Anthony Rizzo blasted two home runs including a grand slam in the seventh inning to propel the Sea Dogs to 9-8 comeback win over the Altoona Curve (71-52) Thursday afternoon at Hadlock Field. The Sea Dogs (59-64) end a three game losing streak salvaging the final game of the series.
Portland trailed 6-0 after two innings but collected nine runs including a season high five home runs to earn the victory.
Altoona’s Josh Harrison entered the game with one home run in 116 games this season; by the time the second inning ended on Thursday he had three. Harrison hit a solo shot over the Maine Monster in the first to give Altoona a 1-0 lead. One inning later, Harrison hit a two run homer over the Maine Monster to cap a five run second inning for the Curve. The six runs came off Portland starter Kyle Weiland. Weiland lasted only four innings surrendering six runs on four hits and yielding three walks.
Ryne Lawson (6-5) would relieve Weiland and keep Portland in the game by shutting down the Curve for three innings giving up only one hit and two walks to earn the win.
Nate Spears got the Sea Dogs comeback started with his 14th home run of the season, a two run shot into the U.S. Cellular Pavilion in the fourth off Altoona starter Bryan Morris.
Anthony Rizzo hit his first home run of the game in the sixth, a solo shot off reliever Tom Boleska to cut the lead in half; 6-3.
In the seventh, the Sea Dogs would explode for three home runs and six runs to take their first lead of the game 9-6. Ryan Lavarnway led off the inning with his third home run in a Sea Dogs uniform. The next three batters would single to load the bases. After Ray Chang was called out on strikes and Jose Iglesias popped out, Rizzo blasted his second home run of the game, a grand slam to give Portland an 8-6 lead. The home run was his team leading 18th. Luis Exposito would follow with his 10th homer of the year giving the Sea Dogs back-to-back homers for the first time since April 22nd verse Trenton when Lars Anderson and Ray Chang accomplished the feat.
Ryne Reynoso pitched the final two innings for Portland earning his first save of the season.
Boleska (1-1) suffers the loss for Altoona giving up five runs on five hits in one inning of work.
The Sea Dogs will welcome the Trenton Thunder (Yankees) to town on Friday night at 7:00 PM for a three game weekend series. Jeremy Kehrt (2-9, 4.82) gets the nod for Portland; he’ll be opposed by Trenton’s Cory Arbiso (4-2, 3.61).
Notes: Che-Hsuan Lin extended his hitting streak to a season high eight games with a seventh inning single. The six run deficit the Sea Dogs overcame was the largest this season; the previous high was four runs on August 3rd against the Bowie Baysox. Anthony Rizzo now leads the Red Sox farm system with 23 combined home runs and 87 RBI. Rizzo now has 7 home runs and 25 RBI in August, he just 4 RBI’s shy of a new franchise record for RBI’s in the month of August. For the first time this season Exposito hit in the five spot, all 109 previous games he batted clean-up. It was the first time the Sea Dogs collected five home runs in a game since July 20, 2009 at New Britain. The paid attendance was 6,173.
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