The Portland Sea Dogs, Double-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, have captured their first Eastern League Championship in franchise history

The Sea Dogs defeated the Akron Aeros, Double-A affiliate of the Cleveland Indians, 8-5 Sunday afternoon at Hadlock Field to take the best-of-five series, three games to two

Devern Hansack tossed eight strong innings, Brian Myrow belted a two-run home run and Keoni De Renne highlighted a four-run third inning with a three-run triple as the Portland Sea Dogs defeated the Akron Aeros

Following the game, Eastern League President Joe McEacharn presented the Sea Dogs with the Eastern League Championship trophy and banner

McEacharn also announced that Portland outfielder Brandon Moss was named Eastern League Playoff Most Valuable Player and presented him with the MVP trophy for his outstanding efforts
Moss hit .361 in the playoffs with five home runs and 10 RBI’s

The Sea Dogs finished the regular season in second place behind the Trenton Thunder (Yankees) with a 72-67 record
In the best-of-five Northern Division Series the Sea Dogs lost the first game but rebounded to win the next three to take the series three games to one and advance to their second straight Eastern League Championship Series

The Akron Aeros finished the regular season with an Eastern League best record of 87-55
The Aeros defeated the Altoona Curve (Pirates) three games to two in the Southern Division Series to advance to the Eastern League Finals setting-up a rematch of the 2005 Eastern League Championship Series

In 2005, the Aeros took the Championship three games to one over Portland

The Portland Sea Dogs franchise has been around since 1994, spending their first nine years as a Florida Marlins affiliate

The franchise has won five Northern Division titles, three with the Marlins (1995, 1996, and 1997) and two with the Red Sox (2005 and 2006)

This was Portland’s fourth trip to the Eastern League Championship Series and the first time they emerged victorious in their thirteen year history

The Sea Dogs’ championship marks the first time a Red Sox Double-A team has won a championship since 1983 when the New Britain Red Sox took the Eastern League crown, a team that featured Roger Clemens