Erie SeaWolves (DET) @ Portland Sea Dogs (BOS)
July 30, 2024
HR: Brady Allen (ERI), Tyler McDonough (POR)
Attendance: 7,080
Time of Game: 2 hours, 51 minutes
Stadium Facts
Location: Portland, ME
Opened: 1994
Capacity: 7,368
Level: Double A
League: Eastern
Time of Game: 2 hours, 51 minutes
Stadium Facts
Location: Portland, ME
Opened: 1994
Capacity: 7,368
Level: Double A
League: Eastern
On the Monday off day, I drove from New Hampshire to Maine, making this my first time in Maine since I was a youngster. I'm pretty sure going to the Portland area made this the furthest east I have ever been in the United States. It was a somewhat damp Monday, which was the start of a trend on the second week of this trip, so I saved the exploration of the Portland area until Tuesday. Tuesday night, it was back to the ballpark for my final Eastern League game of the year at Hadlock Field, home of the Red Sox AA affiliate.
Hadlock Field is not exactly located in the heart of Portland, but it is right off I-295 in a high traffic area. In fact, approaching the stadium and getting parked was more challenging than I had anticipated, although I will chalk that up to my own unfamiliarity with the area. Having opened in 1994, Hadlock Field is on the older side of stadiums I have visited this year, and as such, it is not surprising that it lacks some of the frills of newer parks. The concourse is completely hidden under the stands. The single level main seating area is heavily tilted towards the third base side as it stretches from about first base and then around well down the left field line, extended by a separate bleacher section. There is a walkway all the way around that main bowl separating the 100 and 200 level sections. And then there are general admission bleachers at the top of the grandstand. Part of the reason why a majority of the seats are on the third base side is because the first base side runs up against the old brick Portland Expo building where the Celtics G-League team plays. The most distinctive element of the park is the large left field wall that is a near replica of Fenway's Green Monster. It even has similar Citgo and Coca-Cola signage beyond the wall. Of course, this one is affectionately named the Maine Monster. Right field does not resemble Fenway at all though. The right field wall is fairly tall in its own right and has a section of seats above it that overlooks the Sea Dogs bullpen, which is quite elevated from field level. It seems Portland has a very passionate fan base. This was a near sellout on a Tuesday night. The crowd was as engaged with the action on the field as any I have been a part of at minor league games this year. They love their Sea Dogs and I'm sure the fact that these are future Red Sox players feeds into that.
I don't really think of dogs or wolves as sea animals. Yet this was a battle of the Tigers' affiliate SeaWolves from Erie and the Sea Dogs of Portland. This game happened to take place about an hour after the MLB trade deadline. One of the Sea Dogs top prospects, outfielder Roman Anthony was not in the lineup, leading to speculation that he had been traded. But it turns out it was just a regular off day for him. Meanwhile, having missed the game I saw Portland play a few days earlier in Somerset, top Red Sox prospect Marcelo Mayer was in the lineup playing short. However, he was replaced after a couple innings having struck out in his only plate appearance. I assume whatever injury that had kept him out of the lineup for a few games prior resurfaced on this night. He returned to full action soon after this game though. That left Kyle Teel as the only one of the Portland trio of elite prospects to play in both of the Portland games on this trip. He was the DH in this game and did not record a hit, but did have a RBI sac fly. As I mentioned in the Somerset post, Anthony, Mayer and Teel were all promoted to AAA together shortly after this game, really draining the talent level of the Portland roster. This wound up being a tight game throughout, with both teams scoring runs here and there but also leaving a boatload of runners on base. Portland scored first in the bottom of the third on a leadoff home run by second baseman Tyler McDonough, a lined shot over the right field wall. Erie immediately answered in the fourth with a two run homer off the scoreboard in left-center by Brady Allen. Both teams added another run in their next at bats and Erie held a 3-2 lead at the seventh inning stretch. McDonough led off the bottom of the seventh with his second extra base hit of the game, this one a double. He scored on a single by Corey Rosier, who would then score as well on Teel's sacrifice fly. The Sea Dogs took a 4-3 lead into the eight, which is when things started to get whacky. Trei Cruz led off the top of the eighth with a pop up to shallow right that the second baseman let pop out of his glove and was somehow ruled a double. The right fielder should have called him off, but it was a play that should have easily been made by either fielder. Cruz then scored the game tying run on a much more legitimate double off the wall by #9 hitter Austin Murr. The bottom of the inning started with an eerily similar pop up to right that wasn't caught, this one understandably ruled a double since nobody got a glove on it. Another play that should have been made though. Portland would not take advantage though and the game remained tied through the regulation nine innings. Erie scored the automatic base runner from second in the top of the tenth. That single run was not enough though. Portland strung together three singles capped by a walk off base hit up the middle by Elih Marrero giving the Sea Dogs a 6-5 extra inning victory. It was the second time I saw Erie lose a game in walk-off fashion this summer.
This was my ninth and final Eastern League game of the year. Amazingly, three of those games ended on walk-off hits, two went extra innings, and the winning run scored in the ninth inning or later in five of the nine games. I'm sure all of this was just lucky timing, but consider me a fan of Eastern League baseball. After Portland, it was back up to AAA for one last International League game in Worcester, MA. Well, actually it became two games in Worcester. More on that soon.
Next ballpark: Polar Park in Worcester, MA
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