The Result
Sea Dogs - 2 to 0

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
10 wins - 14 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Playing rightfield
Batting #3

At the end of the Game
1 hit from 4 at-bats - single, 1 x strike out

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike - "right down the middle"
Broken-bat grounder towards second base - "and the barrel of the bat hit the pitcher in the leg"
Out 4-to-3
Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Called strike
"Soft liner" to third base
Out 5-to-3
Third at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Runner at second base - none down
Called strike - on the outside corner
Ball - fast ball - outside
Foul ball
Ball - "Roneberg checked his swing and got the benefit of the doubt as it looked like he went around and the groans from the crowd show that they wanted the 'strike three' call as well"
Ball - "just a little bit outside and another very close call"
Called strike - "and Roneberg knew it"
Strike out
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Ball - low
Ball - high
"Smouldered that pitch back up the middle for a base hit and the pitcher had to duck his head to avoid it"
Single
Went to second base on another hit
Picked off by the catcher (see below under "Heard during the Game")

Heard during the game
(1) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said that "Brett has a seven game hitting streak going and this is the longest by a Sea Dog this season"

(2) After his hit later in the game, he then said that "Brett has extended his streak to eight games and waited until the eighth inning to do it"

(3) Following his single, Brett advanced to second base on a hit by the following Sea Dogs batter
This gave the Sea Dogs runners at first and second base with none down - it was the eighth inning and the Sea Dogs had a 1-to-0 lead in the game
The next batter foul tipped the 'strike three' pitch into the catcher's mitt for a strike out and the second out of the inning
The catcher then threw to second base and caught Brett off the base and he was tagged out for the inning ending third out

Email from Brett
N/A

Game Reports
That ERA keeps on dropping

Well, something had to happen in this series between two of the Eastern League's most statistically challenged teams.
The Sea Dogs arrived here Monday with the league's worst ERA.
The Senators welcomed them with the league's worst batting average.
After two games, Portland's ERA is looking better, thanks to another outstanding performance by a starter.

Chris Smith allowed only four singles over 6 2/3 innings and combined with Eric Glaser and Colin Young on a five-hitter to shut out Harrisburg 2-0 Tuesday before a crowd of 1,998 at Commerce Bank Park.

Portland got solo home runs from Jeff Bailey in the fourth inning and Kenny Perez in the ninth.

The victory was the sixth in eight games for the Sea Dogs (10-14), who continue to distance themselves from a 4-12 stumble that marked the worst start in franchise history.

"Our numbers are kind of foolish," Smith said of the Sea Dogs' team ERA of 5.05.
"We have a great staff on this team. We knew those numbers wouldn't last long.
"We don't look at the numbers. We go out there and look at the performances, and we've had good performances back to back."

Following Abe Alvarez's fine start in Portland's 9-1 win in the series opener Monday, Smith (2-0) struck out seven and walked only two before Glaser worked out of a two-on, two-out jam in the seventh.

Glaser, just off the disabled list, got the first two outs of the eighth before Young recorded the final four outs for his first save.

Bailey gave the Sea Dogs a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning, driving a 1-1 fastball from Harrisburg starter Jason Stevenson (2-2) over the wall in right-center for his third homer of the season.

"He happened to get it up a little bit and it carried," Bailey said. "I didn't think it was going out."

The run was a rarity off of Stevenson, whose 0.93 ERA is more than half a run lower than any other starter in the EL.

Perez's homer in the ninth off reliever Saul Rivera was his first in Double-A, and it provided a bit of comfort for a Portland staff that hardly needed it against a Harrisburg team hitting only .205.

The Senators touched Smith for infield hits by Larry Broadway and John Wilson, a soft liner by Broadway that fell in left-center, and a ground-ball single up the middle by Josh Labandeira.

In between, Smith was throwing first-pitch strikes to 21 of the 26 batters he faced and finished with 69 strikes among his 103 pitches.
"The last couple of starts I haven't been doing that, getting first-pitch strikes, so it's good to get back on track," Smith said.

NOTES
The Sea Dogs have outscored the Senators 11-1 in the first two games.
The Sea Dogs have won three straight for the first time this season.
Smith became the first Portland pitcher to get through a start without allowing a run.
The Sea Dogs made four roster moves, starting with Glaser being activated from the DL and right-hander Josh Stevens arriving from Triple-A Pawtucket.
Left-handers Phil Seibel and Alvarez were assigned to Pawtucket and Class A Lowell, respectively.
Alvarez was placed on Lowell's roster in a paper move; he will formally return to the Sea Dogs' roster in time to start Saturday's game at Akron.

SEA DOGS BLANK HARRISBURG, WIN THIRD STRAIGHT
Portland Pitching Staff Brilliant in 2-0 Win

Chris Smith and two relievers combined on a five-hitter and Jeff Bailey and Kenny Perez hit home runs as the Portland Sea Dogs scored a third straight win with a 2-0 victory in Harrisburg Tuesday night.

Smith (2-0) allowed only four singles and two walks in 6 2/3 innings in earning his second straight win.

Eric Glaser, just activated from the disabled list before the game, recorded three straight outs and Colin Young got the final four outs for his first save in the Red Sox system.

The Senators did not move a runner past second base.

Bailey hit a solo home run off Jason Stevenson (2-2) in the fourth inning.

Stevenson took the loss despite allowing only two runners past first base.

Perez added a solo home run, his first Double-A tater, off reliever Saul Rivera in the ninth inning.

Senators' Stevenson's Start Snuffed

Senators' starter Jason Stevenson (2-2) allowed only one run in six innings, but was outpitched by his counterpart Chris Smith (2-0), who blanked Harrisburg over 6.2 innings as Portland came away with a 2-0 win.

The only runs of the game came on solo home runs by the Sea Dogs.
Former Senator Jeff Bailey (3) took Stevenson deep in the fourth and Kenny Perez added some insurance with his first home run of the season off reliever Saul Rivera in the ninth.

Eastern League Game Summary - Portland at Harrisburg

Jeff Bailey and Kenny Perez both hit solo home runs to account for all the offense in today's pitcher's duel, which was taken by the Portland Sea Dogs 2-0 over the Harrisburg Senators.

Sea Dogs' starting pitcher Chris Smith improved to 2-0 with a dominant outing.
Smith didn't allow a run, scattered four hits and struck out seven in 6 2/3rd innings.

Colin Young earned his first save of the year, allowing only a hit in 1 1/3rd innings.

Harrisburg starter Jason Stevenson dropped to 2-2 despite a solid outing.
Stevenson allowed a run on four hits in six innings of work.
He lowered his ERA to a league best 0.93.

Larry Broadway had two of the Senators' five hits on the day.

Portland improved to 10-14 and sit 3 1/2 games behind Trenton for the lead in the Northern Division despite being in last place.
Harrisburg dropped to 9-15.

Senators sink deeper

If nothing else, the Senators are forcing the rest of the Eastern League to make a choice.
Let's see now, just who should those teams pick as their nominees for pitcher of the week?

Monday night brought one candidate in Portland's Abe Alvarez, a left-hander with a 4.26 ERA who held Harrisburg to one run over six innings.
Last night brought another candidate in the Sea Dogs' Chris Smith, a right-hander with a 4.50 ERA who held the Senators to four hits over 6-2/3 scoreless innings.

The other 2-1/3 innings were just as dismal for the Senators, who again lost to the Sea Dogs -- this time 2-0 before a crowd of 1,998 at Commerce Bank Park.

The Senators (9-15), losers in 11 of 14 and mired in last place in the Southern Division, managed all of five singles off Smith and relievers Eric Glaser and Colin Young.

None of those five hits could be described as remarkable.
Larry Broadway and John Wilson reached on infield singles, Broadway floated an opposite-field single to left-center, and Josh Labandeira and Juan Camilo bounced singles through the infield.

The result - A team that was last in the league in hitting with a .207 batting average actually lost two points off that average and put itself at jeopardy of a class-action suit for malfeasance filed by the Senators' pitching staff.

The latest victim of Harrisburg's offensive woes - Jason Stevenson, the league's ERA leader who allowed only one run and four hits over six innings.
Stevenson (2-2), whose 0.93 ERA is more than a half-run lower than any other starter in the EL, made his lone tangible mistake in the fourth inning as Jeff Bailey homered to right-center with two outs for a 1-0 lead.

"He doesn't have outstanding stuff," Bailey said of Stevenson, "but that's his whole thing. He stays down in the zone and locates the ball well. ... He happened to get [that pitch] up a little bit, and it carried. I didn't think it was going out."

Kenny Perez accounted for Portland's other run with a ninth-inning homer off reliever Saul Rivera for a 2-0 lead that may as well have been 20-0.

"I wish I had the answer," manager Dave Machemer said of his offense's month-long slump.
"There's nothing I can do. The players have to do it themselves. We're working hard and will continue working hard."

They have done nothing since Broadway's homer in the first inning of Monday's series opener.

Since that inning, the Senators have gone 17 innings without a run while totaling just 10 hits and three walks in 64 plate appearances.
This against a Portland staff that even with the efforts of Alvarez and Smith has a league-worst ERA of 5.05.

"Our numbers are kind of foolish," Smith said.
"We have a great staff on this team. We knew those numbers wouldn't last long.
"We don't look at the numbers. We go out there and look at the performances, and we've had good performances back-to-back."

NOTES
Portland has outscored the Senators 11-1 in the series that ends this afternoon.
For the second straight game, the Senators were swapping unpleasantries with umpire Art Stewart.
The night after he frustrated the Senators with a meandering strike zone in a 9-1 loss, Stewart badly missed a tag play at second base in the top of the seventh.
The botched call came on Perez's grounder to short, where Labandeira fielded the ball and threw to second baseman Pedro Liriano for a forceout on Sheldon Fulse.
Fulse beat Labandeira's throw but slid past the base.
Stewart called Fulse safe, even though Liriano, with ball in hand, was sitting on Fulse after he passed the base.
Reliever Danny Rueckel worked out of the jam by retiring Edgar Martinez on a sacrifice bunt and striking out Raul Nieves and Jesus Medrano.
Smith threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of the 26 batters he faced and strikes on 69 of 103 pitches before leaving with two outs in the seventh.
Bailey, who played with the Senators in 2002-03, has reached safely in 22 of his last 31 plate appearances.
The Sea Dogs have won six of eight games since the 4-12 stumble that marked the worst start in franchise history.
Portland designated hitter Mike Campo played at Penn State. He originally was scouted and signed in 2000 by former Bishop McDevitt coach Tom Burns, who then was a scout with the Anaheim Angels.