of the umpire arguing the call"
(Note - neither runner scored)

(3) After his second at-bat, the commentator said that "Brett may have gone up there a bit anxious, as that pitch was well up and out of the strike zone"

(4) The bottom of the sixth inning and the Sea Dogs had a 4 runs to 3 lead - however the Phillies had the tying run at third base with two down - the next Phillies batter hit a ground ball towards third base, and the throw was made across to Brett at first base - the throw was in the dirt but in what the commentator described as "a highlight reel play", Brett scooped the ball to make the out and end the innings

Email from Brett
"I have been a little frustrated!!
I am also sure that after this game Dad can tell how much better it sounded - even on the radio!!!!"

Game Reports
Bit of a struggle, but another win

It took Portland Sea Dogs starting pitchers 20 days to earn their first victory of the 2004 season.
It took just 24 hours to get the second.

One night after seeing left-hander Abe Alvarez earn the decision in a win over Reading, right-hander Chris Smith survived three home runs to beat the Reading Phillies 8-3 at FirstEnergy Stadium.

Smith wasn't fooling too many hitters.
He allowed nine hits over six innings, including six for extra bases.
Three were homers, including a pair by Ryan Howard, the top hitting prospect in the Philadelphia Phillies' farm system.

But Smith was picked up by Sheldon Fulse's clutch, bases-loaded double in the fourth and by a bullpen that, for a change, didn't fall apart in the late innings of a close game.

Juan Perez and Jason Howell combined for three shutout innings to close out the Sea Dogs' most lopsided victory of the season.

Manager Ron Johnson was happy about lots of the things he saw Wednesday, but mostly he was happy with the grit Smith showed after giving up Howard's homers early.
"(Smith) made some really good pitches at certain times of the ballgame, when we really had to control the momentum," Johnson said.
"He was up to the task ... I was real proud of him.
"You're talking about a young guy here. It's really nice to see the mound presence, the composure, he displayed when he was on the mound."

Howard, a left-handed hitter, sliced one to left for a 1-0 lead in the first.
Two innings later, he crushed a 3-1 fastball 425 feet to straightaway center to make it 2-0.

"That second one went a mile," Johnson said.
"When you get behind guys like that, you're probably going to pay for it. That's what happened."

The Sea Dogs took advantage of Eddie Candelario's wildness to take the lead for good in the fourth.
Jeff Bailey, John Hattis and Kenny Perez walked to load the bases before Fulse hit a three-run double to center.

The Sea Dogs, who had not won a game by more than two runs all season, broke it open with a three-run ninth when Bailey had an RBI single and Brett Roneberg had an RBI double.

Bailey, Perez and Jesus Medrano each had two hits.

NOTES
When Howard homered in the first, it marked the 10th straight game in which the Sea Dogs have allowed the first run of the game.
Portland outfielder Eric Johnson needed nine stitches to repair the gash on his right hand after fouling a pitch off it in Tuesday night's game. He was available for use as a pinch runner, but could not hit. The injury could lead him to the disabled list.
Shortstop Kenny Perez snapped an 0-for-11 slump with a single in his first at-bat.
The Sea Dogs have won back-to-back games just three times, and they've won on consecutive days just twice.
They'll go for their first three-game win streak of the season tonight against Norwich.

Eastern League Game Summary - Portland at Reading

Sheldon Fulse knocked in three runs and Chris Smith won his first game of the year as the Portland Sea Dogs beat the Reading Phillies, 8-3 in Eastern League action.

Fulse broke the game open in the top of the forth with a bases clearing double that gave the Sea Dogs a 3-2 lead.
Fulse would later score on a Jesus Madrano double to give Portland all the runs they would need.

Jeff Bailey went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI in the win.

Chris Smith pitched six strong innings to improve his record to 1-0.
He allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out three.

Reading's Eddie Candelario fell to 0-1 by allowing four runs on two hits in 3 2/3rd innings.
He would walk five and strike out three in the loss.

Ryan Howard smacked two solo home runs, his fifth and sixth of the season, for the Phillies.

Howard homers twice in loss
Ryan Howard connects for a home run in each of his first two at-bats, but Reading still falls to Portland.

The Reading Phillies are not winning a whole lot of games these days, but at least they're worth watching.

With power-hitting Ryan Howard stuffed into the middle of the lineup, Phillies fans will want to make sure they time their trips to the funnel cake line just right, so as not to miss a single swing.

Because they might miss a big one.

Howard hit a pair of homers Wednesday night, in his first two trips to the plate, but it wasn't enough to overcome eight walks by Phillies pitchers or a pair of big innings by the Sea Dogs, leading to Portland's 8-3 Eastern League win.

The 24-year-old Howard got off to a slow start in his first Double-A season, striking out in nearly half his at-bats through the first week of the season.
But he's dialed in right now, as evidenced by the hitting show he put on Wednesday at FirstEnergy Stadium.
First time up he inside-outed a 3-1 fastball and sent it screaming down the left-field line, just inside the foul pole.
Two innings later, again on a 3-1 fastball, he hit a bomb to dead center, some 420-plus feet away.
He now has six homers, five coming in his last 10 games.

“That second one,” said Portland manager Ron Johnson, “went a mile.”

The Reading Phillies haven't had a legitimate slugging prospect like this since Pat Burrell brought excitement to every plate appearance in 1999.
He finished that season with 28 homers.

“He's having some fun out there,” Reading manager Greg Legg said of Howard.
“That's what we want him to do, have a little fun out there. He's one of the premier power hitters in the league. He'll probably hit more when he doesn't try to hit 'em.”

Hitting in clutch situations was a problem for the Phillies all night.
They had six extra-base hits, including a solo homer by Kevin Barker that made it 4-3 in the sixth.

But they were 2-for-12 with runners in scoring positions, and neither of those hits (a grounder to short by Danny Gonzalez in the second, and a bunt by Josue Perez in the fourth) left the infield.

“That,” Legg said, “sums it up. That's pretty much the story of the game, that and our base on balls.”

Oh yeah, the base on balls.
Reading pitchers yielded eight of them, including five by starter Eddie Candelaria in the first four innings.
Half of those eight walks ended up crossing the plate, including three in the four-run fourth when Sheldon Fulse hit a three-run double to give the Sea Dogs the lead for good.

The Phillies have now lost seven of their last 10 games to fall two games below .500 for the first time this year.

Howard's booming bat, at least, has made those 10 games interesting.
“They were a lot of fun to watch,” Reading coach John Morris said of Howard's homers.
“He's got power to all fields. He's a big, strong young man. I'd like to see that power continue to develop all the way to Philadelphia.”

NOTES
First baseman Ryan Howard made a sensational diving catch in the fifth inning, reaching over the foul line to glove Joe Kilburg's hot smash.
Shortstop Danny Gonzalez made a brilliant turn on a double-play in the seventh, catching the pivot barehanded, then firing to first in one motions.
The Sea Dogs stole four bases Wednesday. Reading opponents have been successful on 14-of-19 stolen base attempts this season.