'Dogs rally falls short, lose 10-8 in New Britain

New Britain, Connecticut  - The New Britain Rock Cats (8-6) scored five times in the fifth inning to rally back and beat the Portland Sea Dogs (5-8), 10-8 on Wednesday morning at New Britain Stadium. With the loss, Portland dropped two of three in the series and finished the roadtrip at 2-5.


Noel Cuevas (3-for-4) had the big hit, striking a bases-clearing triple in the fifth inning off losing pitcher Luis Diaz (0-1). Diaz gave up seven runs (five earned) on nine hits, two walks and six strikeouts.


New Britain's Shane Carle (3-0) earned his third win in as many outings, despite giving up five runs on 10 hits over 5.2 IP.


The Rock Cats scored eight consecutive runs at one point.  After Cuevas' triple, Jason Langfels added a sac-fly, giving New Britain a 7-5 lead. In the eighth, the 'Cats scored three times off Pat Light. Will Swanner led off with a homer and Trevor Story delivered a two-run single.


Portland would rally back in the ninth inning off Nelson Gonzalez. Carlos Asuaje nailed a two-run single and Martinez drove home a run with a single. Austin House retired Oscar Tejeda to earn his third save of the season.


Portland cracked the ice, scoring three times in the second inning against Carle. David Chester led off the frame his first homer of the season. Reed Gragnani singled home Martinez and Blake Tekotte nailed an RBI double down the right-field line.


The Rock Cats responded with a run in the second inning on a run-scoring single from Langfels, but Diaz stranded two runners to prevent further damage.  In the third, Mike Tauchman led off with a solo-homer, cutting the Portland lead to 3-2.


Tekotte would continue his torrid pace, nailing his second run-scoring double of the game in the fourth and Jonathan Roof added an RBI single, giving the Sea Dogs a 5-2 lead.


Portland tied a season-high with 16 hits and went 6-for-16 with runners-in-scoring position. Oscar Tejeda went 3-for-5 with 2 runs scored. The Sea Dogs had at least one hit from all nine starters.


The Sea Dogs open up a four-game series with the Trenton Thunder (Yankees affiliate) on Thursday night at Hadlock Field, game time is 6:35 PM. Portland sends RHP Mike Augliera (0-2, 4.50) faces off against LHP Caleb Smith (0-2, 11.37) Coverage on the U.S. Cellular Sea Dogs Radio Network begins at 5:40 PM and MiLB.TV starts at 5:55 PM.  Thursday is 1995 Night at Hadlock Field.  For tickets, visit seadogs.com or call 207-879-9500.