The Result
Sea Dogs - 4 to 2

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
17 wins - 24 losses

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

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 4 at-bats - single, double 1 x run scored, 1 x GIDP

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike - on the inside corner
"Bouncer to the right side and it scoots through for a base hit"
Single
Left stranded at the end of the innings
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - two down
Ball - outside - and the runner stole to second base
Ball - fast ball - low
High "chopper" towards second base
Out 4-to-3
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Ball - low
"That pitch is ripped into right-centrefield and goes all the way to the wall"
Double
Scored on a hit by a following Sea Dogs batter
Fourth at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Foul ball - "lashed foul down the third base line"
Foul ball - back
Ball - up and in
Hit the first pitch straight to the Senators first-baseman "who was holding the runner at first base and he fielded the ball, stepped on first base to record the first out and then threw to second base where the tag was applied to record the second out"
Out on double play

Heard during the game
(1) As Brett was coming in for his first at-bat, the commentator mentioned that "Brett is third best in the Eastern League with 31 runs-batted-in"

Email from Brett
N/A

Game Reports
Stevens controls Senators

The Portland Sea Dogs crowed about reliever Anastacio Martinez joining the Boston Red Sox Friday, becoming the 100th former Sea Dogs player to reach the big leagues.
Josh Stevens would like to enter that pipeline someday.

"I hope so," he said.
"If I keep pitching like this, there should be no reason why not."

Stevens (2-1) crafted a gem on Friday night, throwing a five-hitter over eight innings, pacing the Sea Dogs past the Harrisburg Senators 4-2 before the first Hadlock Field sellout (6,975) of the season.

Stevens and Harrisburg ace Shawn Hill (3-4) locked into a duel of control pitchers, as the Hadlock crowd enjoyed a crisp game, lasting 1 hour, 53 minutes.

Stevens allowed one walk (his first in Portland this year) and two runs, while striking out five.
He needed only 83 pitches (60 strikes) to finish eight innings.

Hill, a top Montreal prospect, entered with the Eastern League's best ERA (1.72).
He walked none, but allowed 10 hits and four runs (three earned).

"The tempo was tremendous," Sea Dogs Manager Ron Johnson said.
"Both pitchers filled it up with strikes. When you get matched against (Hill), you can't give up a lot of runs."

Portland (17-24) has won three straight games for the second time this season.

Harrisburg (14-26) has the league's worst record, and has now lost 22 of its last 30 games.

The Sea Dogs got their runs on a two-run Mike O'Keefe triple, and RBI singles by Sean McGowan (2 for 4) and Jeff Bailey.

Brett Roneberg and Sheldon Fulse also had two hits.

Right fielder Eric Johnson made some sensational plays, completing a double play, and charging in for a diving catch on a bloop.

"I didn't think he had a chance on that. That was shades of a guy we had last year," Johnson said, referring to stalwart outfielder Jeremy Owens.

One reason for the solid Portland defense was Stevens.
He kept his teammates into the game.
"Stevens keeps the control and keeps the game going, and that helps us out there," second baseman Raul Nieves said.

Both Stevens and Anastacio Martinez pitched in Portland last season, and both began this season in Triple-A Pawtucket.
As the Red Sox stockpiled minor-league pitchers, Stevens was dropped to Portland.
Martinez stayed and moved up to Boston to replace the injured Scott Williamson.

"That's awesome to see him move up, along with Kevin Youkilis and Jamie Brown and Phil Seibel," said Stevens of other minor-league teammates making it to the majors.

If Stevens makes it to Fenway, it will be with control of his fastball, change-up and curveball.
His change-up floats consistently in for strikes, while his fastball arrives down and in.

"We had the hitters off balance," said Bailey, the catcher. "They did not know what to look for.
"Josh was throwing three pitches for strikes and that's tough to deal with.
Sometimes, righties are afraid to throw a change-up to a right-handed batter because they're afraid to hang it.
But he throws it. It's his pitch. It's impossible to sit on it."

In the ninth, with a slew of left-handed Senators due up, Johnson went to lefty reliever Colin Young.
He pitched a hitless ninth to record his first save.

NOTES
Sea Dogs right-hander Ryan Cameron was promoted to Pawtucket to replace Martinez.
Portland did not need to replace Cameron since they already had an extra pitcher.
With Fulse (center field) and Johnson healthy together for the first time this season, Portland fans saw the real starting outfield Friday, with Roneberg in left.
"That's not a bad outfield," Johnson said. "Fulse and Johnson give us a lot of speed."

Senators can't help Hill in unusually tough start

Not even the hottest pitcher in the Class AA Eastern League could save the struggling Senators last night as Shawn Hill suffered an uncharacteristic mediocre start in Harrisburg's 4-2 loss to the Portland Sea Dogs at Hadlock Field.

Hill (3-4), the EL's latest pitcher of the week, allowed a season-high four runs and 10 hits in seven innings.
The three earned runs off Hill equaled his total over his previous 29 innings entering the game.

The runs were enough for Portland (17-24) to win its third straight game while sending the Senators (14-26) to their 22nd loss in 30 games.

Before a capacity crowd of 6,975, the Sea Dogs took a 2-0 lead in the fourth on Mike O'Keefe's two-run triple to right-center.

They scored again in the fifth on Sean McGowan's two-out single to right.

The Senators actually came within one run of tying the game, scoring a run on Dominick Ambrosini's groundout in the fifth to cut Portland's lead to 2-1 and on Rich Lane's RBI double to left-center in the sixth to trim the lead to 3-2.

The Sea Dogs added their final run - an unearned run - in the seventh on an RBI single to left by former Senator Jeff Bailey.

The Senators had the tying run at the plate in the ninth inning after Portland shortstop Raul Nieves threw away Larry Broadway's one-out grounder.
Colin Young ended the threat by retiring Jeremy Ware on a popup to shortstop Kenny Perez and Juan Camilo on a grounder to Perez.

Josh Stevens (2-1) picked up the victory, allowing five hits over eight innings before Young finished for his second save.

NOTES
Lane's RBI double in the sixth extended his hitting streak to 11 games, a span over which he is batting .381 with eight runs batted in.
Broadway singled in the fifth to push his hitting streak to eight games. He is 7-for-16 in four games against Portland this season.
Hill came into the game with a league-leading 1.72 ERA.
The three earned runs jumped his ERA to 2.00, dropping him behind Reading's Gavin Floyd (1.76) for the league lead.
Two of Hill's four losses have come against Portland, although his ERA against the Sea Dogs is only 3.29.
Catcher Drew McMillan, who joined the Senators earlier in the day from the Montreal Expos' Class A affiliate in Brevard County, started and went 1-for-3 in his Class AA debut.
Sheldon Fulse, the Sea Dogs' No. 9 hitter, picked up two hits, giving him seven in 12 at-bats against the Senators.
Senators reliever Ryan Douglass will miss tonight's game to attend a wedding in Pittsburgh but is expected to rejoin the Senators in time for tomorrow's series finale here.
The Senators have yet to announce a starter for tomorrow's game.

Eastern League Game Summary - Harrisburg at Portland

John Stevens hurled eight solid innings to outduel Eastern League ERA leader Shawn Hill, as the Portland Sea Dogs doubled up the Harrisburg Senators, 4-2, in the opening game of this three-game series between basement dwellers.

The Sea Dogs (17-24) have won three straight and four of five, while the Senators (14-26) are losers of two straight and four of five.

Stevens (2-1) allowed just five hits and two runs on the night and fanned five.
He did walk a batter - the first bases-on-balls for Stevens in 26 1/3rd innings this season.
He now has a 23-to-1 strikeout-to-walk ratio in four starts this season.

Colin Young worked a scoreless ninth for his second save.

Hill (3-4) was matching Stevens stride for stride until the fourth inning.
That's when Sean McGowan led off with a double, John Hattig singled and Michael O'Keefe followed with a two-run triple to put the Sea Dogs ahead to stay.

McGowan and Jeff Bailey added RBI singles later in the game to provide insurance for Stevens.

Hill allowed 10 hits and four runs - three of them earned - over seven innings of work.
He saw his ERA rise from 1.72 to 2.00 in the loss.

McGowan, Brett Roneberg and Sheldon Fulse each scored a run and had two of Portland's 10 hits.

No one for Harrisburg had multiple hits.

SEA DOG WINNING STREAK AT 3
Stevens Strong in Portland's 4-2 Win over Harrisburg

Josh Stevens tossed eight innings of five-hit, two-run ball for his second win as the Portland Sea Dogs extended a winning streak to three games with a 4-2 win over Harrisburg before a Friday night sellout of 6,975 at Hadlock Field.

Stevens allowed only six base runners in eight innings - he yielded five hits and a walk while fanning five for his second win.

Colin Young got the final three outs for his second save.

Mike O'Keefe gave the Sea Dogs the lead in the fourth inning with a two-run triple.

Insurance runs scored in the fifth and seventh innings on RBI singles by Sean McGowan and Jeff Bailey.

Sea Dogs Coast to Win

Mike O'Keefe tripled home two runs in the fourth and the Sea Dogs never looked back as Portland won the first game of the series 4-2.

Sean McGowan chipped in with a RBI single and scored a run for Portland.

Rich Lane extended his hitting streak 11 straight with a RBI double in the 6th inning to bring the Senators within 3-2, but that would be as close as Harrisburg would get.

Josh Stevens (2-1) goes eight strong innings for the win while Shawn Hill (3-4) loses for the first time in four starts.

Saturday night's game at 6:00PM has Rich Rundles (1-3) going for Harrisburg against knuckleballer RHP Charlie Zink (0-5)