The Result
Sea Dogs - 5 to 3

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
27 wins - 31 losses

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

At the end of the Game
2 hits from 5 at-bats - 2 x singles, 1 x run scored, 3 x strike outs

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Runner at first base - one down
Foul ball - "ripped down the leftfield line but foul by twenty-five feet"
Ball - fast ball - outside
Called strike - fast ball - on the inside corner
Swing&miss - change-up
Strike out
Second at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Called strike - fast ball - on the outside corner - "and I don't think Roneberg was happy with that call"
Foul ball - off to the left
Foul ball - back and off the catcher's glove
Swing&miss - at a pitch in the dirt
Strike out
Third at-bat
Righthanded pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - "a mile outside"
Foul ball - a high fly ball deep down the leftfield line
Ball - fast ball - outside
Ball - below the knees
"That is ripped into rightfield but cut off in the alley and Roneberg takes a wide turn around first but retreats to the base for a hard-hit base hit"
Single
Went to third base on a hit
Scored on a hit
Fourth at-bat
???handed pitcher
Led off the innings
Ball - outside
Ball - low
"Hit well back up the middle but cut-off by a diving shortstop behind second base and he makes the throw to first base but Roneberg beats it out and it should be an infield hit"
Infield single
Out at second base on a double-play hit by the next Sea Dogs batter
Fifth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - one down
Swing&miss - fast ball
Ball - breaking ball - outside
Ball - breaking ball - low
Called strike - on the inside corner
Foul ball - off the end of the bat and down to the left
Ball - inside
Swing&miss - breaking ball - "and Roneberg strikes out for the third time today"
Strike out

Heard during the game
(1) As Brett was coming in for his first at-bat, the commentator said "Brett is 0-for-6 in the series but he has picked up three walks" (two games)

(2) He also mentioned that "he is leading the Sea Dogs with 38 x RBI's and 12 x home runs"

Email from Brett
N/A

Game Reports
TRENTON DROPS A TOUGH ONE TO PORTLAND 5-3
Aaron Rifkin hit his ninth home run of the season in the loss

Portland rallied with four runs in the sixth inning to take the final game of its three-game series against Trenton 5-3 in Eastern League Play Wednesday afternoon.

The win snapped Trenton's three-game winning streak.

Trenton (28-27) took a 3-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning and appeared as if they would be in the driver's seat all afternoon.
Jake Weber hit a one-out double and scored on an RBI single by Dioner Navarro to give Trenton a 1-0 lead.
The next batter Aaron Rifkin connected on a two-run homer, his ninth of the season, to extend Trenton's lead to 3-0.

Portland starter Jarrett Gardner (1-0) settled down after his rough first inning.
He pitched five innings and scattered six hits after the three-run first inning for Trenton.
Gardner picked up the victory in his first career start for Portland.

Trenton starter Chien-Ming Wang seemed to be in command up until the fifth inning.
At one point Wang retired 12 straight Sea Dog batters.

But Wang gave up one run in the fifth and then left the game with runners at 2nd and 3rd and two outs in the sixth.

Scott Wiggins (0-1) gave up a two-run game tying single to Kenny Perez that knotted the game at 3-3.
The Sea Dogs then took the lead on a wild pitch and increased its lead to 5-3 on an RBI single by Eric Johnson later in the inning.

The Portland (27-31) bullpen shut the door on Trenton as relievers Ryan Larsen and Juan Perez combined to throw four no-hit innings to end the game without surrendering a hit.
Perez picked up his third save of the season with two perfect innings.

Trenton received solid relief work from Rik Currier and Tim Adkins.
They combined to shutout Portland in three plus innings of work after the Sea Dogs scored four runs in the 6th inning.

Eastern League Game Summary - Portland at Trenton

Kenny Perez's two-run single highlighted a four- run sixth inning to catapult the Portland Sea Dogs over the Trenton Thunder, 5-3.

The Sea Dogs are now 27-31, while the Thunder fell five games back of first place Binghamton in the Northern Division of the Eastern League.

Perez's single came with the bases loaded and the Sea Dogs down by score of 3-1.
Mike O`Keefe and Brett Roneberg both scored on the play to tie the game at 3-3.
Joe Kilburg scored on the next play on a passed ball.
Perez closed the scoring in the game when he crossed the plate on an Eric Johnson single.

Roneberg went 2-for-5 in the win.

Trenton's Aaron Rifkin blasted his ninth home run of the season in the loss.

Portland's Jarrett Gardner earned the win despite three earned runs in the first inning.
In five innings of work he allowed six hits, one walk and struck out two to improve to 1-0.

Juan Perez recorded his third save of the season.

Scott Wiggins suffered the loss for the Thunder.
He allowed two earned runs on two hits.
Wiggins is 0-1.

Young pitcher settles the Dogs

By the time the dust had settled and the final beads of sweat had been wiped away on a scorcher of an afternoon Wednesday at Waterfront Park, it became virtually impossible to distinguish the kid just up from low Class A and the New York Yankees' $1.9 million bonus baby.

Portland right-hander Jarrett Gardner, making his Double-A debut, survived Trenton's three-run first inning and combined with relievers Ryan Larson and Juan Perez to limit the Thunder to four base runners over the final eight innings as the Sea Dogs avoided a series sweep with a 5-3 victory.

Gardner, unheralded as a 19th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in June 2003, was called up for the day after Jerome Gamble was placed on the disabled list with soreness in his right forearm.

Gardner looked every bit as green as the emerald-tinted turf in the first inning when a double by Jake Weber, a run-scoring single by Dioner Navarro and a two-run home run by Aaron Rifkin staked Trenton starter Chien-ming Wang, a top prospect, to a 3-0 lead.

Incredibly, that was as good as it would get for the Thunder all afternoon.

"In the first inning I probably had a little adrenaline going and I wasn't able to throw my best pitches," said Gardner, who stuck with it while Wang hit the wall hard in the fifth inning after retiring 12 straight and 13 of the first 14 he faced.
"But once I settled down, I got into a comfort zone."

Unlike the Thunder, Gardner (1-0) made the adjustments on a sweltering day that saw a small handful of the 6,333 fans seek on-site treatment for dehydration and other heat-related conditions.

Not surprisingly for a young pitcher who had never faced Double-A hitters, Gardner stayed away from the inside half of the plate in the first inning.
But he soon found that even that was no surefire way to avoid trouble in the Eastern League.
Rifkin's ninth home run of the season sailed over the left-field wall, an opposite-field poke on a pitch off the plate.

"We sat there between innings and came up with a new game plan," said Gardner, 7-1 with a 1.52 ERA at Class A Augusta in the South Atlantic League.
"In the league I've been pitching in, I can throw that (outside) pitch and they can't hit it, but maybe that first inning is what I needed to get the jitters out."

Hitting just .190 with runners in scoring position this season, Portland shortstop Kenny Perez snapped a 3-3 tie in the sixth inning when he lined a 3-2 pitch from Thunder reliever Scott Wiggins (0-1) into left field for a two-run single.
A passed ball by Navarro seconds later let in the go-ahead run.

The Thunder managed only three hits and four runners from the first inning on against a Portland bullpen which set down 22 of the last 23 hitters it faced in the series.

NOTES
The win was the Sea Dogs' 14th come-from-behind victory of the season and the first time since April 18 that they did so by erasing a 3-0 deficit.
Gardner had not walked a batter over his last 22 innings in Class A until issuing one to Jason Grove in the first inning.
It also was the first time he had allowed two earned runs in a game since April 15.
He left immediately after the game to rejoin his Augusta teammates in Greensboro, N.C.
Second baseman Jesus Medrano struck out with the bases loaded in the fifth inning and again with a runner at second base in the eighth, making him 0 for his last 26 with runners in scoring position.
Infielder John Hattig missed his third straight game with back spasms.

SEA DOGS RALLY FOR WIN IN TRENTON, 5-3
Gardner Wins Double-A Debut

Kenny Perez hit a game-tying two-run single, highlighting a four-run sixth inning to catapult the Portland Sea Dogs over the Trenton Thunder, 5-3.

The win moved Portland within 2-1/2 games of the final Northern Division playoff spot.

Perez's bases loaded single brought in the tying runs off reliever Scott Wiggins.
Joe Kilburg scored the eventual winning run on a passed ball and Perez crossed the plate on an Eric Johnson single.

Roneberg went 2-for-5 in the win.

Trenton's Aaron Rifkin blasted his ninth home run of the season in the loss.

Portland's Jarrett Gardner earned the win in his Double-A debut, despite three earned runs in the first inning.
In five innings of work he allowed six hits, one walk and struck out two.

Gardner and relievers Ryan Larson and Juan Perez allowed only four base runners after the first inning.
Perez recorded his third save of the season with two perfect innings.

No fun in the sun

It started out as a fine day at Waterfront Park yesterday.
Hot?
Yes, but still fine.

The announced crowd of 6,333 included thousands of school children out for a field trip to a rare 11 a.m. ball game that had been scheduled mostly for them.
By 11:05, the concession stands were packed with kids, and the happy sights and sounds were accented by the wafting aromas of mustard and sun tan lotion.

Hot?
Did someone mention hot?
The game started with the mercury in the upper 80s, rising into the mid 90s by mid game.

Between the lines, too, the day got off to a fine start with the Thunder jumping out to an instant three-run lead over the Portland Sea Dogs in the first inning.

And, the way Thunder starter Chien-ming Wang was humming, you could almost feel a semblance of a breeze as he cruised through the first four innings.

But, Wang flirted with disaster in the fifth, then got bounced during a four-run Portland sixth.

Meanwhile, Thunder bats went totally silent after their first at-bat, all adding up to a 5-3 Thunder loss.

"We just didn’t get it done," said Trenton manager Stump Merrill.
"We started out good. We should have all gone home after the first inning."

With Merrill’s houseboat waiting out on the Delaware, it might have been a perfect day for fishing or sightseeing or maybe pulling the boat up to some great waterfront restaurant somewhere.
But, Stump was stuck.
After that fast start in the first, the manager was forced to endure a slow-moving game that took three minutes short of three hours and included remarkably few highlights for the home team.

"Sometimes, the numbers and the percentages don’t work," he said, referring to his decision to lift Wang in the sixth inning.

At the time, the Thunder still led, 3-2, with Portland’s Mike O’Keefe at second base.
O’Keefe had doubled in a run, but Wang got the next batter, Jeff Bailey, on a called third strike for the second out of the inning.

That’s when Merrill gave righty Wang the hook, replacing him with lefty Scott Wiggins, who entered the game with an 0.90 E.R.A. in nine Thunder appearances this year.
This time, though, Wiggins struggled mightily, beaning the first batter he faced, then yielding two straight hits while also tossing in a wild pitch and helping his catcher to a passed ball.

When the dust settled, Portland was on top, 5-3.

Rik Currier and Tim Adkins came out of the Thunder bullpen to hold Portland in check the rest of the day, but the Thunder offense seemed to wilt as the temperature rose.

Of course, the Portland pitching staff has to get some credit, too.

The Sea Dogs opened with Jarrett Gardner making the first Double-A start of his career after a recent promotion from the Red Sox’ Single-A club in Augusta, Georgia, part of the "low Class A" South Atlantic League.
Back there, Gardner had been sensational so far this year, carrying a 1.54 E.R.A. after nine starting assignments.
He might have gotten off to a rocky start in Trenton, but, after giving up a double to Jake Weber, a single to Dioner Navarro and a home run to Aaron Rifkin in the first inning, Gardner more than settled down.
He wound up working five innings in his Eastern League debut and scattering three more harmless singles before stepping aside for Portland relievers Ryan Larson and Juan Perez, who kept Thunder bats silent.

In fact, after the first inning, the Thunder managed just four more base runners for the rest of the game.

The loss dropped Trenton’s record to 28-27, while Portland improved to 26-31.

All on a day when the sun sizzled, but the Thunder offense didn’t.

Thunder start fast, finish poor

Once the dust had settled and the final beads of sweat had been wiped away on a scorcher of an afternoon yesterday at Waterfront Park, it was nearly impossible to distinguish the kid just up from low Class-A and the Yankees' $1.9 million bonus baby.

Portland rookie right-hander Jarrett Gardner, making his Double-A debut, survived a three-run first inning by combining with relievers Ryan Larson and Juan Perez to limit the Thunder to just four baserunners over the final eight frames as the Sea Dogs avoided a series sweep with a 5-3 victory.

Gardner, unheralded as a 19th-round draft pick of the Boston Red Sox in June 2003, was called up from Single-A Augusta for the day and looked every bit as green as the emerald-colored turf in the opening inning when a double by Jake Weber, a run-scoring single by Dioner Navarro and a two-run home run by Aaron Rifkin staked starter Chien-ming Wang to a 3-0 lead.

Incredibly, that was as good as it would get for the Thunder all afternoon.

"In the first inning I probably had a little adrenaline going," said Gardner, who hung tough while Wang hit the wall in the fifth inning after retiring 12 straight and 13 of the first 14 he faced.
"But once I settled down, I got into a comfort zone."

Unlike the Thunder, Gardner (1-0) made the adjustments on a sweltering hot day that saw a small handful of the 6,333 fans seek on-site treatment for dehydration and other heat-related conditions.

Gardner didn't blow anyone away, but he kept the ball down and threw strikes - a solid recipe at any level.
"We came up with a new game plan between innings," Gardner said.
"In the South Atlantic League, I can throw that (outside) pitch and they can't hit it, but maybe that first inning is what I needed to get the jitters out."

Jitters were not Wang's problem.
Another blister on his pitching hand was.

"I just found out about it," Thunder manager Stump Merrill said after being told of the burgeoning welt suddenly emerging from the ring finger of Wang's right hand.
"Something was obviously wrong. He was just walking too many people."

Wang retired Mike O'Keefe on a comebacker to the mound to begin the fifth inning, but he walked three of the next four batters and unleashed a wild pitch to plate the first Sea Dogs run.

Wang survived the 33-pitch inning after Kevin Reese hunted down Mike Campo's line drive to deep center field with two outs and the bases loaded, but he would not be nearly as fortunate in the sixth.

Lifted by Merrill, but not before putting a pair of runners in scoring position with two outs, Wang gave way to left-hander Scott Wiggins, who was summoned for one reason only - to retire lefty-swinging Joe Killburg.
Wiggins (0-1) hit him with a 2-2 pitch to load the bases and set the table for Kenny Perez.

Hitting just .190 with runners in scoring position, Perez lined a 3-2 pitch from Wiggins just beyond the outstretched glove of Thunder third baseman J.T. Stotts for a two-run single to tie the game, 3-3.
A passed ball by Navarro let in the go-ahead run moments later.

The Thunder (28-27) managed only three hits over the final eight innings against Gardner and a Portland (27-31) bullpen, which set down 22 of the last 23 Thunder hitters in the series.

"We did a terrible job offensively after the first inning and the bullpen just didn't get it done," Merrill said.
"Guys were chasing balls out of the zone, trying to hit every pitch out of the ballpark. We just had no plate discipline."