The Result
Sea Dogs - 4 to 2

Sea Dogs - Year-to-Date
45 wins - 48 losses

Brett's Position and the Batting Order
Designated hitter
Batting #3

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

Brett's at-bats
First at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
Bases empty - two down
Called strike - fast ball - on the outside corner
Ball - fast ball - low
Called strike - fast ball - on the outside corner
Ball - slider - low
Ball - slider - away
"A one-hopper to the Thunder third-baseman"
Out 5-to-3
Second at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
(did not listen)
Bases empty - two down
Popped-up to the shortstop
Out F6
Third at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
(did not listen)
Runners at first and second base - two down
Ground ball towards first base
Out PO3
Fourth at-bat
Lefthanded pitcher
(did not listen)
Runners at first and third base - none down
Driven in to leftfield for a base hit
Single
......and 1 x RBI
Out at second base on a double-play hit by a following Sea Dogs batter

Heard during the game
(1) As he was giving out the starting line-ups, the commentator said that "Brett Roneberg is the designated hitter for the second straight game, once again giving his 'tight hamstring' a rest from the field"

(2) As Brett came in for his first at-bat, the commentator said "Brett has a 0.380 on-base-percentage which is the eighth highest in the Eastern League"
(click here for the Eastern League "Top 10" in batting categories)

Email from Brett
Ended up with a single and an RBI.
With only four hits in the game it was a "pretty big one".
Won again, and tomorrow I am back in the field.
Also, hurting is the back, groin and finger.
I feel ok but not great.

Game Reports
Sea Dogs make most of their few hits

Ryan Larson turned in four spotless innings in relief of Abe Alvarez and the Portland Sea Dogs made the most of their four hits Saturday night en route to a 4-2 victory over the slumping Trenton Thunder before 7,758 at Waterfront Park.

It was the fourth straight win for the Sea Dogs (45-48), who moved past the Thunder into fourth place in the Eastern League's Northern Division.

Trenton left a season-high 15 runners on base, including six at third, to ruin a strong outing by left-hander Sean Henn.

Henn took a perfect game into the sixth inning, only to be saddled with his fourth loss of the season.

"When you break it down, we were fortunate," Portland Manager Ron Johnson said.
"To be in that game at all with just four hits was amazing, and what Larson did was just ridiculous.
He hadn't gone four innings all year and was running on absolute fumes out there."

Henn (4-4) retired the first 15 Sea Dogs he faced until a pivotal error to start the sixth inning by Trenton third baseman Bronson Sardinha, his ninth in just 23 Double-A games.
Sardinha, a neophyte to his position after previously playing shortstop and outfield since being drafted by the Yankees in the first round of the 2001 draft, could not come up with Kenny Perez's two-hopper near the line.
The misplay put into motion a string of pitches that would test Henn's ability to overcome adversity.

Henn admittedly was rattled when he drilled Portland left fielder Joe Kilburg in the head with a rising, 0-1 fastball, and the delay needed to attend to Kilburg didn't help his rhythm.
Kilburg walked off the field under his own power but was removed from the game for precautionary reasons.
Raul Nieves then stepped to the plate and broke up both the shutout and the no-hitter by bounding an RBI single between Sardinha and shortstop Andy Cannizaro to tie the game at 1-1.

Portland broke the tie with a three-run eighth against Henn and reliever Tim Adkins.
Mike Lockwood knocked out Henn with a two-run single, and Brett Roneberg singled home an insurance run.

Henn allowed three hits and two earned runs in seven-plus innings.

"You just go out and throw the best game you can and hope everything falls into place," Henn said.
"That's why it's a team game. No one person is going to win or lose the game for us.
All I can do is the best I can and worry about myself."

Alvarez was removed after three innings, having allowed five hits and an unearned run on an RBI double by Teuris Olivares in the second.

Larson allowed three hits over the next four innings, and after Trenton scored a run off Tim Hamulack in the eighth, Mark Deschenes worked the final 1-1/3 innings for his first save since joining the Sea Dogs last week.

While losing the first three games of the four-game series, the Thunder are just 3 for 36 with runners in scoring position.

SEA DOGS RALLY FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN
Sea Dogs Score 3 Runs in 8th, Tops Trenton, 4-2

Mike Lockwood and Brett Roneberg hit consecutive run-scoring singles in a three-run eighth inning as the Portland Sea Dogs rallied for a 4-2 win over the Trenton Thunder Saturday night.

Portland, who did not have a hit until the sixth inning, scored its fourth straight win.

Ryan Larson pitched four scoreless innings of relief to earn his fifth win of the season and the Allied Big Dog of the Game award.

Sean Henn (4-4) carried a perfect game into the sixth inning, but an error, hit batsman, wild pitch and Raul Nieves RBI single tied the game at 1-1.

In the eighth inning, Henn allowed a single to Stefan Bailie to start the inning - it was Bailie's first Double-A hit after being called up from Single-A Sarasota earlier in the day.
An error and walk loaded the bases before Lockwood hit a two-run single and Roneberg drilled an RBI single.

Mark Deschenes recorded the final four outs for his first save in the Red Sox organization.

Trenton left 15 men on base in the loss, including 10 in scoring position and six on third base.
The Thunder are 3-for-36 in the series with runners in scoring position.

Eastern League Game Summary - Portland at Trenton

Mike Lockwood's two-run single highlighted a three-run eighth inning to give the Portland Sea Dogs a 4-2 victory over the Trenton Thunder.

Brett Roneberg contributed one RBI on a 1-for-4 performance, while Raul Nieves scored a run and drove in one.

Sheldon Fuse also scored a run in the come from behind win.

Portland's Ryan Larson tossed four innings of shutout ball where he allowed three hits and three walks.
Larson fanned four to improve to 5-1.

Mark Deschenes recorded his first save.

Trenton's Sean Henn was dealt the loss in seven innings.
He yielded four runs - two earned - on three hits and three walks.
Henn is now 4-4.

Bronson Sardinha went 2-for-5 with an RBI in the loss.

LATE RALLY SPARKS PORTLAND'S 4-2 WIN OVER TRENTON
Cannizaro, Sardinha, Wilson Each Collect Two Hits In Loss

Portland scored three runs in the 8th inning and rode impressive relief pitching to a 4-2 victory over Trenton in Eastern League play on Saturday night.

The Sea Dogs won their third straight game against the Thunder, and now have overtaken Trenton for sole possession of fourth place in the Eastern League Northern Division.

With the game knotted at 1-1 in the 8th inning, Mike Lockwood hit the go-ahead two-run single.
Later in the inning, Brett Roneberg contributed with an RBI single to increase the Portland (45-48) lead to 4-1.

Trenton starter Sean Henn (4-4) took the loss but pitched well in defeat.
Henn had a perfect game through five innings, but ran into trouble later in the game.
He gave up three hits and two earned runs in seven innings of work.
Henn also faced the first four hitters in the 8th inning.

For the third straight night, Portland received excellent relief work.
Ryan Larson (5-1) threw four shutout innings of middle-relief to pick up the victory.
Larson struck out four and scattered three hits.

Portland starter Abe Alvarez only went three innings, throwing 73 pitches.

In the series, the Portland relievers have allowed three runs in 15 innings.

Trenton (43-47) took a 1-0 lead in the second inning on an RBI double by Teuris Olivares.

The Thunder struggled again with runners in scoring position.
Trenton was 2-for-16 with runners in scoring position and are now 3-for-35 with runners in scoring position in the series.

The Thunder left 15 runners on base tonight, a season-high.

The series will conclude on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. as Chien-ming Wang (5-5) will take the ball for Trenton against Portland's Josh Stevens (4-6).

Thunder lays egg for Henn

Sean Henn threw five perfect innings and worked seven sterling ones.
He allowed three hits, all singles, and none were hit hard.
He endured long waits while Portland starter Abe Alvarez struggled to find the strike zone.
But Henn could not overcome the bugaboos that threaten to sink the Thunder season.

The offense was miserable for a third straight day - leaving an eye-popping 15 runners on base and 10 in scoring position - only saved from the bottom by a defense that undermined Henn with two costly errors.

The end result was a 4-2 loss to the Portland Sea Dogs, the Thunder’s third in three days, all serving as prelude to today’s series finale and an 11-game road trip to follow.

With the loss the Thunder (43-47) dropped below Portland (45-48) and into fifth place in the Eastern League North for the first time since May 23.

Afterward the locker room was silent.

"What are you gonna do?" manager Stump Merrill asked rhetorically.
"All you have to do is put the ball in play with runners in scoring position.
You see it night after night."

Merrill added: "It’s the difference between winning teams and losing teams.
And until someone steps forward that’s what’s going to happen."

Henn (4-4) allowed four runs in the game, but only one was earned.
And even that should have been avoided.

Afterward he didn’t blame the offense or defense for the loss, saying if he had made better pitches the Sea Dogs could have been turned aside.
"You’ve just got to go out and throw the best you can and hopefully things will fall in place," Henn said.
"It’s a team game. Not one guy is going to win it for you, not one guy is going to lose it."

Shortstop Andy Cannizaro might disagree.
He dropped a throw from first baseman Craig Wilson that would have been a force out in the top of the eighth.
The crucial error led to two unearned runs and a three-run inning for the Sea Dogs, who turned a 1-1 deadlock into a 4-1 advantage.

"It just hit off my glove," Cannizaro said of the throw.
"No one feels worse about it than I do.
Sean pitched awesome. He was awesome from the first pitch, and once again we had the opportunities to score runs early in the game and we couldn’t get the big hits.
"We play a close game," he continued, "and one error loses it."

Actually, two.
An error by third baseman Bronson Sardinha, his ninth in 23 games, broke up the perfect game in the sixth and snapped Henn’s concentration - the left-hander followed the error by hitting a batter and allowing his first hit - and cost the Thunder their 1-0 lead in the sixth.

The Thunder have committed 29 errors in their last 23 games, and have at least one miscue in eight of the nine games in their current homestand.

"You make a mistake and they make you pay for it," Merrill said.
"They didn’t hit two balls hard off (Henn) all night."

The Thunder offense was similarly ineffective.
Last night the Thunder were 5-for-22 with runners on base, 2-for-15 with runners in scoring position.
They left an astounding six runners at third base.

For the series, the Thunder are batting .083 with runners in scoring position, have stranded 32 base runners and scored just five runs.