EL Playoffs - Dogs defeat Dinosaur.

Dobies pitches, Kottaras catches

Good news - I was able to go to a Sea Dogs game, and I have the opportunity to write about it. Unfortunately my busy schedule has me neglecting this and my other blogs lately, for which I apologize, because I don't enjoy having orphan blogs out there. I have been to a few games lately, but never found the time to write about most of them.

Tonight, however, I was able to attend game three of the EL North playoff between the Sea Dogs and the Trenton Thunder. Trenton, the Yankee's AA affiliate (and therefore top rival for the Sea Dogs) captured the EL North regular season title, setting up a rematch-in-reverse of last year's playoff, in which the Sea Dogs enjoyed the home field advantage. Portland managed a split in Trenton, which gives them the chance to win the series on their own field.

Minor league playoff games are, somewhat paradoxically, usually not well attended. The reason for this, I believe, is twofold. Number one, kids are back in school. Number two, you can't really plan for a playoff game until fairly late. It's easy to look at the regular season schedule and plan a few games that are convenient. For the playoffs, you have to be available on short notice. Often the Sea Dogs will play to a full house through the summer, then be left with a half-full stadium in the playoffs.

Not so tonight, however. In addition to the usual Yankees / Red Sox rivalry, word came that Yankees star outfielder Hideki Matsui would be continuing his injury rehab in Portland. "Godzilla," as he is known, has been out four months after injuring his wrist in a game against the Red Sox in May. Because no other Yankee farm club continues to play, Trenton is the only place for him to rehab. His appearance drove a large gate (6,157, the second-largest playoff crowd in Sea Dogs history), and there were more than a few fans dressed in Yankee regalia roaming Hadlock Field.

Matsui

Matsui played DH and batted fourth. There was a loud mixture of cheers and boos when Matsui first stepped to the plate in the top of the first, and he was retired on a solid line drive to second base. The boos got louder as the game went along, but that was the last time Matsui would be retired, as he collected a solid single along with two walks on the night. He didn't figure in any of the scoring, however. Not for the Thunder anyway. Matsui's appearance in the lineup caused a domino effect that resulted in hulking, slugging first baseman Shelly Duncan playing in left field. Duncan's obvious discomfort with the position contributed to Li'l Papi's eighth inning double that brought home Brandon Moss with the eventual winning run in Portland's 5-4 victory. The Sea Dogs now lead the series 2-1.

It looked like a slugfest at first. The Sea Dogs had three runs and a man on second before starting pitcher Matt Childers recorded an out. Childers settled down and allowed just one more run in 6.2 innings pitched. Moss and Jacoby Ellsbury hit identical shots into the RF Pavilion seats for home runs in the first and second innings, respectively. New Sea Dogs catcher George Kottaras, who was received from the Padres in the David Wells trade, made his Hadlock debut a successful one with an RBI double in the first preceding Moss' homer. In fact, the top four in the lineup (Ellsbury, Kottaras, Moss and Jimenez) combine to go 6-14 with all five runs scored and RBI, two walks, three doubles and two homers on the night. The rest of the lineup was 2-16 with a double.

Andrew Dobies started for the Sea Dogs, and was effective if not overpowering. The Thunder had men on base all night against him - he allowed 7 hits and 2 walks in 5 IP - but he managed to allow only two runs to cross the plate on mostly soft-hit balls in the second inning. Dobies is a stereotypical junk lefty - not a lot of heat but he throws strikes and keeps batters off balance with a high-80's fastball and a bunch of offspeed stuff. He did have a nice strikout of Ruiz on what looked like three cutters in the dirt. Edgar "El Guapo Jr." Martinez made things intresting in the 9th, allowing two runs, but got Ruiz on a flyout with the tying runner at second base and Matui on deck to end the game.

I won't be able to attend the Saturday game, but if the Dogs win the series I hope to catch a game or two of the finals next week.