Portland, Maine- The Portland Sea Dogs (21-22) fell 7-3 on Saturday afternoon as the Reading Fightin Phils (21-23) made a late push to take the lead in front of a sellout crowd for the second consecutive game.
Franklin Arias hit his third home run in the last two games with a solo home run over the Maine Monster in the 7th inning. RHP Jedixson Paez and LHP Dalton Rogers had excellent days on the mound, holding Reading hitless through six innings.
As they have done in every game this week, Portland got on the board first. In the bottom of the third inning, Franklin Arias singled to get on base, and came around to score on a Nate Baez single, helped along by two Reading errors. The Sea Dogs extended their lead in the sixth inning with a Tyler McDonough infield single, bringing Johanfran Garcia home to score.
Sea Dogs pitchers had a perfect game going through the fifth inning and a no-hitter going through the sixth inning, until the Reading offense exploded in the seventh against RHP Joe Vogatsky. Dylan Campbell led off with a single, the first of five hits and two walks in the inning, including a three-run home run by Bryson Ware. Reading batted around and jumped into the lead, 6-2.
Franklin Arias answered with his home run in the bottom half, cutting into the lead, 6-3.
Reading added one more run in the eighth inning off an RBI single by former Sea Dog, Alex Binelas. He scored Aroon Escobar, who had singled, stole second, and advanced to third on a deep flyout.
LHP Adam Seminaris (4-3, 2.36 ERA) earned the win, giving up two runs, one earned, on seven hits with six strikeouts. RHP Joe Vogatsky (1-2, 7.08 ERA) took the loss, allowing six runs on five hits and two walks with one strikeout.
The Sea Dogs and Fightins will meet tomorrow afternoon for their series finale. RHP Gage Ziehl (1-2, 6.28 ERA) will face off against RHP Kyle Brnovich (1-3, 5.63 ERA), with first pitch scheduled for 1:00 pm.